Horse swishes tail when asking for canter

Birker2020 said:
yes I know if you bothered to read what I'd read I stated that.

I'm too bored of being jumped on yet again. It's like everything I reply to, you have to argue constantly, not just you but all the other usual ones. It's very monotonous. if I said the sky was blue you'd disagree. FFS give it up. 😡😡😡 it's like the eight reply in a row that people have picked apart.
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The sky is actually predominantly violet but it appears blue to the human eye. ;)

No one is jumping on you. I did read what you put and I was polite in my reply. We are here to learn and that's done so by discussion.
 
I can’t understand how someone can look at a video of horse cantering and decide it’s ulcers 🤯 are there any other “signs”? Having just treated a horse with ulcers that had no typical symptoms of them I can’t fathom how someone can diagnose that from a video.

It certainly wouldn’t be first on my list…I agree balance of other issues are more likely. Or the horse just does it? Sometimes they do. If you like the horse get it vetted but even that won’t cover everything… particularly ulcers x
 
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Except that this horse is NOT landing that way and it IS landing like a normal horse, with the front legs split, not side by side. I don't know where this came from but anyone who watches horses jump would know that the text is wrong.

ETA the angle this photo was taken from makes the space between the front feet look much bigger than it is, on a cursory glance. It also did not land with both these feet at the same time, the one at the back landed first.
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GrassChop said:
The sky is actually predominantly violet but it appears blue to the human eye. ;)

No one is jumping on you. I did read what you put and I was polite in my reply. We are here to learn and that's done so by discussion.
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Saying that to you when you are one of the kindest nicest people is just ludicrous!
 
TheMule said:
Do you have the photo that the text is actually referring to? Because the grey horse in that photo has obviously just had a fairly uncomfortable jump for some reason, but I doubt it has anything to do with soundness, just looks like it was on a ‘miss’
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Came down a bit steep and close to the fence, didn't it? Got too close before take-off would be my best guess.
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And going back to swishing tails, I keep trying to work out why it bothers me so much. I guess I interpret it as an angry gesture, a "get away from me" gesture that the horse normally takes towards things it doesn't want near it. I also had a horse who would whip me painfully with his tail, which left bad memories. It used to be penalise in dressage tests back in the 80s but I think that was dropped?
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We have a mare eventing at 4* who swishes her tail. It bothers me to watch her because I don't think it is kind to the eye- but we have had her since a 4yo, she is now 11, has a fitted saddle and a great rider and regularly MOT's at the vets, she has done it since she was young and it does just seem to be 'her'. Now that she has the changes in her dressage tests it is more annoying!
It doesn't necessarily mean there is anything wrong, but when you don't know the history (as we do with our mare) it is definitely worth mentioning to the vet who does the vetting as they may look at things a different way.

It wouldn't completely put me off if she was great in every other way.
 
ycbm said:
And going back to swishing tails, I keep trying to work out why it bothers me so much. I guess I interpret it as an angry gesture, a "get away from me" gesture that the horse normally takes towards things it doesn't want near it. I also had a horse who would whip me painfully with his tail, which left bad memories. It used to be penalise in dressage tests back in the 80s but I think that was dropped?
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For me I associate it with a hose that doesn't want to do something usually as it finds it uncomfortable or its unhappy in some way. Years of teaching at ridings schools where the horses were cared for but some got very stale and did this means it has negative connotations for me.

Interestingly my dog twirls his tail like a helicopter blade when he canters, he's not a natural athlete for a whippet and he seems to use it try and add impulsion, it goes when he drops a gear and properly accelerates. He also has a long term back issue although this does predate that by a long time so in his case I'm confident its not pain related, its just a weird quirk. So I guess the same could be said for horses, although that would only apply if they did it at liberty in the field as well.
 
For me it would depend more on other behaviours. My gelding's tail is a lethal weapon. He very accurately swishes at anything touching him, in hand and under saddle. Even when putting boots on, I know to grab his tail first. For in-hand work, we knot his tail or risk an eye injury. When ridden, he does the same when my legs move for canter or change or lateral aids. It doesn't seem to affect the quality of the movement or his willingness, it's just what he does.
 
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