Growth Spurt?

[LouiseG]

(I posted this in Veterinary also) My 5yo Connemara is currently in the midst of another growth spurt. Usually follows a similar pattern of finding canter difficult then when feels like the wheels have fallen off completely he shoots up behind and I let him have a quieter time hacking and gentle schooling, he levels up and feels great again. This time he just didn't feel himself so I gave him a few days off and got back on and he feels like I'm sitting on a ski slope. He is so downhill, cant sit behind in transitions, is not very forwards and feels tight through his back. He is very obviously bum high all of a sudden but this time he is coming out width wise behind and his shoulders still look like they belong to a different horse. Has anyone gone through this with their youngster? His physio is pretty happy it's just him growing but he was very tight in his back again and he's been seen twice in the last 6 weeks. He's not lame or short, he just looks a bit flat and unbalanced. I'm giving him some time off to level up and then I will re-assess but feeling quite worried that this time it feels worse. Maybe because he's quite well schooled this time around and so it's much more obvious now to the last time he had a growth spurt. Thanks for reading if you got this far

 

[Barton Bounty]

I dont think you have anything to worry about by the sound of things but I would go at a pace he is comfortable with, and if that means taking time I would definitely do that ?

 

[Polos Mum]

Almost this time last year I had to give my then 5 yo 3 months off - he was so bum high and unbalanced it wasn't fair to even lightly hack him. H

They can easily carry on growing until they are 8 y/o and if you try and move around (even gently) with one flat shoe and one 3 inch heeled shoe you'd be all over the place too.

Give him time off to grow and if your physio who has seen him in person is happy I am sure he'll be fine.
Don't rush him though or you'll risk an injury or putting him off work because he finds it hard/

 

[maya2008]

I once had to take a 5yo pony into the school and walk her over poles because she had shot up so much behind she was falling over her own feet!

Give some time off if needed, or just hack. They level up eventually.