Why some horses do this wen they jump?

Question

I have seen horses who when they jump they raise their legs and there all nice and square and symmetrical.Well then i have seen horses who raise their legs but they are off to the side a little and instead of picking them up straight they r just throwing their legs off to the side...what makes a horse throw(per say)them off 2 the side?

Answer 1

it depends how high the jump is i think, they dont want to bang there legs to they lift them up higher.

Answer 2

That can be for several reasons.

A horse that is well conformed and uses himself properly is a thing to behold over a fence. These are the one that snap their knees up to their chin and are using themselves in a smooth rounded manner.

Unfortunately, no horse is perfect. Those that are encumbered by poor conformation and straight shoulders, can only physically do so much. These horses will not exhibit picture perfect form over fences, but they will do the best they can with what they have to work with.

Sometimes due to rider error or poor approach, the horse will try to compensate by swinging their legs to the side.

Then there are the lazy horses that don't really use themselves at all and simply launch themselves over a fence. They jump hollow and swing their legs. George Morris used to call them "splinter belly jumpers". I can't describe them any better than that.

The last thing I will bring up is saddle fit.

In my experience, too many riders set their saddles too far forward and this interferes with the horses shoulder movement. A horse that is forever slamming it scapula's on a hard saddle tree will soon become sour over fences.

I have seen this many times where the horse will lose interest for no other reason than because if hurts.

Thanks for an interesting question.

Answer 3

this usually happens when a horse is taken over the jump from an angle. their weight is not evenly distributed, so they have to compensate by throwing their legs out to the side so they don't lose their balance. this usually happens in Jumpers, not Hunters, because cutting corners and taking off from an angle cuts time off. in hunters, the emphasis is on form, not speed, so the riders take more care in aligning their horses for a smooth and square takeoff.  

Answer 4

its just the way the horse jumps !.. its the same with humans, some people have different jumping techniques than others.. :)