Picking Feet up over poles!!!

[Scottish_Miss]

My youngster (LW 15.0 cobby) is allowed to start work again in school but only in walk and can do some exercises over raised small poles to engage/strenghten his top line etc after shoulder muscle injury. However he has not jumped before and really doesn't bother where he puts his feet - he just ambles his way through not batting an eye if he hits them.
I did not use boots on him to deliberitly give him the 'knock' to encourage him to pick up feet. I am now worried that when we start jumping we are not going to actually take of......

He also used to go through the fencing in the field in the same manner - kept going untill he got free with his feet.....




eeeakkkk

How do I encourage him to pick up his feet.

Anyone else had a horse as bad as this!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[MissDeMeena]

Well they can't really knock down a pole on the floor..
As you would with trotting poles line a load up, but closer together than trotting poles (obviously).. then he'll have to pick his feet up, as if he trips over one, he'll trip over a whole line of them...
If you're just walking over one pole at a time, then he wont really bother with them, however 10 or so in a row and he might start looking where he's going.

 

[Scottish_Miss]

We were doing 6 poles with alternative ends raised about half a foot to a foot and he still mashed through!!!!!!!!!!!

Do you mean bundle them together so its a bigger knock he gets....?

I know William Fox Pitt use old telegraph poles!!!! Not sure if I can get them...
Arghhhh

 

[MissDeMeena]

yeah, telegraph poles would be good, but maybe a bit much after an injury.
Don't bother raising them off the floor at all, then as i said above, they can't be knocked down!!!!.. given the choice of treding on flat ground, or treding on a pole, he'll learn to pick the flat ground..
As he's recovering from an injury, you'd want to keep it fairly easy to start off with anyway... poles on the floor will do far more than you think they will too..

 

[Scottish_Miss]

Ok shall keep trying -thank you for advice.