Horse can only canter on one rein

[Zoeypxo]

Has anyone ever had a horse that can only canter one rein?
was it due to a physical problem or solved with schooling?
Horse is ex riding school, will canter left perfectly but cannot physically canter right, ridden or lunged, and when hacked always picks up left canter

 

[Flowerofthefen]

It can be a sign of ulcers, not cantering or bending right.

 

[AmyMay]

Does the horse take a right lead in the field?

Have you had a vet look at the horse?

How long have you owned it?

 

[ihatework]

It is likely to be one of all or a combination of the following:
Horse lame, usually behind
Horse extremely crooked
Really poor unbalanced riding

IME, unless it’s an incredibly green crooked horse, there is pretty much always a physical component

 

[AmyMay]

……after having lameness problems with my own last year .
Vet says slight lameness right hind but to ride anyway?
Mine had 1/10th lameness and was told no riding until 100% sound. Does your vet not think the slight lameness is an issue?

You posted this in July.

Is it the same horse?

 

[Zoeypxo]

Does the horse take a right lead in the field?

Have you had a vet look at the horse?

How long have you owned it?

not sure in the field, ill keep an eye out, he’s pretty chilled and rarely runs about.
He has not seen a vet , he sees chiro every 4 months, has a fitted saddle.
Ive known the horse since he was 6 months old, now 12. Not mine im riding him for someone. He was very crooked and has been ridden by beginners most of his life in a riding school. Had to have shims on one side but now much more level and shims have been removed . (Fitted by master saddler). He has trotted up sound and chiro says no reason for him to not canter right. Next step would be investigating with vets. But wondering if anyone has similar or knows where to start with investigating.

 

[Zoeypxo]

You posted this in July.

Is it the same horse?

no thats my own personal horse in that quote. the one im asking about i am riding for someone else

 

[ihatework]

A horse that isn’t improving in canter strike off after multiple Chiro visits and having straightened up with the saddler needs to see the vet.

My money would be on arthritic hocks as the lead candidate. Vets should be able to narrow things down from a basic work up

 

[AmyMay]

no thats my own personal horse in that quote. the one im asking about i am riding for someone else

Ah, ok. Well I guess no more riding it until it’s been worked up by a vet.

 

[Equi]

A vet check up is recommended. But it can also be a training issue. If a horse has for its whole life chose its own preferred leg without being corrected, it will need taught. My lads old owner told me he had not done much schooling so he may need a few pointers for leads (passes vetting with flying colours) and after a few lessons with my instructor and using cones in the corner etc he no longer ever strikes off incorrectly.

 

[Skib]

Canter in the school conceals or disguises a whole lot of things. I hacked a beloved RS Connie who did not go in the school and always took the left lead. I did eventually get the right lead both on the straight and by cantering a figure 8 in a meadow, with a trot change at X. I suspect that it is like right and left handedness in people and most horses push off on the right hind.
I remain very bad at knowing which lead I am on out hacking but when I next ridemy current share, I will try to remember to look down and see. I am ashamed to say I have been using voice commands. She regularly offers canter at the places where other sharers must canter her and I just tell her No we are going to trot. Trit trot. Or get a good active trot and then tell her yes canter. but if you use voice cues, the horse will choose the lead.
I once rode a RS mare who cantered if the rider said "Okay". RS escorts always ask their clients, Are you all right for a canter? and I always answer Yes OKay.

 

[Gloi]

Hock arthritis was the reason for one I know. Started showing with crookedness, preferring one canter lead and saddle slipping.

 

[sbloom]

Assess and fix from the ground - take photos from both sides, stood up square, take photos of the chest and front legs, tie the tail up and take one from the back. If you really look, you'll start to see clues. I am strongly of the opinion that vet/not vet isn't black and white, and there are things you can do to start to assess what's going on. So often it's posture, compensatory movement patterns, what others are calling "extreme crookedness", just a more pronounced version of what most horses show. Vets tend not to assess within that sort of framework, they identify a "source" of the problem, and treat it. There are of course exceptions but it's useful to start your own investigations so you can be more on top of it before deciding it really needs vet attention.

