Hi all,
I'm looking for suggestion or hopefully someone with the same experience.
One of our horses ( a gypsy cob) is intermittently lame due to an as yet undetermined cause. The affected fore leg is however the one that's a little pigeon toed. She can be fine for ages in the field but almost every time I try to ride or trot her in the school she favours one side, even in straight lines.sometimes with a little buck as I ask for the trot. When hacking out however, this disappears and boy can she shift. I don't trot her on hard ground but sometimes she will break into one on a road, still minus the limp. This has lead some people to the conclusion that she is just lazy (she is unfit) and trying it on just to get out of work. I understand that there are other factors when hacking out that could cause the discomfort to be disguised so am reluctant to push her too much in the school in case I cause more damage. Pretty much she has become a dope on a rope (when enclosed that is) whom we just use for sticking kids or beginner friends on to gain confidence whilst just being up there.
Her ground manners could do with improving though so have tried join up with her. The thing is, as soon as I step in the round pen she's at my side immediately and follows whatever turns I make. She also does this the majority of the time in the large school. I like to send away after a horse has started to go away (which I do in the field if they won't be caught). Which leads me to query 2 things:
1. Am I being counter productive/confusing by sending away a horse that is already with me? do I just wait for her to lose interest then try sending her? And
If she doesn't and I still send her away whilst she's with me, and I confusing her
2. More importantly, given her leg, I'm reluctant to work her in the send away, especially as it's on a circle for fear of aggravating it. Can I ever achieve join up properly without sending her away at speed for that length of time?
Or do you think the benefits outweigh the risk? :-/ its one thing to be paying for a horse that can't really be ridden properly but quite another if the giant pet dog in question is rude and bargey whilst living the retirement life, haha.
Thanks for taking the time to read this. All suggestions gratefully received.
First things first: before you can do any work with her, you need to know the cause of the lameness, it may be soreness in a joint as she's pigeon toed, but unless the vet has given the go ahead to work her, i really don't think you should.
It could be expensive to find the cause with maybe nerve blocks?
She may be permanently unlevel on the soft going.
She already has joined up with you, so you don't really need to do join up again.
If she's bargy & rude, you can do all sorts of groundwork with her using the Dually to teach her manners; she'll enjoy it the more inventive you are.
How old is she?
Hi korkeee,
As beryl states above, you really should find out the reason for her being lame. There may be some tendon or ligament involved that shows lameness only on occasion. Whatever the reason may be, it's important to know what's wrong. Only then you can answer your own questions about riding or even keeping her!
Now horses being flight anmals would put their survival at stake when they show lameness or other impairness when out in the open, so maybe your she hides her problems when out on a hack.
Since she seems to be able to do things at a walk and groundwork, I suggest you do Duallywork with her to improve her behavior and see if she would follow you over "uncertain" terrain, a tarp and other groundobstacles that ask her trust in you.
Good luck and keep us posted,
Miriam
Totally agree with Beryl and Miriam. I doubt very much that horses can ever can be " trying it on just to get out of work". The little buck is indicative of something being wrong too. Often horses will tend to show there lameness more when doing circle work rather than road work as that is when more pressure is put on the hooves so it hurts the horse more. Two of my horses are lame on their front hooves in circle work but they are fine to be ridden out on the road. Ouyen my beautiful, fat, warmblood has pasterns that are a little wide which cause her lameness especially in circles. This first occurred when she was just commencing her dressage training at 5 years of age. So very disappointing for me. She was bred by the Victorian Police from a Hannovarian stallion and sold to me ay auction as a 2 year old. She is 18 now And after years of being ridden just occasionally she now has a chemical nerve block in her worst hoof and is amazing on the roads - always so happy to get out. My uggs also goes lame in circles especially so during winter. He is a bit pigeon toed too. The vets have been unable to diagnose his problem. Natural balance shoes help a little but when it is really dry as at present he is fine.
invisible like button checked :D x
Hi Korkeee, great advice offered by all!