BALANCING UP A WONKY HORSE

[ApacheWarrior1]

My 14hh cob has always had a left shoulder bigger than the right..... therefore his spooks and turns are always to the left..... I cant do anything about it in winter as he lives out and doesn't get ridden most of the winter but come spring time I would like to start addressing this by working lots of bending and stretching and doing more on the right rein than the left... I an interested in getting a treeless to see if that helps him and allows him to "grow" into a better shape? or am I wrong here?

 

[milliepops]

I'd start with a vet check over before you start trying to straighten anything... IME wonky horses are often compensating for something. i've enthusiastically straightened a few over the years because it's something i'm quite good at. and then the physical reason why they were wonky in the first place has become apparent.

Good progressive balancing work is not a bad idea per se but I think it's useful to understand the reason for the asymmetry so you can be realistic about what is possible or even desirable. Not trying to put a downer on it but this has been my experience with long-term wonkiness.

 

[SEL]

Firstly ditto what MP said. My wonky one with an under developed right shoulder (from prior to her being backed, so not a riding or saddle issue) turned out to have a spur on her left hock amongst other issues so straight was hard until we got some of the physical problems sorted.

Secondly I wouldn't necessarily say treeless is the answer. I had a well known and well respected brand of treeless saddle on trial for my dales pony earlier this year and despite a lot of work from the fitter and their head office it didn't sit right and didn't allow her to work properly through her back - in fact it gave her a sore back. She is now in a wide saddle with a hoop tree and slowly improving.

I do lots of exercises on the ground in winter with both of those two to keep them flexible. It doesn't need to be a nice day to do carrot stretches or walk over poles

 

[MuddyMonster]

I can only ditto MP & SEL.

Mine was uneven in his shoulders until we found the root cause - which was actually in a hind limb. He's much stronger and finds it much easier now as a result!

 

[SpeedyPony]

Agree with others that it's worth checking why he might be wonky- it might be a physical issue, or just left/right "handed-ness"
It's also worth considering if you are one-sided. I know I am and between my wonkiness and the pony's wonkiness we do tend to feed each other! I've found having both of us see the chiro has helped to reduce some of that, but we'll always be working against our own natural one-sidedness.
Also a treeless saddle might make your job harder if you are a bit one-sided yourself, as they don't offer the same support IME.

 

[ApacheWarrior1]

Agree with others that it's worth checking why he might be wonky- it might be a physical issue, or just left/right "handed-ness"
It's also worth considering if you are one-sided. I know I am and between my wonkiness and the pony's wonkiness we do tend to feed each other! I've found having both of us see the chiro has helped to reduce some of that, but we'll always be working against our own natural one-sidedness.
Also a treeless saddle might make your job harder if you are a bit one-sided yourself, as they don't offer the same support IME.

 

[ApacheWarrior1]

Yes thank you all for your comments - I do tend to lean to the left also and have to fight against it all the time …

 

[planete]

Have yourself checked first. If you can become more symmetrical on the horse you may be pleasantly surprised at how much easier he will find it to become straight himself. I am battling the same issue myself and when I really work at keeping myself straight, the pony's 'problems' start disappearing.

 

[sbloom]

Bodywork (possibly vet too), in hand work to build posture and straightness and only then ridden rehab type work. I blogged about this just yesterday! https://stephaniebloomsaddlefitter.co.uk/blog/wonky-donkeys

See this video for some very basic straightening work.

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=842524899425176

"More hand, more leg" type straightening work can look like it works, but until you address the underlying asymmetry you're so often not fixing the actual cause.

And yes, yes, yes to straightening the rider. I work with riders to improve their symmetry in very simple ways and when they get their ribcage over the hips, without rotation, the difference is dramatic.

 

[ecb89]

Have yourself checked first. If you can become more symmetrical on the horse you may be pleasantly surprised at how much easier he will find it to become straight himself. I am battling the same issue myself and when I really work at keeping myself straight, the pony's 'problems' start disappearing.

