Showjumping tips

[hj49]

My horse has always not been very neat infront, legs not together etc. Anyway, after a year off, since then he has been knocking poles alot (had a year off two years ago).
I find that spreads he is fine, its the uprights.
He is quiet a forward and keen jumper, and if i get him on his hocks he normally jumps better but not always
Is there any tips for how to get a horse to not knock poles?
Recently i've been using short poles and making a V shape so he has to pick up, this worked but he got a bit lazy with it and after a while couldn't be bothered to pick his feet up as much.
He absolutley loves jumping, hes just lazy with his front feet!
Maybe its a strength issue?
can anyone suggest exercises to do, with poles etc?
Ive tried doing raised trotting poles which he can now to fantastic!
Any help would be greatful

[lulah]

Bounces , triples and doubles with placing poles before,after and in between jumps should get him concentrating more. Keep it varied and intresting. Have you also loose schooled over jumps? That way you can really asess him from the ground.

[prm]

I always found two bounce high cross poles with a pole in between one stride to a spread or upright with the v always helped. Have you tired white boots never tired personally but someone did say to me it helps.

[pipandwill]

Agree with above, bounces, doubles, grids.
But our old connemara was awful at uprights, would always have them down, so at home we put v's on the straights, just basically putting two poles in a v on the fence, they dont necessarily have to touch straight away but it made him pick his feet up.

[GinaGeo]

Some horse's aren't naturally tidy jumpers, and despite our best efforts never will be. My Connemara isn't, he quite like's racking up cricket scores when Show Jumping. Unfortunate really, as he's got a fantastic jump in him and is very bold. He just lacks desire to clear poles. Hedges, logs and solid XC fences, they're another story

His weakness was keeping a consistent rhythm, really improving the canter helped that, making the canter as rideable as possible - this he hated as he "knew best". He's still a devil for sneaking a little stride in and getting himself under fences, but if you try and ride him too much he gets flustered and gets worse. I had to learn to sit really quietly and let him sort the jump out himself.

He was started too early with jumping, taught to jump before the canter was fully established and before he was strong enough or confident enough to do it. It took a lot of re-schooling to undo the side effects of being rushed early on. He also had a lot of back pain as young ridden horse due to bad shoeing. It's all very much linked I think. If you stand on his hoof/coronet band with your own foot he doesn't move his leg away, so I do wonder whether he has very poor circulation and his lower leg is numb. Would account for his lack of conscience over poles, he can hit a pole and come around and make the same mistake again and again. My youngster, who's a very tidy jumper is very aware if you stand on his hooves. He however, isn't and never has been shod - whether this is a factor for this I don't know.

I never jump him over singular fences at home, always through grids or related distances. The V- poles have been used in the past as well. It's all helped but, he's never going to be a clean Show Jumper. Some days now, he'll jump a lovely double clear in the first round and then get over bold in the second round and come out with sixteen faults. No real rhyme or reason to it, even if he hits fences perfectly. He's retired from the Show Jumping ring now and hunts through winter and nannies babies round XC courses in the summer. Toying with having a play at Team Chasing too. If it was just the odd pole here or there I'd persevere, but with it being 4/5 fences in each round it's not really worth it, especially as the rhythm's sorted, we can hit fences at the right place and he'll still have them down for no real reason. May as well do something we both enjoy together instead. The youngster does the SJ now and he loves it.