Anybody experienced anything similar with their horse

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tobysg

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I schooled my (9 year old, fit) mare today for 20 minutes. We walked, trotted and cantered.
She was OKAY, not fantabulous but was not disobedient or argumentative. Seemed a little less forward compared to normal but that is it.

I was finishing off. I did about 10 minutes solid trot work, changing the rein, serpentines, figure of eights. She worked consistently on the bit and was obedient.

I then put her in to canter on the left rein, did some 20m circles and laps of the arena.( we are meant to be showing tomorrow)

I then changed the rein and struck off into canter on the right rein. it felt a bit weird so I pushed her forwards a bit to get her moving. She was all over the place and a bit tense yet still cantering.

While we were cantering badly, she suddenly went back to walk and halt . I assumed she was being rude ( wasn't pooing or weeing) and got cross and tried to get her forwards again.

I absolutely COULD NOT get her to move AT ALL. literally. When I used my legs, she just ignored me. no bucking or anything malicious.

I ended up having to get off. I got off and tried to get her to walk and she wouldn't.

I managed to move her a bit and she was unable to walk properly, she was holding her hindquarters to one side and acting as if moving her hind legs was extremely painful. I almost thought she was going to go down (colic). She seemed very subdued.

I decided to walk her back to the yard to get help, as we walked there she got better with every stride. I got my friend and asked her to come and see her walk on a lunge with me and check lameness etc.

She walked back to the arena fine, went on the lunge and began to trot without any asking. tracked up nicely and looked sound. I pushed her to canter and she looked fine too. I changed the rein to the rein that she went bad on and, again, she was fine. absolutely nothing to be seen.

We decided to put the saddle back on and try with a rider to see if it was rider induced. I didn't ask her to work 'properly', gave her a longish rein and asked for a canter, on the bad rein and she seemed fine. I got off and walked her about.

Back in the stable yard, she was back to her normal self and not at all subdued. I walked her in hand for 15 minutes in case it was something muscular that needed walking out.

We are meant to be competing tomorrow! :(

I'm going up there very early to loose school her to see if she's moving okay then going to ride her and see how she goes.


Anybody have any ideas or experience of anything similar?

People must think I'm mad ,as nobody saw it except me and she was completely sound and normal by the time I'd shown her to people!

We have speculated that she had pulled something, a muscle had cramped or something muscular along those lines.
She was shod yesterday, which she really needed. Her new hoof shape could change the way her hind feet are landing and affecting the muscles perhaps.
 
It sounds as if she may have been suffering from a slight case of azoturia.
Had she been in the stable before you rode her,is she on much feed?
Mares seem to be more prone to it.
 
She is out 24/7 and is on no feed except occasional happy hoof as a gesture after competing, she had some on Sunday.

She is in tonight as she is meant to be competing tomorrow.

I had a look at the info online RE: tying up, the symptoms match. She has never had this before.

Not sure what to do next!
 
Does sound like tying up.

Sometimes it's a one off thing make sure they drink lots of fluids and when they do stop don't try to move them as it can make it worse. Did she do a wee if so was it a brown sort of colour or thick?

If she does it again she may be prone to and I would be inclined to ring the vet to take some bloods and give you some management advice and possibly some drugs to help with it.
 
I,d give the competition a miss.there is alwaysanother day ,and I would want to find out what the problem is.You know your horse best and you think that somthing odd is going on. Go with your instinct .
 
How is your grazing? Due to dry weather here ours has stopped growing and dried out, and I have been giving a small chaff/beet feed to mine, out 24/7, as I felt they weren't getting enough fibre through their system (and we don't have hay on hand, but I did have some beet and chaff!)
I started this as my gelding looked a bit uncomfortable, and in the past he has had a collicy turn, more like constipation I guess, just wondered if it was spasm if her guts are a bit slow moving??
 
She was absolutely fine after, went in her stable, munched on some hay then was whinnying at me for a feed (that she doesn't get!). I then tied her up in the barn and she was going loopy and fidgeting all over the place, like normal, excited to get in her stable for a hay net! Definitely NOT reluctant to move.

I washed her legs, tail and some of her quarters in case we do anything tomorrow and she was her lovely, normal self.

She had been out without her muzzle since Sunday night, I put it back on last night. It is not a dramatic change to her though.

I wonder whether a lack of salt could have caused it, as she is worked most days and not fed much ( she takes 'good doer' to a whole new level).


I'm not fussed about competing, its only a small show. Just worried about her and can;t wait to check on her tomorrow morning.
 
I had 2 mares that showed like this ,they were not on much feed and out most of the time.I thought it was colic and the first one was treated by the vet for colic,it was only when the other one had the same thing happen, during light exercise, that I realise what had happened.
They were both fine but monitored carefully,the hay was the cause I think as it was very good.
Keep your mares back warm,if she is out now it is cooler I would put a light rug on at night.Be careful how you warm her up at the show and gently warm down as well.Keep a rug over her quarters whenever you can.
If she looks at all stiff again put a rug over her and dont try to move her,if you can wait for a vet.
Making her move, if it is azoturia can cause damage to her muscles.
Hopefully she will be fine in the morning ,but if you think she is stiff or sore call the vet as she will need treatment.
I hope this does not worry you too much and that she is ok.
 
I had a mare do this years ago. She lived out, and was fit. I hacked 4 miles to a XC PC rally, and when I arrived, and stopped to speak to an instructor while those in boxes tacked up, the horse tied up. The DC walked to a pub and rang my dad to come and get us (pre-mobile phone days). By the time that he arrived she walked onto the trailer fine. We kept her in overnight and she was absolutely fine, never showing a sign of it again.

I would inspect the stable tomorrow, looking to see if she has weed/pooped as normal, and drunk water and eaten hay as normal. If all that seems Ok, then walk and trot her out to see how she is.

What classes are you doing? If its just one showing class I may consider it, if its lots of jumping etc I would give it a miss. If there is the slightest sign of anything strange then take her home and get the vet.
 
She has an automatic water drinker (this is the HUGE drawback of having one!)

It's only 5 miles up the road, I hacked it last year but are meant to be boxing there this year (lazy riders!).

We haven't pre entered but were considering inhand M&M, 2'9 WH, Ridden M&M. It was all depending on the course, the number of entrants and the class times and how she warmed up.

I think I will do as I said, and put her in the sand paddock and see how she moves and possibly get on and see how she goes ridden.

I think jumping is off the cards.

When I was schooling, her trot did not feel as big and powerful as normal, she is a welsh D with quite big movement but she felt like a normal moving horse, yet she tracked up perfectly on the lunge!
 
personally i never ride the day before a competition, i certainly wouldnt take her tomorrow and i would get it fully investigated. best wishes xx
 
thank you everyone, for the good advice.

A good example as to why this place can be very useful!

She is in with a summer sheet on tonight. She is never normally rugged, Winter or Summer!

DQ- That is personal choice, my pony goes better if she is schooled regularly before a ridden show. She is VERY excitable and needs the practice and exercise. She won both her ridden classes and took 2 res. champs last weekend after I schooled her in the morning of the show and the evening before :/
 
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I hope she is fine in the morning and that it was just a one off.

I always ride the day before a comp. they have the day off after to chill.

Well done at the last show,a bit of hard work normally does no harm,I think you were just unlucky today.
 
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