Crowhops after fences?

Question

I have an 8 year old arabian, and he is very capable of jumping. He's jumped over 3' very easily in the past, and never had any trouble. However, recently, he's taken to crowhopping [jumping over nothing, like mini-bucks] after lines, even if the jumps are just 2 feet. He isn't in pain, we've had him checked. He's very spirited, so this may just be a thing he does out of high spirits..? I'm not sure though. Help would be appreciated. ^^;

Answer 1

Durrr he has spirit, he's an arab ;D

Hrm. Well i'd lunge him before each ride, not only for ground work but also to get that left over spirit in him, maybe it'll help. Cant be too sure though. He's 8, so maybe once you ride him a bit more and he ages he'll lose the habit. My Appy used to do crowhops but he quickly grew out of them after me working with him over long periods of time.

Best of luck m'dear.

Answer 2

Maybe he has too much energy. Try lunging him before you ride. I don't want to be breed biased, but Arabians tend to have a lot of stamina. He could very easily just have plenty of energy.

Also, he could be smarting off to you. If he never used to do it, it is something unique to you. Any time he crowhops, pull his head up, urge him forward, and tap him with a crop. Don't keep letting him get away with it.

Answer 3

I have a friend who's seasoned event horse does the same thing. Its almost like a little victory dance after the fence. Sending him forward into a really positive, forward canter seems to help. Or you can halt or turn immediatly. Basically, you just want to give him something else to do.

Answer 4

After the jump have a ground poles for him to canter over. It will make him think.  

Also do some some rollbacks. Circles. Ask for a move forward canter. Grids.

He probaply needs some thing to think about after wards. Keep him thinking.

Do some small x's  and veritcals.

Answer 5

yes i would say that your horse does have high spirits. i had a 3 year old tennesse walker and because of his age he liked to play around. i bet as your horse gets older he will lose the bucking spirits.

Answer 6

Something is wrong or different. Think of any changes made recently....new saddle, gained weight (you or the horse), new routine.  Just because you've had him checked doesn't mean he's not having a problem.  Horses can't tell the vet what hurts.  Double check your tack, his feet and legs, his feed, and his back.  An elevated temp, pulse, or breath rate at rest may indicate a horse in discomfort.  No one knows your horse better than you...so if it doesn't feel right, it probably isn't.

Answer 7

Haha. We have one of those, and wouldn't you know, she's an arab too! She loves jumping(she's 13.1 and would happy gallop at and over a five foot jump), and it's just her way of having a little bit of fun after the jump. She's perfectly fine-- however, it's not that much fun for us.

What you need to do is YANK on that outside rein he starts crow hopping and drive him foreward.