Hi everyone, I recently purchased a new horse and he’s been great. The only thing is he has kind of been trained to run at the jumps. Because of this, he does not care if he crashes through them or knocks poles over. The guy we bought him from had been jumping him 3 foot, but he very much needed to take a step back because that was part of the problem. We’ve been working with him and he’s already gotten a lot better however he still does not care about his feet hitting the jumps. The poles that we have are also super light which doesn’t help. So far, we’ve been doing a lot of work with gymnastics and poles on the ground in front of the jump to try and get him to rock back because he wants to take the long spot instead of waiting to the base. Does anyone have any tips for helping a horse learn to pick up their feet over the jumps? Thank you!
Grace.showjumper
Teaching horse to pick up their feet over jumps
1 reading
Has this horse been checked over by a Equine Lameness Vet?
There could be a reason hes not lifting up his legs to go over jumps.
There could be a reason hes not lifting up his legs to go over jumps.
he had a full pre-purchased exam two weeks ago before we bought him and he passed. He also needs to build up some more muscle on his high end because he was not taught to use his body properly.
If that is how he was taught then teach him different.
Replace poor fundamentals with safer ones.
Trust me, the horse cares he hits...but he does what he was taught till he learns new & better.
Since he was fully vetted, passing then I will guess his conformation is not holding him back from popping knees high & squared you seek and much rather have
For me & my safety astride, I would not be trying to go high knowing he hits rails.
Low, slow with careful while re-education takes place.
You know he can go high..now he needs to learn to pop a knee, square & not hang a toe..
Crashing sucks...so far sounds just dropped rails. I would not want to get tangled in that now loose rail though. Ouch!
Low, slow and better educate.
Take the time to teach him correct with right.
Safer for you & horse to avoid injuries.
🐎...
Replace poor fundamentals with safer ones.
Trust me, the horse cares he hits...but he does what he was taught till he learns new & better.
Since he was fully vetted, passing then I will guess his conformation is not holding him back from popping knees high & squared you seek and much rather have
For me & my safety astride, I would not be trying to go high knowing he hits rails.
Low, slow with careful while re-education takes place.
You know he can go high..now he needs to learn to pop a knee, square & not hang a toe..
Crashing sucks...so far sounds just dropped rails. I would not want to get tangled in that now loose rail though. Ouch!
Low, slow and better educate.
Take the time to teach him correct with right.
Safer for you & horse to avoid injuries.
🐎...
This has nothing to do with the op's query. @horselovinguy said it perfectly. This is just a funny story about teaching horses to lift their legs while jumping. Back in the 50's, trainers did something called "poling". As the horse went over the jump, people would smack the horses' front legs with a pole to teach them to lift their legs higher. I was just a little kid, but I remember thinking, 'That's stupid. That is just teaching the horse that he gets hurt if he tries to jump.' Well, it didn't work, so it wasn't long before people stopped doing it.
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But I have a neighbor, Bob, whose father was a horse trainer and trader on Long Island, and that's what they did at that time. Bob's father was a difficult demanding man, and Bob was heartily sick of being under his dad's thumb doing things he didn't want to do. So, they had this horse that didn't want to pick up his legs high enough over the jump. Bob's dad thought it was time to "pole" the horse. He got on the horse and told Bob to rap the horse on the legs as he went over the jump. Bob was heartily sick of being yelled at, training horses for his dad for no pay, and being forced to do things he hated. So, as the dad went over the jump, Bob rapped his father on the legs instead.
Oh yes, he got mightily chewed out, but he said it was worth it. His brother was holding the other end of the pole, and they both thought it was a very good joke and worth the scolding they got.
But I have a neighbor, Bob, whose father was a horse trainer and trader on Long Island, and that's what they did at that time. Bob's father was a difficult demanding man, and Bob was heartily sick of being under his dad's thumb doing things he didn't want to do. So, they had this horse that didn't want to pick up his legs high enough over the jump. Bob's dad thought it was time to "pole" the horse. He got on the horse and told Bob to rap the horse on the legs as he went over the jump. Bob was heartily sick of being yelled at, training horses for his dad for no pay, and being forced to do things he hated. So, as the dad went over the jump, Bob rapped his father on the legs instead.
Oh yes, he got mightily chewed out, but he said it was worth it. His brother was holding the other end of the pole, and they both thought it was a very good joke and worth the scolding they got.
I think sticking with the ground poles and low gymnastics before going to back to true "jumps" is going to be your best bet. Especially since you say he lacks fitness in his hind end. It's not really fair to expect him to jump anything more substantial until he builds that up and gets a better sense of figuring his feet out. It also sounds like you need some more substantial poles, and potentially some (low!) solid obstacles that won't just move at a nudge.
Also, if you're jumping him with any kind of padding on his legs (closed boots, polos) I'd skip that, as you want him to feel the impact and want to avoid it. Though I'm sure you've already thought of that.
Also, if you're jumping him with any kind of padding on his legs (closed boots, polos) I'd skip that, as you want him to feel the impact and want to avoid it. Though I'm sure you've already thought of that.
@knightrider ...
I remember those times...
Bamboo pole with sharp carpet tacks where you whacked the horse and soak the legs think it was alcohol so "poling" really stung.
Thankfully it was not done to any at places I rode...but we saw it at shows occurring.
Nasty, nasty method of training, if you call that training.
Those I know call it abuse.
🐎...
I remember those times...
Bamboo pole with sharp carpet tacks where you whacked the horse and soak the legs think it was alcohol so "poling" really stung.
Thankfully it was not done to any at places I rode...but we saw it at shows occurring.
Nasty, nasty method of training, if you call that training.
Those I know call it abuse.
🐎...
Another case of 'check saddle fit' as part of the re-schooling, I think. A tight saddle can often make a horse appear careless whereas it is simply trying to avoid flexing its (most commonly) forelegs, or to get it's feet back on the ground as quickly as possible to minimise the anticipated 'pinch'.
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