Tucking up the legs...

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marion95

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Hi,

Can anyone give me some advice on exercises to encourage my horse to tuck up her legs when showjumping?

She tends to jump HUGE over most jumps, but just dangles her legs. At the current height we are jumping - BN, Intro BE etc, this isn't too much of a problem, but as the jumps get bigger I think we will start knocking more.

I have tried grid work, but she still doesn't seem to learn from that....

Any help much appreciated.

Oh and just to say she isn't being lazy it's just as if she doesn't understand the technique.
 
Maybe cross poles either side a decent size striaght to give the impresion its bigger kind of thing? Have you tried jumping her big to see if she stops balooning? Gird work, with say five bouncers normaly does the trick of the snapping legs.
 
Yes and she does jump better bigger - she's very athletic, but I don't feel we're ready yet to be jumping much larger courses as she's still quite green.

Hmm, haven't tied 5 in a row - although I have tried up to 4!
 
Yes because she does knock them sometimes and also when I say she jumps properly bigger I mean about 4ft, so there will definitely be in between stages - plus she is just putting in a lot more effort than she needs and it doesn't make for a smooth round!
 
You are right to want to encourage more economical jumping, they waste time in air when it comes to BE! And also they need to learn to snap legs up to keep out of trouble! /\ poles are the best thing for snapping legs up, on an oxer with a higher back rail, and also using placing poles to get her in deep and make her lift her shoulders.
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Spot does exactley the same. Someone said the other day we will work out his limit when he has to start bending his legs
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I wouldn't worry too much about it unless it becomes an issue and your horse starts having poles
 
One of the exercises we used to do with Amy to get her to use herself better was placing poles on an upright in the shape of an arrow head. Wow, what a difference it made. Whilst she never dangled her legs, improvements can always be made, and the result was that she really used her shoulders more. Perhaps this could help.
 
Yes that's a good idea. I have tried that in the past and she did always clear it by a mile, but not sure she used her legs more. Will keep trying.

Thanks for all your ideas.
 
Bounces are good for this and grids with varied distances - eg bounce / bounce / 2 strides / 1 stride / bounce. Also, jumping from walk encourages them to snap legs up quicker. Good luck!
 
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