Am I on the right track?

Sukistokes2

Sukistokes2

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My little gypsy cob is now six years old, he was backed at four and has been brought on by a professional rider, riding from my yard, slowly and carefully. He has done really well and over all has been really good. He had one spell of spooky forward at speed, which really knocked my confidence and turned out to be a back issue. The chiro vet came and he was treated and returned to work. Since then there has been another unrelated back issue, apparently linked to saddle length, again treated. New saddle purchased, fitted and going well. However, over the last few weeks behavior has again began to deteriorate, spooking, leaping and mild bucking. It has culminated in a vertical cat leap which has "put out" his riders back. I spent most of yesterday in A and E with her. I had put his poor attitude down to spring grass and his age, you know the "kevin" years. However if anyone else had written the above i would have written, in reply "look for the pain issue" So i have taken my own advice and booked the chiro vet and the dentist and will be contacting the saddle fitter ASAP. I am also going to make sure that the rider is completely well before allowing her up again. I was not happy she had hidden such a serious condition from me, which could affect my horse and really made for a difficult situation yesterday but most of all put her in a lot of pain and could have been really serious, as well as gave my horse a really poor experience.

Do you think this is the right track or do I find a schooling yard for him and try and "sort" out the attitude?
 
Sorry I'm a bit confused. What condition did your rider keep from you? Did her back injury occur a while ago and come to a head yesterday or happen yesterday?

I too would check for pain first. It's a win win. If you find some thing wrong you know why and if you don't, it gives you greater conviction to sort the behaviour.
 
Hi, I think I read your post about this over on Facebook (I'm not stalking you I promise!) and you mentioned that his rider got really uptight about hearing motorbikes in the distance. Is that right? Its just that if your boy is young and sensitive then her getting really uptight may well have been what set him off? Obviously worth getting everything checked, but if I'm right and you are the same person (sorry if I'm wrong!) then i would be considering a different person to help bring him on or perhaps a couple of weeks in a schooling yard.
Hope everything is fine with him and you are able to get things sorted and start having some fun :)
 
annagain said:
Sorry I'm a bit confused. What condition did your rider keep from you? Did her back injury occur a while ago and come to a head yesterday or happen yesterday?

I too would check for pain first. It's a win win. If you find some thing wrong you know why and if you don't, it gives you greater conviction to sort the behaviour.
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Yes she hid a very painful back condition which my horse then made worst. I just would rather she had mentioned it so I could have made an inform decision on the ride we were doing that day. There were other things she could have done with him that would have been better for him and not put herself at risk.
 
Jules_F said:
Hi, I think I read your post about this over on Facebook (I'm not stalking you I promise!) and you mentioned that his rider got really uptight about hearing motorbikes in the distance. Is that right? Its just that if your boy is young and sensitive then her getting really uptight may well have been what set him off? Obviously worth getting everything checked, but if I'm right and you are the same person (sorry if I'm wrong!) then i would be considering a different person to help bring him on or perhaps a couple of weeks in a schooling yard.
Hope everything is fine with him and you are able to get things sorted and start having some fun :)
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No your not wrong, I think it was a factor, I also think her condition was the real problems not the bikes, they were just the straw that set it all off.
 
I say a different vet because your horse seems to still be suffering from back pain after two treatments. If I were you, I'd want a second opinion. Your vet may be fine and doing the best they can - but they may be missing something important. Doesn't make them a bad vet and I'm not saying abandon them completely... Just sometimes you need someone else. It may also be something else of course... But I'd want to rule out pain first.
 
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Defiantly get a lameness work up done.
Check back, hocks and eyes. Friends horses was just about what you described only the spookiness was getting dangerously worse, turns out he has arthritis in his hocks, one vertebrae starting to kiss and cateracts in one eye.
 
I would pretty well rule out the riders back as a cause from the non competitive riders to the best riders in the world horses daily are being ridden by riders with back problems without feeling the need to behave badly .
I have a very bad back but am perfectly able to function as a rider .
A saddle fit problem is something you need to rule out fast .
But I would want a vet work up I would want flexions of all the limbs and the hoof testers uses on his feet .
If no pain can be found I would get the horse off to boot camp.
Do you ride the horse yourself ?
 
Barnacle said:
I say a different vet because your horse seems to still be suffering from back pain after two treatments. If I were you, I'd want a second opinion. Your vet may be fine and doing the best they can - but they may be missing something important. Doesn't make them a bad vet and I'm not saying abandon them completely... Just sometimes you need someone else. It may also be something else of course... But I'd want to rule out pain first.
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Thank you I see what you mean, the back conditions were not connected and were in different areas, caused by different problems. My vet is also a trained chiropractor and acupuncturist so is ideal for this sort of condition, in fact that is now all she does. I will speak to my main vet but he will no doubt direct me back to Julia anyhow.
 
It does sound like you are being a bit unfair to your rider.

with regards to right track I think it depends on who is currently riding him, just a sharer? or paid? and what you think they can do.

If he still isn't right after treatment though it does sound like he might need more of a work up.
 
Thank you everyone, I really appreciate all the reply's and it pretty much backs up what I was thinking, when I started thinking and stopped reacting. I have booked vet, dentist, farrier and once I have the all clear from them I will book saddler. He will not be worked until vet has been and once he has been cleared (or not) I have instructions from my instructor on the work he needs to do on lunge and long line, but that will only happen with vets approval. I have also contacted our local RA, Suzanne Halsey, who has worked with him before and see if she will be able to do some remedial schooling with him and other work so we can get him back on track. His rider is out of hospital but not back at work, so Moses has sent her some flowers to say sorry. Once she is fit again she will be able to come and help out, so that we can all work together and sing off the same hymn sheet, so to speak. Until then she can exercise my other horse, who she loves and will treat her like glass, so that she is still working, earning and I don't loose my slots. All the above bases will be covered , thank you


Ester: Unfair maybe but I was angry, not about the horse, but that she put herself at risk, not communicating how unwell she was, even after it happened. The first time i realized just how unwell she was, was when she walked back and could not then get in to her car. Up to that point she was playing it cool so to speak. She is very independent but when she is well we are going to have a talk about this, because it bloody frightened the life out of me. She is a paid rider and fantastic and I understand the need for any self employed person to keep going but she could have been really injured and in a lot of trouble and what if the horse had got away from her ...............I can not bear to think of it as I would have felt responsible.
 
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