Does your horse keep refusing jumps? Veterinary Practitioner Simon Joyner is here to explain why this might be.

Q: My horse has started to refuse jumps, could this be a sign his suffering from some sort of pain or lameness in his legs?

A: Yes this can be a sign associated with forelimb and hindlimb lameness, back or pelvic problems.

In these cases your vet should always look for any obvious signs of lameness to find out if it’s related to pain coming from your horse’s back, pelvic or sacroiliac areas.

If there is any pain in these areas this will have an effect on the way your horse takes off and rounds over a jump.

He’ll try to avoid jumping as doing this causes him pain. This is a reasonably common sign to reflect pain coming from higher up regions in the leg and back.