  We present the covariant multisymplectic formalism for the so-called cubic
Horndeski theories and discuss the geometrical and physical interpretation of
the constraints that arise in the unified Lagrangian-Hamiltonian approach. We
analyse in more detail the covariant Hamiltonian formalism of these theories
and we show that there are particular conditions that must be satisfied for the
Poincar\'e-Cartan form of the Lagrangian to project onto $J^1\pi$. From this
result, we study when a formulation using only multimomenta is possible. We
further discuss the implications of the general case, in which the projection
onto $J^1\pi$ conditions are not met.