I'm a big fan of groundwork, and the Balance Through Movement Method is a programme I recommend a lot - it's incredibly simple, though far from easy, and often rapidly helps to pinpoint where the issue is as well as helping correct the underlying posture of course. That's not to say not to go to the vet now, or within this sort of process, but I just like to present a different "lens" through which to see it, and potentially fix it.

 

[abbijay]

My shire would only canter left lead when I got him however he was only 4 months broken and had only been hacked out so he'd had no need to learn right lead. He was obviously "naturally left handed" but he was green and wobbly. We worked on strength, balance and straightness and it came within a few months. He would do a little on right lead in the field but preferred left if he could.
If this was an established horse from a riding school I'd be concerned there was an underlying issue.

 

[Leandy]

Yes I would get a vet check up as the first step. After that though, it could well just be a training issue. If the horse was never correctly schooled to pick up the correct lead easily and has been ridden almost solely by novice riders and never been encouraged to work correctly, then he may just have developed the habit of always cantering on his favoured lead. If he's been doing it for years then his body will have developed one sidedly and he will very likely find it very difficult. Just as people tend not to be ambidextrous unless they have worked on it. Of course working one-sidedly and crookedly for the most part of his working life may cause one sided strain and soundness issues and n its own right so it may not be easy to unpick which came first if you do find an unsoundness.

 

[Zoeypxo]

Thankyou for your replies, a vet check will be done as soon as poss.
He was ridden by beginners and was the weight carrier (17hh clydesdale) also used for RDA. So he is certainly not established and schooling is almost non existent.
Ive been working on straightness with him as he is very wonky and falls out through his right shoulder. I am 50/50 on wether he is just not schooled or wether there is some sort of issue stopping him from being able to work through his right side. So a vet check work up will be done

 

[EllieBeast]

My mare struggled to strike off on the left rein- turns out she has fairly severe arthritis in her right hock.

The reluctance to strike off into canter came far before any lameness showed.

I’d definitely want a vet to look before trying to school through it. Fingers crossed it’s not the case for you though.

 

[Zoeypxo]

My mare struggled to strike off on the left rein- turns out she has fairly severe arthritis in her right hock.

The reluctance to strike off into canter came far before any lameness showed.

I’d definitely want a vet to look before trying to school through it. Fingers crossed it’s not the case for you though.

thank you, did your horse come right after this or retired ?

 

[EllieBeast]

Unfortunately she’s semi retired (at the age of 13 ?)

We still hack out when the ground is good, she lives out 24/7 and is pretty well sound most of the time. But after seeing the state of the joint on the X-ray, I’d rather do less with her and have her for longer than try and squeeze as much work out of her as I can and risk further damage.
Her case is extreme though, there’s a lot that can be done to help manage arthritis. In a veterinary and management sense. I’d definitely be lead by your vet on this.

 

[abbijay]

Thankyou for your replies, a vet check will be done as soon as poss.
He was ridden by beginners and was the weight carrier (17hh clydesdale) also used for RDA. So he is certainly not established and schooling is almost non existent.

You can’t tell us he’s a clydie and not provide a picture!!
canter isn’t always the most natural thing for a Clydesdale and remember an arena is a much smaller place for a heavy horse but he should still be able to try a few strides on each lead.

 

[Jango]

I had this with my first horse and it was just poor schooling, I would imagine he was never taught to canter on the right/didn't canter right after a minor injury and his muscles built up more and more the less he did it. It did take about 6 months schooling to fix, but then had no further issues on the canter leads front. I think a vet workup is a good idea! My current horses' first signs of hock arthritis was unhappy picking up right canter, but that was after previously being happy striking off right, so it was fairly obvious it was medical.

 

[Zoeypxo]

Sorry not my horse so cant post photos! He is having a work up asap vet has been called, ill update when i have results incase it helps anyone or anyone wandering

 

[Zoeypxo]

Vet came out and x rayed hocks. Severe arthritis with big bone spurs and very little joint space pretty much anywhere. Steroid next week then light hack only from then on.

 

[EllieBeast]

Vet came out and x rayed hocks. Severe arthritis with big bone spurs and very little joint space pretty much anywhere. Steroid next week then light hack only from then on.

Very similar to my girl, so sorry x