Back, Teeth or Tack?

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itsmyparty

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Grey boy has been behaving strangely on the left rein since before Christmas - tensing up and shaking head a bit. Got the dentist out as I my first thought was that it was in his mouth. Few sharp edges rasped off but nothing major. I thought it had got better but I think it was just because he wasn't ridden that much over the bad weather. Last night the tension progressed to bucking every time we went into canter on the left rein (nothing on the right). He does occasionally put a buck in when you put your leg on but this was clearly discomfort. I've phoned the back lady and the saddler is coming out in a fortnight.

Any ideas what this could be? He doesn't do this out hacking where we're going in straight lines.
 
itsmyparty said:
Grey boy has been behaving strangely on the left rein since before Christmas - tensing up and shaking head a bit. Got the dentist out as I my first thought was that it was in his mouth. Few sharp edges rasped off but nothing major. I thought it had got better but I think it was just because he wasn't ridden that much over the bad weather. Last night the tension progressed to bucking every time we went into canter on the left rein (nothing on the right). He does occasionally put a buck in when you put your leg on but this was clearly discomfort. I've phoned the back lady and the saddler is coming out in a fortnight.

Any ideas what this could be? He doesn't do this out hacking where we're going in straight lines.
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If nothing else turns up, get a blood test. I know a horse that behaved exactly like this and it was a severely inflamed liver. It was only picked up when he went for a bone scan. Could have been detected with a simple blood test.
 
My horse was stiff on one side versus the other - he wouldnt strike the correct canter lead on the left rein at all! In his case it was his saddle. He is not really a sensitive one so didnt buck etc, Might be worth resting your horse until you know the root cause. My boy had to be rested for two weeks after discovering his saddle was too small and nipping his shoulders. High chance it could be saddle as over the winter your horses body shape will have changed. I would get your saddle checked first and then if it has been causing him pain then I would highly recommend a good back person to come see him too - the guy who came to see my horse was fantastic and is booked back in for spring. If all that sheds no light on the situation then like wagtail says - might be worth a blood test.
 
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