Jumping exercises to help a horse who is lazy with his legs

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adsthelad

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As the title suggests, my horse (16.3 middleweight WB) is quite lazy with his legs! He tends to let his front legs hang down, but even worse is that he just lets his back end trail behind - which means that while he'll pop over 90cm fairly easily, when we start to go higher to even 1.05 ish he becomes much more likely to knock them. It's pretty obvious in videos where you can see his hind legs dragging.

So, now I ask all you knowledgeable H&H people - how can I help him be more careful with all of his legs? If possible, also some exercises to help give his canter more bounce - he's quite prone to getting long and flat. I was thinking maybe grids, or lots of (small) bounces... There's also square poles at my yard, could they be of any use? It doesn't help that he knows very well that it won't really hurt him when he knocks them down! :eek:
 
Well, having had lazy leg and lazy back issues myself, I highly recommend some work on laterals to improve on the belly and back strength.

Never overlook laterals and get the back man/woman out to check if there's anything underlying.

Polework. cavaletti, grid... classical work in hand is very beneficial to the overall carriage so look out for something like that in your area.
 
Put a straight bar jump up, then rest two poles horizontally/at a slight angle towards the middle, one end on the pole that makes the jump and the other end on the floor, to make sort of a v shape... if that makes sense, which is probably doesnt!
Like this... if this link works https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=v...RG456gZEM:&usg=__hHm6McNqBxDoIWsGalSCW5Q6S9E=
These have helped my mare be more snappy in front but im not sure if it will work behind!
You could also try some high cross poles, again these have helped my mare in front and with straightness
 
Is this the same when the horse is unsaddled? Worth checking as saddle fit can cause this as the horse can be reluctant to move its shoulders into the saddle, also do you use a stud girth? I always use one for jumping as they get marks all over them from front feet even without studs, I had a horse that dangled and wouldn't jump through without one.
 
Thanks for the suggestions, I will give those a go! Any specific pole work/cavaletti exercises or just in general? I haven't jumped him without a saddle before but I might look into doing that to have a look what he is like without. No I don't use a stud girth, dont know how much of a difference it would make as I'm not sure he's ever been jumped in one
 
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