Help please!

Crazycob06

Crazycob06

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I have had tinks back and teeth done and got the all clear.
I put her problems down to the weather and lack of regular work.
But when I tried to lunge her today before getting on she would walk but if I gave her any incouragement she ran at me with ears back and looked like she was going to kill me. This happened a couple of times before I gave up.
I then got on her and walked around a bit doing circles and figure 8's, usually she would be fine until I asked for trot and then she would bend her neck weird and run through her shoulder with ears back and back up a little, well today she started walking around with her neck in this position and she felt really tense and seemed very unhappy.
When I put her in her stable to untack her I noticed her left eye was either half open or completely closed the whole time. I know she could have so something in it, sawdust maybe but it just seems strange with the sudden aggression and ridden challenges lately.

Am I over reacting or could there be something going on that I need checking out?

I was unable to have my lesson again this week, I was hoping my instructor could tell me if she thinks she's just trying it on or not, I'm unsure.

She is still her usual self on the ground, more lovey if anything!
 
You've had back and teeth done but no mention of saddle?

To stop cutting in you could try two lunge lines or if you have not been taught how to lunge effectively you could try getting couple of lessons on how to lunge her properly.

As for the eye, did you look to see if there was anything obvious in it? Was there any discharge? You could try carefully bathing the eye with a used teabag, sounds mad but irrigates and soothes.

When it comes to the aggression you say she's not been worked as much - so have you reduced her feed? If she is stabled far more than normal that would also mean that you should reduce her feed. So if you haven't cut her right back I'd try that and see if she becomes a little calmer. Of course she may just be enjoying her "holiday" and be playing you up to keep it going a bit longer!
 
Totally agree about vet. If you don't know what is wrong with eye I'd not be waiting for instructor, I'd be getting the vet TODAY. It doesn't take much to loose an eye (possible to be ridden with only one but clearly not ideal!) so I wouldn't risk it.
 
The eye is looking better already and started watering earlier so I think it was some thing in it.
The saddle was professional fitted a 3 months ago,i do have an appointment to get it checked again tho just in case.
The vet checked her out Wednesday and said she is fine just not very flexible.
She is only on hay as she is a good doer and she has been out the same amount of time as usual.
The vet advised me to work with the instructor for a couple of weeks and if she is still the same to then try bute to rule out pain.
 
I agree this sounds likely to be a physical issue, it's certainly not you over reacting, you're right to try and get to the bottom of it. You say you've had her back checked, but the qualifications and experience of 'back people' varies enormously. I'm a Chartered Veterinary Physiotherapist, and sadly I end up working with a lot of horses who have been given the 'all clear' as far as their backs go, but who I would consider to definitely still be in pain (and the fact that their behaviour often improves after treatment would back me up on this). The trouble is that the title 'Veterinary Physiotherapist' is not a protected title, so anyone could be using that title with no qualifications whatsoever. Osteopath and Chiropractor are protected titles, but anyone can say that they use 'osteopathic techniques' or 'chiropractic techniques'. Massage therapy qualifications vary hugely, and often teach how to treat, but not how to assess if and where the problem is in the first place. Vets are usually the first to admit that they don't know how to assess a horse thoroughly for muscular pain, and yet they've had several years of training to qualify! Of course, qualifications aren't everything, and experience plays a large part in how good your therapist is. Some therapists work in the equine field as a 'second job', which means that they might only see a few horses a week or a month, others work with horses full time which means that they see a lot more horses - obviously seeing more horses gives you more experience to draw on. Your therapist should work in conjunction with your vet, and if your vet says that your horse is not as flexible as they would expect, then your horse should definitely not have been given the 'all clear' by your therapist (you don't say whether that's the case or not, just that you've had the back checked).
It's impossible, of course, without seeing the horse myself, but my advice would be to make sure that your 'back person' was well qualified and experienced, and if they weren't, then to call someone else in and have that double checked - even if they can't 'fix' the problem they should be able to give you more idea of what might be going on, or other directions to look in, or exercises you can be doing yourself to help ease things for your horse.
I hope this helps a bit,
Sue
 
I don't have a 'back person' yet, I went down the route of getting the vet first who checked her back and gave her the all clear. My friend has a fantastic lady who works wonders on her horse. I will get her to check tink over and advise on exercises. Thank you for the advice.
 
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