Evasion or lameness? Really stuck.

golddustsara

golddustsara

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So the saga continues.... In short bought lovely ex BSJA/BE schoolmaster in Oct from a lovely member of HHO who prior to me buying him had been hacking and enlisting their instructor to event him on occasion.

After a couple of weeks he started trying to canter behind in trot, pulling his head down as I begun properly schooling him.. Got teeth, back, saddle checked and back was found to be very tight, possibly caused by him pratting around in new place.

Had 5 physio sessions, 3 with sedation and vet present and on last ridden inspection where the little buggar didn't skip behind at all, vet said to proceed with work and thought that due to his age (18) more work would be better for him since rest hadn't done much good.

Vet thinks the cantering behind may be some form of evasion or learned memory, or is exaccerbated by his headshaking (which is controlled by nose net except in drizzle). Some days mostly when he is excited, or having a bit of a naughty day he tends to do it, then others he can be fine so its all really flummoxing and of course when the vet comes he doesn't show it much - typical!

I seem to have a real mix of opinion from instructors, different vets and the physio about what the problem could be and I'm just so confused about what to do as I have explored so many options bar sending him for a full work up, which at his age would be financially crippling as my insurance only covers a small amount.

The only thing I can think to do is bring him into proper work for a few weeks (we are at the just introducing canter stage which is interesting :-) )and see how it goes as he absolutely loves working and turns very miserable when not in work.

Tonight he managed to throw some amazing shapes on the lunge with no signs of lameness at all even in trot on a small circle.. Bah I am stumped.

Has anyone had any experience of a similar problem or has a horse with a particular evasion? I'm just so confused and I want to enjoy my absolute dream horse.
 
I had a TB that use to do this... it was VERY frustrating!!
put it down to her only knowing walk and gallop (she was fairly new off the track)
All I done was lots of walk, to halt and walk to trot and trot to halt transitions, brought her back to basics and went from there.

I would say its a form of evasion. Lots of lunging should be good aswell.

The mare I ride now does this skippy thing in trot, looks like she is hopping lame, but she definitely isn't and one she is settled in her work, she goes really well!!
 
Thanks for your experiences Lippy - I am paying my eventer friend in rose wine to school him for me twice a week as of tomorrow so hopefully with a person who knows what they are doing, he will stop doing it. That will be the test anyway!

I love the horse in your siggy - yum!
 
This probably sounds really random but..... it might be worth looking at his feed. Years ago we had a mare who was sugar & ceral intolerant and we only picked it up 'cos sister read an article about a feed intolerant horse who was lame purely as a response to feed.
Otherwise it could well be an evasion. We used to have a Clyde mare who went 'lame' whenever a novice OH asked her to trot, particularly in the school. She was absolutely fine for more experienced riders.
 
My old mare used to do this when she got older but only out hacking and when she was excited. I used to call it 'rising canter'.
 
My mare does a similar thing but in canter she trots behind on a circle.
She has had physio, looked over by vet, had amazing people ride her and still does it with them. Nothing wrong with her. I believe it originated from an old stifle injury many moons ago, at which point she wasnt really schooled on the flat (hunted/hacked).
I have 99% solved it through schooling but it has taken months of serious work and frustration!
It was worse on right rein, although on lunge/straight lines and in fields absolutely fine. Take her into a school and try to canter a circle and she does it.
I think it is a confidence thing and she belives she cannot canter in a confined space with someone on board, other people have said the same - its in her head.
To solve it I have only ever canterered her when 100% relaxed, asked for 2- strides and back to trot, with a forward seat and other exercises.
I can now canter her at home normally as small as 15m circles and she canters true. However my next battle is at competeions - as soon as she gets tense she reverts back to her old way :-(. Again I think its a confidence thing.
Not sure if thats helped or not but similar issue i think!
 
It would sound to me that this horse may have been evading the tight back and then has maybe formed a habit or is still not comfortable behind. Canter is a much more passive movement of the back compared to trot so there may be an issue there where he feels more comfortable in one pace compared to the other. I would think regular physio sessions to eliminate the possibility of any tension occuring (he may make himself tense by doing it and unbalancing himself?!) I would then also look into specific techniques and schooling exercises to strengthen his back end. i.e. polework (slower paces) and maybe a body rope (goes round hind end and can be used whilst lunging/riding to improve balance and encourage correct use of the hindend). It would be worth considering the options with the physio as I am sure they will be able to advise you on a suitable programme of follow up exercise. As he gets stronger behind he will naturally find the work easier to settle into which should help a lot. Also if he only does it in the school?? then maybe keep the work really steady in the school and use hacking to get him settling in a pace. A lot of people I know have found that some headshakers will improve when the pelvis is addressed. Obviously if he is a true headshaker there is not a lot that will make that go away however by shaking his head he is unbalancing himself behind so this may be causing some tension.
 
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