This. I went to see an osteopath today who has discovered I have one leg shorter than the other. It explains so many things, both for myself and my horse.

 

[SEL]

This. I went to see an osteopath today who has discovered I have one leg shorter than the other. It explains so many things, both for myself and my horse.

My pelvis is slightly crooked so I can overload my left stirrup. It was a lesson doing lateral work on a schoolmaster where I realised how much of an issue it was - I wanted one movement he kept offering another. That was with regular physio too.

 

[sbloom]

Bodywork has to be backed up with work in between, they can make the adjustments, improve the sore bits, but they won't hold in many cases unless you have suitable exercises in between. It's why I encourage bodyworkers AND conditioning exercises for both horse and rider.

 

[ecb89]

My pelvis is slightly crooked so I can overload my left stirrup. It was a lesson doing lateral work on a schoolmaster where I realised how much of an issue it was - I wanted one movement he kept offering another. That was with regular physio too.

My left leg is shorter. Its is much flappier than my right, I have less control over it, I find it harder to press to my horse’s side when asking for lateral work.

 

[planete]

Alexander technique lessons do help to make us more aware of our body alignment and tensions. It is a good long term tool to keep track of what our body is doing.

 

[sbloom]

My left leg is shorter. Its is much flappier than my right, I have less control over it, I find it harder to press to my horse’s side when asking for lateral work.

Does your saddle slip to the right? Do you? And have you had your pelvis checked (sorry if you've been through all this, useful for others anyway) as a structural length difference is very rare, it's much more usually the pelvis and hips needing adjustment. If your saddle, or you (usually both) slips right, which is very common, then you're not on that seatbone correctly and your leg sits higher on the ribcage. There are so many factors contributing to where the leg sits on the horse and therefore, to an extent, the effectiveness of it. Coupled with any weaknesses resulting from asymmetry in the torso which is super common.

The rotation of the horse's ribcage is so often to the right, lower on the right, pushing the ribcage out to the left, and this is all part of this same pattern. If we truly straighten ourselves, keep our ribcage vertically above our pelvis (it's so often displaced to the right) then the horse becomes less rotated and can move straight.

Alexander Technique I think is being left behind my more modern approaches, I've head a lengthy explanation as to why it's usefulness for riders is limited but long forgotten, sorry! The Franklin Method and Feldenkrais can be very useful when applied in movement for riders.

 

[ecb89]

Does your saddle slip to the right? Do you? And have you had your pelvis checked (sorry if you've been through all this, useful for others anyway) as a structural length difference is very rare, it's much more usually the pelvis and hips needing adjustment. If your saddle, or you (usually both) slips right, which is very common, then you're not on that seatbone correctly and your leg sits higher on the ribcage. There are so many factors contributing to where the leg sits on the horse and therefore, to an extent, the effectiveness of it. Coupled with any weaknesses resulting from asymmetry in the torso which is super common.

The rotation of the horse's ribcage is so often to the right, lower on the right, pushing the ribcage out to the left, and this is all part of this same pattern. If we truly straighten ourselves, keep our ribcage vertically above our pelvis (it's so often displaced to the right) then the horse becomes less rotated and can move straight.

Alexander Technique I think is being left behind my more modern approaches, I've head a lengthy explanation as to why it's usefulness for riders is limited but long forgotten, sorry! The Franklin Method and Feldenkrais can be very useful when applied in movement for riders.

From what the osteopath said yesterday he thinks my hips are level. But i will be having further treatment to straighten my hips/pelvis as they have compensated for shorter leg. . Next appointment is next week.
My mum and my sister have one hip which sits higher than the other, visually it is very obvious. Whereas I appear straight.
In photo you can see that my right leg (side with my watch) the knee dimple is lower compared to left side.
My saddle did slip in the summer, now I’m having to think about it I can’t remember which way!