disunited in canter???

[hadfos]

just looking for some tips really....have really cracked on with the boys schooling this yr aiming at dressage classes

,used to ride with my reins to long,lol...after being balled at have shortened contact considerably,after lots of arguments he is now working the most amazing trot,i smile every time,he moves beautifully,flexion,balance etc is fantastic...however since we have achieved this in trot his canter has gone tits up,he will not relax and pokes his nose...when on a 20m circle if i try to collect him his back end is horrendous,he disunites..trots behind etc(impossible to sit too),he is a very lazy bugger and will argue,so am thinking he is resisting and pissing about as he is finding it difficult

,healthwise he is in fantastic order....have been advised lots of canter poles to make the bugger pick up and sort himself out,which sounds like the way to go!!
Just wondering if anyone else had same problem??
thanx in advance

 

[toffeesmarty]

Have you had your saddle and/or his back checked? If he's been working in a better outline he could have muscled up more which is making his saddle pinch him. A sign of back/saddle discomfort is striking off on wrong leg or being dissunited.

 

[henryhorn]

I would agree with the other reply, it sounds more like his back, I'd get a McTimoney person to check him over, it sounds like something's slightly out somewhere.
My husband's mare was struggling with left canter and eventually he did this, to find it was a hidden problem, two treatments and she is now offering it whenever asked.

 

[hadfos]

[ QUOTE ]
Have you had your saddle and/or his back checked? If he's been working in a better outline he could have muscled up more which is making his saddle pinch him. A sign of back/saddle discomfort is striking off on wrong leg or being dissunited.

[/ QUOTE ]
his saddle does need lifting slightly up front but have a riser on as a temporary measure,dropped slightly on the wither but well clear of his spine etc(if i can ever get a bleeding saddle fitter out

)his back is fine..............arghhhhhhhhh,could the riser be affecting the pressure on his spine??read today that the risers can narrow gullet width??

 

[hadfos]

[ QUOTE ]
I would agree with the other reply, it sounds more like his back, I'd get a McTimoney person to check him over, it sounds like something's slightly out somewhere.
My husband's mare was struggling with left canter and eventually he did this, to find it was a hidden problem, two treatments and she is now offering it whenever asked.

[/ QUOTE ]
would this not affect his trot???he is tracking up well and extending with no problems??

 

[kerilli]

not necessarily, because trot is on diagonal legs, horse uses back very differently cf canter, i think. i've known a lot of horses who showed that they had back or saddle problems in canter before anything else...

 

[hadfos]

[ QUOTE ]
not necessarily, because trot is on diagonal legs, horse uses back very differently cf canter, i think. i've known a lot of horses who showed that they had back or saddle problems in canter before anything else...

[/ QUOTE ]
I am a bleeding idiot

...have just thought back

feeling a bit embarrassed now

,i went cross country schooling(well tiny log schooling,lol)and he slipped on a corner and fell over(completely over and nearly flattened me),now i think about it his canter was not brill before that but much better than it is now

....can anyone suggest a decent back person near sunny scunny

 

[toffeesmarty]

My 'back lady' visits my horses every month and if any show issues in their canter they are the first to be treated. Try touching using stroking movements on each side of his spine from the withers to his tail. If he dips down or shows any signs of tenseness the chances are it will be his back.
The reason why canter shos up most, is that your horse has to use the muscles which are located behind and under your saddle in oredr to bring his hind legs underneath himself to strike off into canter. If these muscles are sore he will not be able to and therefore will favour the side which doesn't hurt- ie the 'incorrect one! Good luck in your search for someone in your area.

 

[hadfos]

[ QUOTE ]
My 'back lady' visits my horses every month and if any show issues in their canter they are the first to be treated. Try touching using stroking movements on each side of his spine from the withers to his tail. If he dips down or shows any signs of tenseness the chances are it will be his back.
The reason why canter shos up most, is that your horse has to use the muscles which are located behind and under your saddle in oredr to bring his hind legs underneath himself to strike off into canter. If these muscles are sore he will not be able to and therefore will favour the side which doesn't hurt- ie the 'incorrect one! Good luck in your search for someone in your area.

[/ QUOTE ]
thanx for that.. i have done that and had no flinching etc

even pushed quite hard and still nothing???he strikes off everytime on the correct leg but it goes belly up behind

 

[toffeesmarty]

Does he go disunited on the lunge without a saddle on?

 

[hadfos]

[ QUOTE ]
Does he go disunited on the lunge without a saddle on?

[/ QUOTE ]
no and he dosnt with the saddle either

 

[toffeesmarty]

Don't take this the wrong way but are you riding level? It could be your weight which is pushing down on the saddle and pinching thats' making him uncomfortable.
Only other thing I can think of is to get your farrier to check if he is wearing his shoes down level. One of my ponies went disunited for two months at the start of the season. As his back is checked and treated regularly we knew it wasn't that. But my back lady noticed his off side muscles were not as good as his nearside. She asked me to get my farrier to check the wear on his shoes and there was a problem with how he was placing his foot down. Two months later after corrective farrier work, everything is fine and his canter problems have dissapeared and both sets of muscles are level again.

 

[hadfos]

lol,shoes as even as anything,lol

,have kept fronts to be refitted,backs worn down to hell,evenly,so using back end

not taking the wrong way

,has only ever had me on board....well apart from the odd occassion when i have let a very experienced person on board....yo rode him whilst i was away,her riding is exceptional and she had same prob...she even said to me sorry for trying to correct it with you on board looks a hell of alot easier on the floor than when you are sat up there,lol

,i am definately gonna get his back checked but everything leading up is normal

it is very strange