Try teaching your rabbit to hurdle!  It is a great way to give your bunny some excercise and have fun.  Thanks to the Cottontail 4H Rabbit Club in Rockingham County for sharing these tips!






Rabbit Hurdling is not all that hard to do, but it
does take time and practice for the rabbit and the
handler!  Most people start getting their bunny used
to a harness at about 8 weeks old.  You should wait
until the bunny is 12 weeks old before teaching him to
hop over hurdles.  He must be 4 months old to compete.
You can even teach an older rabbit to hop over
hurdles!

 
Getting Started

1)  Before starting the sport of rabbit hopping you
must first check the health and physical abilities
of your rabbit.  Nails should be clipped first!
2)  Do not use a rabbit for hopping that may show
signs of respiratory problems.
3)  Never allow a rabbit with bone or muscular
ailments attempt hopping.
4)  Never hop an overweight rabbit or some of the
extremely large breeds of rabbits.  You don't want to
cause back injuries to these overweight larger breeds.
5)  Practice on grass, a rug or cement.  Slippery
floors are not good surfaces to hurdle on.
Equipment



STEPS TO CHOOSING A RABBIT HARNESS

There are 3 types of harnesses available for small
animals:

. Slip Ring
. Snap
. Velcro

The slip ring is not a good choice for a rabbit
because the rabbit can slip out of it easily.

You should never choose a harness with just a neck
strap because the rabbit can not only get away easily,
but also choke itself or get its neck snapped if it
gets scared and tries to run.

Both snaps and Velcro are a better choice for
harnesses because the rabbit cannot get out of them
easily.

You want to get a light body harness that has a
buckled and/or velcro strap that goes around your
rabbit's neck and one strap that goes around your
rabbit's chest.   If you choose this kind of harness,
make sure the neck and body bands are connected to
each other by a band or strap that goes from neck to
chest over your rabbit's chest and by another that
goes from neck to chest over your rabbit's back to
provide extra support for your rabbit.  You can also
use a mesh harness that acts like a jacket around the
top half of your rabbit. 

Select a light leash that gives your rabbit enough
length to easily move. 

The metal hook for the leash should be attached to the
body strap.

How to put a harness on your Rabbit

There are two ways to put a harness on your rabbit:

. Hold your rabbit firmly, but gently on the floor and
kneel beside him. Ask another family member to hold
your rabbit this way if you feel uncertain about doing
this by yourself.

Speak gently and soothingly to your rabbit as you
slowly ease the harness over his back and buckle the
neck band.  Continue to soothe your rabbit as you ease
the body band over his midsection and buckle it.

OR, if your rabbit is used to being flipped onto
it's back, you can lay they harness down, and gently
flip your rabbit on it's back.  Then slowly snap the
buckle on the neck band and then the one around it's
chest. 

When using snaps be careful not to get your rabbit's
fur caught in the snaps -it hurts!

Stop and try again the next day if your rabbit
resists strongly, so you don't stress him too much.

Attach the leash to the leash hook located on the
body band of the harness.

Gently pet and praise your rabbit, then let him go.
He'll probably dash about trying to remove the
harness.  Clap your hands firmly and loudly say,
'No-no-no-!' if your rabbit tries to chew on the
harness or leash straps.  Pet and praise your rabbit
when he stops chewing.  Get your rabbit used to the
body harness and leash by putting it on him for a few
minutes each day until he no longer tries to chew
through the straps of the harness.


RABBIT HURDLING SUPPLIES

You don't have to have lots of expensive supplies to
get your rabbit hopping!  You can use inexpensive
supplies from around the house.  You can use books
piled up on either side with a curtain rod or long
wooden dowels (a type of stick) from the hardware
store balanced on the books.  You can use two empty
wash baskets upside down or empty tissue boxes for the
smaller breeds.  Small curtain rods can be used on top
of these. 

You can even get creative and do all 3 for different
heights of jumps for your rabbit to hop over.  Just
remember to start off your jumps low and slowly go up
in height.  SO GET CREATIVE AND GET YOUR RABBIT
HOPPING!

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR BUNNY TO HURDLE

1.   Get your rabbit used to wearing the harness.  It
may take a few days or weeks. 

2.   Let him run around a few times with the harness
on, without the leash.  Do this in a closed room in
case your rabbit gets very frightened and stressed and
runs around like crazy.  You will at least have a
chance of catching him faster to get the harness off.
You should try this everyday until your rabbit gets
used to the harness.

3.   Once he is used to the harness, put your rabbit
in front of the hurdles.  Remember start with just one
hurdle!  You will then need to place several jumps in
a row once he gets the hang of it.  Serious
competitions are usually 10 - 12 jumps in a row and it
is important for your rabbit to hop one after another
and keep on hopping!  It helps to train them to hop in
a continuous line without stopping and without them
touching the hurdle.
 
4.   Make sure you put the rabbit on the side of the
hurdles that allows the bar to fall off if he knocks
into it.  If you put the rabbit on the side where the
bar would not fall off, the rabbit could injure
himself.

5.   With the leash hooked on, tap his hindquarters
and say "jump".   Unless he is very frightened, most
rabbits like to jump and he should get an idea of what
he is supposed to do.  Give your rabbit lots of praise
when he does what you want him to. 

6. Go up a bar when he makes it over a hurdle 5-10
times without touching it.

Some other Tips:

Don't push him too hard on any day, it won't be good
for him and you will just get frustrated!

Don't try to train your rabbit on hot days, you don't
want him to get overheated.

Don't expect to train your rabbit inside your house
and then perform for the first time outside.  Try to
practice in different locations, both inside and
outside so he gets used to other areas.

Sometimes a special treat can help your rabbit want to
jump over a hurdle (but do this only sometimes when
training, otherwise he may get spoiled and expect a
treat all the time!)

Practice once a day 3 times a week in the beginning.
Practice should be no longer than 15 - 20 minutes
long.


RABBIT HURDLING LINKS
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabbit_show_jumping

http://www.kaninhop.dk/uk

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1381464/Bunny-rabbits-compete-jumping-course-Dressage-set-world-storm.html   (check out the hurdling video at the bottom of the page on this site --amazing!!!)