Back, Teeth ot Tack? (Also in NL)

[itsmyparty]

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.

 

[squiz22]

hey up..

I saw your post on my thread 'reluctance to go forward in trot'. have discussed this at length with various people it could be something to with SI joint/stifles perhaps? He may have twinged something and the cold weather hasn't helped. Has he been stuck in for long periods of time?

Maybe do a trial with bute and light work in straight lines/large circles and see if that helps. I have been using a great chiro.. where are you located as i'd recommend.

 

[noodle_]

my mare starting throwing her heaad up when asking for trot.... reluctant to go forward.

people said she was tkaing the p (shes 4)

so i got the dentish out = = very sharp teeth

physio out = tense in her back

vet = vaccinations/general check up

saddler to fit her saddle!

she had never had her teeth done, her back wasnt that bad but would have been a bit sore, vet was happy with her and saddler sorted her saddle

so imo rule them both out....

the physio is out twice a year now, dentish this year twice..!... vet is out again in march and saddler in feb

expensive but rule all that out and then if they are still doing it they are taking the pee.

eta - 2 days after her teeth had been rasped she went better than she did when i tried her.....

 

[alesea]

To be honest I think you'll probably find that you'll need to get them all checked. Chances are that pain in one can cause a knock on effect in everything. I think in horses we tend to get fixated on one problem and forget about the 'whole horse'.

If you consider it in human terms- pain in your mouth can cause you to carry yourself slightly differently, which can cause your back to hurt, or your hips, or give you a headache etc. Like-wise back pain can also cause you to walk in a marginally different way, or hold your neck at a slightly different angle and therefore cause you other pain. I know of a saddler who has connected atrophy of the long muscle in the back (due to poorly fitting, tight saddles) to a marginal rotation of the hips, which then causes the fetlock to flex irregularly so that the horse can put the hoof on the ground at the correct angle. Unsurprisingly this can cause eventual lameness in areas that are seemingly not related to the saddle at all!

So in (a very long winded) conclusion, it's best to fork out and get a full 'MOT'. Make sure you get well qualified people- a BEVA/WWAED dentist etc. who know what they're doing. Perhaps book yourself time with a good instructor to make sure that it's not your position that causes the problem (most people tend to twist marginally towards 1 'o'clock or 11 'o'clock- if you look at how you stand you can probably work this out). Also make sure that you're not just doing too much too soon if he's had some time off, as that could also cause him back pain or make him stiff and uncomfortable.

 

[itsmyparty]

I'm in Bucks (appropriate that, at the moment!). The physio is out next week and I'm riding him now in his jump saddle to see if that makes any difference. He does get a chiro or physio anyway about every 6 months just to keep an eye out for things. He's always been a bit stiffer on the left rein, but nothing quite as marked as this. Puzzling.
BTW he walks backwards quite happily so (my YO says) locking stifle is unlikely.