Horse bucking and resisting leg when ridden in with a contact

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Borntobeaprincess

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Looking for a bit of advice, and I have had vet, physio and dentist and have contacted physio to come back up...

6 year old mare, was out of work for 6 months due to my ill health. I'm still not able to ride but have a lovely capable rider who started working with her 5 weeks ago. So first issue is that since it's not me on her, I'm finding it hard to determine whether it's pain related or whether she is being marish, or if it is because it's a new rider.

Before being brought back into work had back checked, teeth done, saddle checked etc.
physio thought glut muscles were a bit tight so after 2 physio sessions and 3 weeks spent long reining, hacking out, building up to raised trotting poles she was given the ok to go back into normal work.

We always start the schooling session as follows, walking and trotting on a long rein, to encourage her to go low and low. She is forward going, moves well off the leg and is sound (to me anyway) and will happily demonstrate a big swinging expressive trot with her ears pricked on the long rein.

After her warm up once the reins are taken up she is then asked to walk, circles, serpentines walk to halt trans etc. Again seems happy to do so, if anything she can be a little keen so have to contain the walk.

For the past 3 days when picked up into trot on a contact she will go into trot, then become increasingly resistant to the leg. Ears back, and when pushed to go forward she totally backs off and has started bucking.

However, if you put a few trotting poles out, or jumps the attitude totally changes, ears pricked looking for the next fence etc.

Usually once you have had a couple of jumps or went over the poles she will work beautifully on the flat, if she gets a bit resistant, simply put her over the poles again and we get a big forward trot, she is working from behind, forward into the contact.

Her canter is a bit weak still, getting there on one rein, but her bad rein still needs a bit of work.

My issue is, whether she is in pain, but then wonder why the sudden change in attitude when poles or jumps are brought out. And if she was sore why would she work so well on the flat after a few jumps.

I am getting the physio back out to see her next week regardless as don't want to push her if she is in any discomfort. It's just so hard for me to judge because I'm not able to ride.

Any advice gratefully received
 
Sorry
Its so hard to know without seeing her/feeling it
Just wanted you to know that this is IMHO one of the hardest things about horse ownership... knowing what is pain and what is attitude! Even with the help of lots of experts (which you seem to have already got) there often seems to be no clear cut answer. I hate it- would hate to think I was putting pressure on a sore horse, but equally have seen the results when youngsters get away with attitude and it goes uncorrected!
 
How much contact is the rider asking for? Does she think the rider is saying "stop." You say that the canter is weak, well maybe she is simply finding the work on circles difficult to do. I am no expert in schooling young horses, but you need to be making the work enjoyable and easy.
There is a book called schooling with poles, or something similar which gives all sorts of exercises you can do, and very gradually increase the demands as she gets stronger. The poles on the ground give focus and make the horse use its mind.
 
Have you had the saddle checked since being back in work? Shape might've changed causing pain. Attitude will change if you then do something exciting, no different to us really - we will 'soldier' on with pain if we want to, but will duck out if something is boring or not what we want to do.
 
Thanks for the advice, I will watch the girl ride her tonight to see if softening her hands makes any difference.
I would hate to push my horse too far if she is in pain, just so difficult to know what to do.
Physio coming up on Tuesday so have just decided to hack her out, walking only over the weekend, because don't want to make any issues worse, but at the same time don't want her to think if she plays up she gets a few days off. Either way a few days out the school will do her good.

In the canter she struggles to maintain a consistent outline on a circle, so we have just been concentrating on getting her forward and not worrying about where or what her head is doing. Have been doing quite a bit of work with canter poles which she really enjoys and makes a huge difference to the quality of her canter, rhythm especially.

We dont ask too much of her in canter, don't do many 20m circles or anything like that since she isn't that fit and don't want to expect too much apart from a good rhythm and forward stride, once that was established we would ask a bit more.

Will keep you updated on what the physio says

Thanks
 
She seems to be doing a fair bit for a horse who has had 6 months off, and has only been back in work 5 weeks. I've always done two week walking, two weeks trotting, and then two weeks doing hill work before even thinking about cantering/schooling/jumping. Perhaps she's just trying to tell you she's a bit tired and achy.
 
Had this with one of mine recently had vet and physio several times, agreed with vet to use McTimoney chiropracter one visit put it right . Cured a 1/10 hind leg lamness too seems to be caused by tightness through neck and whithers. Likely cause a fall but we dont know what they get up to when we are not there!
 
I would do three things here AFTER physio has seen the horse again and if possible, saddle checked again due to rebuilding muscle.

1/ When taking the trot back up after the walk work, don't ask for more contact immediately. Bring the horse together slowly and the moment any tension creeps in, allow the horse to go forwards, bringing them back slowly again until the horse is happy to work properly without it affecting the forward movement.

2/ Do less work as this is quite a lot for a horse that has not been back in work long.

3/ Ask the rider to bridge the reins. It's very easy to overuse or be unlevel with the hands, especially with a horse that is not accepting the contact, so something as simple as bridging the reins can help give the horse some confidence in the steadiness of the contact and be more willing to move into it.

There's a lot more to it, as the idea of "taking up a contact" means that there is a period where there is no or little contact and that means inconsistency. What I prefer to see is a horse always being in a contact, just at varying degrees.
 
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