I took a bunch of pictures for you guys... Before I post them though - I have a question for all of you experts out there! Rusty is pretty reliable - he doesn't buck or do anything mean (that I know of). He can be quite lazy though - looking for any excuse to slow down to a walk or sneak off the rail in the arena. Lately though, he pins his ears back when I ask for a trot and does the same at the canter. Now, keep in mind that I've only ridden him about 4 times recently, due to being sick. He is quite out of shape in that respect.
I thought my western tack might be the problem - newish bridle/bit and a saddle that might not fit 100%. I checked all the tack for the obvious problems - rubbing, pinching, etc. and found nothing. I decided to work him in English tack tonight, because he is more used to that.
I lunged him with his saddle and just a halter. I let him warm up for 1o minutes or so, walking and trotting in both directions. Just for kicks, I asked him to canter. He pinned his ear, shook his head and did a little crow hop. Weird. I stopped him and checked all of his tack - everything seemed ok. I reversed his direction and tried the same thing - he cantered a few steps but looked like he was about to buck. Interesting. He doesn't act fresh like other horses - I think he is too lazy!
I decided to get on and see what he was like while riding. I double-checked my tack again and everything seemed fine. He was good to walk/halt and circle. Back up was fine. But asking him to trot, back go the ears. It isn't just a flicker back and forth to listen, his ears were really back. He wasn't lame - no limping, bobbing or sensitivity there. I tried a few times in both directions and got the same response. I didn't even bother with the canter - why push him at this point...
So - long story here -but anyone have any ideas? I think his tack is fine. He just saw the farrier last week and he said his feet were great. The vet just checked him 2 weeks ago and thought he seemed fine. She even checked his teeth. Everything else about his personality/attitude is fine - just when asked to work he pins his ears and seems agitated. I always check his back when I am groooming him - I gently squeeze down both sides of his spine to see if there might be a bit of tenderness (edited to add: I know this isn't necessarily an indicator of true back pain...). He never seems to feel off there either. Feel free to offer any advice you might have...
Here are a few pics to make up for the long post!
The leaves are starting to change colours in the background. There are often wild turkeys roaming in the back field.
Cat penning? Cat team sorting? Rusty and I are herding that cat. The picture is blurry because we are moving so fast. LOL. We were just walking, really. The cat sat on the mounting block meowing at me most of my ride. Too cute.
Tack on the fence after my ride. Note to self: Clean tack sometime this year....
9 comments:
Hmmm... is it possible that he's out somewhere? Do you have an equine chiro or equine massage therapist that can check?
My horse, Baby Doll does the same thing, but only when asked to canter.
I don't like going faster than a trot or fast walk, so I don't even bother. But my neighbor tried her and she crowhopped and laid her ears flat.
I've checked tack, too. And her teeth were floated in July, feet trimmed last month.
She hasn't seen a chiro, though. So I'm not sure.
She does tend to be lazy and is even barn sour at times.
I'll be checking back to see what kind of responses you get.
Hey I never noticed Rusty's cute striped nose before. It reminds me of an Oreo Cookie, except the outside of the cookie is vanilla and the inside is chocolate cream! hehe
Glad you got to spend some time with Rusty today :)
~Lisa
Just a note - his teeth were floated in March and checked again with his ulcer in July...
Cdn - that is what I was thinking - I don't know any eq. chiros - will post to our local message boards to see if I can get a name...
Lisa - That's why I wonder if a bit of it is attitude...If he pins his ears, maybe I won't ask him to work...
His striped nose is cute...a reverse oreo cookie - that is funny!
First, I love the cat penning pic! LOL, Lester and I used to herd the BO's greyhounds when they wouldn't come to him so we would round them up...
It's good that you are checking all that you are. Since nothing seems obvious I would venture to guess he has become lazy and just doesn't feel like he needs to do any work. Though what cdn suggests is not a bad idea at all. but he may just be testing to see what he can get away with.
Good luck!
I'm just going to add my two cents in here. I also have an appy, and even though he can be very forward sometimes he likes to add in what I call an appy-tude. Meaning the ears pinned and sometimes even a shake of the head. There is nothing wrong with him physically or mentally. He is just letting me know sometimes "mooooom this is work and it's haaaaard." The same thing with jumping. He lays his ears back and grits his teeth. It' snot that he's uncomfortable or doesn't like to jump, it's as if he's intimidating the jump and attacking it. He is very eager to jump and loves doing so. Everyone at the barn has come to know and love the Possum F-U look as we call it. It has just been part of his personaility that we accept as long as it stays at sneering looks with no action behind it. SO just something to think about. I have heard some similiar stores of other appy owners as well.
I'm leaning toward Appy-tute too. Lazy horses do have a tendency to pin their ears and give little crowhops, it is just their way of saying that they would really prefer to not have to work!
Now, if you really do suspect back pain, but aren't getting any tenderness responses, watch his feet.
Misalignment does not always mean that a horse is tender to the touch in their actual back, but will show up in how a horse picks his feet up when traveling. Usually it shows up in the back feet. Have someone lead him away from you in a straight line and then back to you, at a walk. Check for toe dragging and a shorter stride in one or the other. Then do the same thing at a trot. At the trot you can also watch his hips and make sure that both of them are rising and falling evenly.
Things you may notice on the front feet would be one knee coming up higher than the other, sort of like they are having to pop it up and out to get it to work, a stabbing motion when they put it down or toe dragging.
Really, what you are looking for is any shortness or limitation in his footfalls.
You can move to the lunge line and watch again. Really watch his inside hind leg and stifle. Look for fluid movement all the way from the stifle to the hoof as he picks it up and sets it down. You will want to see him reaching up under himself and using that leg for balance and impulsion. You won't see a lot of it at the walk, but it should become more apparent at the trot and obvious at the lope. Watch his legs when you ask for a transition. Make sure that he is "powering" from the hind end to get to the next gait, rather than popping his neck up to lift himself into it. If you still aren't seeing any abnormal shortness of stride or hitches. I'm almost positive Mr Rusty is just expressing his displeasure at having to work.
Sorry-that got kinda long-but I hope it helps.
My appy also displays the appy-tude... most times out on the trail or in the ring her ears are back. Especially at the canter...
However, it might not hurt to have him checked just to be on the safe side...
Laura - I just asked my riding instructor about that, because Lostine always pins her ears back when I ask for a faster gait. He said that a lot of horses just do that and it is nothing to be concerned about. It seems you checked every other avenue.
I know i am late to the game - but am leaning towards the appy-tude crowd.
If wants to see if he can get out of work - try to work through it with him on the lounge line first. If he pins his ears increase his lounging time by 5 min. And I mean real lounging - it hurts nothing to make them lope for 5 min straight one direction and then repeat for the other direction.
Bugs me when people say "but I do lounge my horse!" and they have gone out there and let them walk and trot for a couple minutes loped maybe a little bit then called it good - that's not lounging, it doesn't warm them up, it just gets them buzzed up - horses are not people and need a longer warm-up time than most people think - not saying you do, just generalizing there.
After a good workout then get oh him, walk-trot-lope and see how it all goes.
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