[HappyJoy]

I like to jump Rowan for fun, he certainly isn't a jumping horse, so what I do is for fun only. He has issues picking up his feet nicely. Not that he trips, but over trot-overs he tends to hit them some. He doesn't even try to pick up his feet over them, I give him loads of rein and he doesn't even glance down, just plows right along. He does much better with jumps, mostly if they are at least a foot high, but over the itty bittys he kind of does the same thing, just keeps going but gives a half hearted hop over it. At trot and canter.

Laziness isn't an issue with him, he is very willing and responsive. How do I get him to apply more energy in lifting his feet? I've lunged him over trot overs and jumps to watch his movement, and it was the same, trotovers= barely any height in his legs, but has nice basic form and is well rounded over jumps.

[Holly_Star]

What you really need to do is get his hocks under him, then he can use his back legs to pick up his front ones more efficiently. On tiddly little cross poles you should approach them at a bouncy canter, short stride and 'riding up hill' I learnt all of this because my pony was exactly the same! Good luck!

[CowGirlUp1833]

Try implementing some gymnastic work into his training. This will help create a more responsive, attentive horse over fences. There are many threads on gymnastics, so do a search if you want more info Also, check out the book 101 Jumping Exercises for 101 fun gymnastic jumping exercises....great book!

[JBandRio]

Along the lines of what Holly is sayig, you need to help him balance and make an effort instead of just plowing through. Set up trot poles, spaced according to his natural trot stride (start at 4' between poles and adjust from there) with double whatever your spacing is between the last pole and the jump.

That said, many horses don't make any effort over anything small. If that is the issue, there isn't much you can do other than making the fences higher, and I wouldn't really suggest that unless you have experience working with horses who are learning to jump. Now THAT said, up to about 2' is ok with you to experiment with. That can be walked over if necessary, and you can't get into TOO much trouble with that height

[HappyJoy]

Don't worry, I keep the jumps small . Considering I do this all in my pasture using barrels, sawhorses and thin boards to make up my course, riding it all in a western saddle LOL. I do crossrails, usually with the center at about 6 inches. I recently added another with the center at a little over a foot, and it is made with barrels at the sides, however tall they are. He does well over that one, but his effort is weak sometimes on lower ones. I won't go much higher than that because much more and the saddle horn will start to catch me in the stomach.

Thanks everyone for the help