hold tail to the left/less muscle on right backend?

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mongy46

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I am thinking of purchasing a horse that carries it's tail slightly to the left ,even when no one is on her back.

I have also noticed she is more developed on her left backend than her right.
She doesn't show any signs of lameness.

Woud you get a physio to check her before you got her vetted?

If so can anyone recommend anyone in herts/bucks area?
 
I would get a physio or chiro to check. A youngster I had once did this & he turned out to have a twisted pelvis. It wasn't picked up on the vetting but a McTimoney chiro spotted it right away.
 
Think it would be adviseable to get vet check I have always been led to believe that if a horse holds its tail to one side there is a problem somewhere with its back especially with it being developed more on one side that the other
 
Unfortunately the little lad I bought only began to carry his tail to one side after he'd started ridden work. He was fine for the vetting but he'd been turned away for some time beforehand. I have known horses with lopsided tails who have been as right of rain but it's a worry, especially given the uneven muscle development.
 
Those are very definite warning signs of back pain, which may originate in the back, but also possibly may be referred pain from hock or stifle injury (and possibly many other conditions). Unless I could get a diagnosis from a vet as to what it is exactly, so that I could make a decision as to whether I'd be prepared to take on the condition, I would walk away unless you accept that it could cost you a lot of time and money to deal with whatever the problem is, and you may never have a fully sound horse. Sorry if that sounds a bit dramatic, but I have a bit of experience on this and it's the conclusion I have come to!
 
I have a horse that always carries his tail to the right. However, in his case, he has done it since he was a foal (I've had him since then) and I am happy with his wellbeing and his performance. If you look at this particular horse from above, there is a slight curve through his entire spine from withers through to tail, and the tail follows this curve. As a result, he is certainly shorter through the right side and finds it hard to bend left - I need to keep up the work on flexibility to the left (both ridden, ground and bodywork). Saddles, too, tend to slip to the right on him and it took me a long, long ttime to resolve the saddling issue.

I can say though in all honesty that I believe my horse was born with this slight spine curvature and as we've worked with it all along, giving him the best "support" available to us, he's a comfortable and sound horse, although he'll never be 100% straight through his body.

However, unlike my own boy, if I didn't know the horse's history, I would be very loath to consider a horse with a crooked tail, as more than likely it is caused by pain/damage due to any number of things (bad saddles, bad riding, injury, the list goes on...).
 
My friend has 4 Arabs and all off them carry their tails to the left and 2 also trip all the time but she says that there isn't a problem. :eek:
 
I agree with those who have said get a chiro/osteopath type person to look at your horse. Our horse had similar symptoms and was generally unhappy in her work but was a lot better after we had a chiro out to her, turned out she had a twisted pelvis poor thing, I think it is an ongoing weakness for her so we get it checked regularly now.
 
Mine does this and has done since I bought him over two years ago. I specifically questioned the vet on this but he didn't think it was an issue and he passed his flexion test. He clearly did injure himself at some point (I don't know his history) as he also has a big scar on his right hind, quite high up which looks like it could have been from wire but I'll never know.

We are still working on building up his right side and he is much more even now that when I first got him. But his back has never caused us any real problems - he does get a bit tight and sees a Mactimmony chiro every six months and has also seen a physio in the past and neither of them have picked it up as a major issue.
 
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