conformation and technique...questions

[Shiny McShine]

I made a similar post to this in the dressage forum but I know very little about jumping so i will need more help here :).
I have some questions which are...

What conformation would you be looking for in a jumping horse? What separates a horse that can jump from one that can't in terms of conformation? What conformation would you avoid in a jumping horse?

And...
What are you looking for in a horses jumping technique? What does a good technique look like? And what are some bad techniques? Can you improve these through training or not?

[rocketman]

Good jumping horses come in all shapes and sizes - attitude is probably more important - brave enough to take on a fence, chicken enough not to want to hit it.

I prefer a medium sized, short-bodied horse with a fairly upright shoulder and pastern. They snap up their front legs quicker than a horse with a long sloping shoulder (which will probably move better for dressage) and have a more adjustable stride. The longer the horse's natural stride, the harder it will be to adjust the horse to the correct distance for take off.

And they have to like it. Look for one that pricks its ears and takes you to the fence (you shouldn't have to push).

Good jumping technique is whatever works. However, basically the horse should snatch up its knees and fold its front legs tightly. It should throw away the back legs in mid air. If it tucks the hind legs up under its belly, it will never jump a big fence. Horses that like jumping like to be airborne and will almost dwell in the air. Horses that are in a hurry to drop the landing gear are afraid of flying. The horse should jump with a round back, not hollow, and lower its head at the point of take off.

Poor technique is dangling the forelegs (or even worse, hanging one foreleg), jumping hollow with head high, pulling the hindlegs forward under the belly, twisting or squirming over the fence (the front legs go to one side and the hind legs go to the other side). Some horses will 'feel' for the pole, literally measuring the jump by braille - not good. Overjumping or pop-ups may look spectacular, but when the jumps get big they're not going to make it. Pop ups are when the horse jumps too high vertically but not across the jump (bad news on spreads.) I quite like a green horse that overjumps, but a more trained horse should have a better measure of the size of the fence.

Having said all this, I could also tell you top Grand Prix horses that break all the rules and still win.