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Discussion on Horse flings legs when jumping
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Posted on Tuesday, Sep 12, 2000 - 4:38 pm:
My friend's horse is a big boy (16'3) and jumps willingly over pretty much anything (so far up to about 2'6). However, he does not tuck his front legs up to his chest when he jumps; rather he flings his feet over the fence. Sometimes he tucks them up, but to one side - not in the middle. Is this something that can be worked through, or is it a conformation thing?
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Posted on Wednesday, Sep 13, 2000 - 3:47 pm:
Some horses never tuck their feet adequately and let them hang down. I assume he is wanted as a hunter prospect and in these competitions it is very important that the legs are tucked. Flinging his feet over the fences can create a dangerous situation, where he may catch himself and stumble or fall over the fence.
When does he jump well? Is it at the beginning of the session, at the end or is it a random event?
Have you checked the saddle fit? I have seen the difference in a horse with a badly fitted saddle who then had a correctly fitted one. It can make a difference how the horse jumps and they may twist if in pain or demonstrate other evasive maneuvers.
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Posted on Thursday, Sep 14, 2000 - 9:46 am:
Actually, he jumps well at the beginning of a session, but then he sort of slowly falls apart. He's 6 years old and has always flung his feet out. It almost seems like he gets worried and can't wait to get his feet back on the ground. As a youngster, he did have a traumatic event where (as I understand it) he got caught up on a fence (he was not being ridden - too young)and was injured. I don't know about saddle fit, but I can't help thinking it's something to do with the past injury.
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Posted on Thursday, Sep 14, 2000 - 4:53 pm:
Also, some horses just do not wish to lift their legs. Not much you can do about it if that's the case. But, some horses just haven't been "shown the light", so to speak. Lots of gymnastic work, bounces, tight distances, will help, if there is help to be gotten. As for the crookedness - either something hurts, or he's being lazy. Grid work with Xs (with high sides) will help if he's being lazy. What was his injury? It could be that he never truly recovered from that - joint out of alignment, muscle sorness/atrophy from over-compensating elsewhere.
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Posted on Friday, Sep 15, 2000 - 9:28 am:
I'm not 100% sure, but I think he tried to jump a fence and got hung up on it. I vaguely recall something about his back being affected. Thanks for your input.
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Posted on Friday, Sep 15, 2000 - 12:30 pm:
Hi Jennifer  I was wondering a couple of things. How old is your friend's gelding? How much experience has he had? When the jump is bad, is the pace still smooth? When he jumps, does he land on the alternate lead (if he approaches on the left lead, does he land on the right?) How much experience has your friend had? Are they working with a trainer at all? My opinion may change once I have more info, but here goes. As for the flinging of the legs, I'm assuming you mean that over the time of the session the jump becomes more a big canter stride rather than a jump. Being as big as he is, 2'6" isn't much of a jump for him. It may be that as he becomes more relaxed over the jump, he realizes he doesn't need to work very hard to get over it. I've had horses his size not really start to work until about 3'6". I'm not saying your friend should immediately raise her fence height(!); however, she may find that until she does, his form may not improve much over the smaller stuff. I think gymnastics would be a good idea as long as he not a young horse and your friend is somewhere in the solid intermediate or advanced rider range. Also, lots of trot fences. Keep in mind if it's wrong at the trot, it will only be worse at the canter. There are lots of things you can do to improve a horses overall jumping style, but until I know more about what we're dealing with, I'm a little reluctant to suggest much more (if you're interested in my .02 cents worth )
The swinging legs is tougher. Unfortunately, the horse is jumping more efficiently when he swings his legs in that he doesn't have to jump as high and once they start to do that I've found it's really hard to break them of it. A couple things to watch for ... if he's always landing on the same lead, he's either stiff to the other side or your friend is stronger on the side she asks that lead for. If he tends not to jump in the middle of the fence, I'd definitely start looking at your friends aids. It's possible that he has an injury or soreness somewhere, but if he's not showing any discomfort at any other time, I would tend to look more at your friend's aids than at a problem with the horse.
Nancy
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Posted on Tuesday, Sep 19, 2000 - 3:41 pm:
Thanks, Nancy. To answer some of your questions, the horse is 6 years old and he's been in training since he was 4. He was doing quite well at first (still flinging legs, etc) but then he was sent to a "professional trainer" for about a year and when he came back he was a mess. The trainer evidently was pretty rough with him (to the point where the horse would get visibly upset whenever he heard the trainer's voice!). Now that he's back with his rider he's doing better. His pace is pretty steady overall, except that he sometimes pauses before takeoff. I think that may be rider error, though. The rider is a steady rider, but I think hasn't had a lot of experience jumping a green horse. Your impression that over the session the jumping becomes a big canter stride isn't quite right. It's hard to explain but it seems like he can't wait to get his feet back on the ground. When the jumps go up (and we're not talking more than 2'9), his legs are better, but he pulls them up really high and overjumps the fence. Sometimes he jumps like a deer. I guess we are seeing some improvement, but it comes and goes, so that's why I wondered if there was some base reason he does this. Thanks again for your input!
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Posted on Tuesday, Sep 19, 2000 - 4:00 pm:
It is amazing how many times I have read this - on this site, and others -
"He was doing quite well at first (still flinging legs, etc) but then he was sent to a "professional trainer" for about a year and when he came back he was a mess. The trainer evidently was pretty rough with him.....etc..."
It must cost a fortune to send a horse to a "professional trainer" for a year. Would it not be more economical, and would the owner then not have the control over the horse's treatment, to spend this money using a local trainer, or importing a trainer once a week or whatever? I would never dream of sending a horse of mine away to a trainer, out of my sight and out of my control and general supervision.
From the number of posts I have read, there must be thousands of horses that have been abused [and are currently being abused] by "trainers". It seems to me that this little horse was probably rapped, and after firstly tangling himself in a fence and then this treatment, his legs are all over the place because he is continually scared of being hurt.
Why not stick to ground work for a while, nice relaxed outrides, let him relax and get over his fears. Then start with little jumps, fun logs, exercises - and perhaps if he has learned to trust his rider, he will start to enjoy it.
If the horse does not enjoy what you want him to do, you will never be successful with him.
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Posted on Tuesday, Sep 19, 2000 - 5:07 pm:
Maybe I didn't explain well enough. My friend trailered her horse over to the trainer's place a couple of times a week for lessons for the year. She rode him (although the trainer rode him too at a few shows). I personally think she/they were pushing him too fast (I probably don't push my horse fast enough, but that's another story!). The trainer even had her using draw reins for awhile (it was pretty ugly). I totally agree with you, though, about your philosophy.
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Posted on Wednesday, Oct 4, 2000 - 1:12 pm:
Hmmm. You're right ... I'm not getting the right picture. Would this be an accurate picture of his jumping attempt? He loses pace as he approaches the jump. Then he seems to almost jump off all four feet at the same time sometimes twisting his front end and then lands in sort of a heap on the other side having definitely lost forward momentum over the jump.
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Posted on Wednesday, Oct 4, 2000 - 5:38 pm:
I am an equine chiropractor and have encountered this problem in treating steeplechasers. I have had success with this problem by adjusting the anterior rib heads, as they connect to the sternum. I suggest you find an equine chiropractor to determine if this may be a factor.
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