Horse that canters towards a jump then stops dead

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caths

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a girl on our yard has a very handsome 11 year old gelding who she cannot compete with as he is badly behaved and no one seems to be able to get to the root of his problem. He is kind and gentle to handle until a rider get on then in canter he will continually change legs and half rear in mid canter. Also if he is cantering towards a jump he won't duck out of it just puts the brakes on. He's been to three trainers and come back just the same one even thought he was dangerous. Jackie has had him for two years now and seems to have made no progress. He's had physio and she lunges him regularly but no improvement. Any ideas much appreciated
 
Has it actually seen a vet? What you describe seems to indicate pain somewhere and whilst a physio might help you need vet to diagnoise or eliminate any problems.
 
Not all horses like jumping - maybe he's trying to tell her he's one of them.....

As for the other stuff - then there could be so many reasons why he does this. He could be unbalanced, he could be ridden in a bit that's too strong (hence the threat of rearing), he could be nappy, he could be in pain, the saddle may not fit properly.

What has her vet said upon looking at the horse for signs of pain? Has the saddler looked at the saddle? Has she had her riding assessed?
 
Yep I'd agree - sounds like there maybe an underlying problem there that causes the chap pain; maybe worth getting a vet in now to investigate more; or he may have just had a really horrible experience in the past with jumping that he just can't get over!
 
I would get a physio out to start far cheaper than vet My horse started to do this out hunting and it was his saddle caused back to be very sore new saddle physio now he is much freer and back to my lovely horse I know they only seem to tell you if they are in pain ie; bucking, mouth grabbing bit, stopping jumping, napping !! the saddle has a lot to do with this the Master saddlers should take a long look at some of these so called saddlers who don't realy have a clue about fitting saddles but just take your money !! good luck let us know how she gets on.
 
A proper physio will not see a horse without a veterinary referral, and is not an appropriate first line approach for a potentially serious physical problem regardless of whether they are cheaper than the vet.
 
My horse started doing that and was later diagnosed with spavin in his hocks. Looking back, I think that was the first sign that something was wrong although I didn't realise at the time.
 
I can't believe she hasn't called the vet! IMO physio's are fine for locating muscle pain and giving your horse a good massage/stretch, but they won't be able to diagnose any mechanical problems, and they may not be trained/experienced enough to spot the signs of things like kissing spine or djd.

Actually, this is something that really gets me wound up, people who bypass the vet in favour of physio's and the like because they think it will be cheaper. She should be thinking of the horse, not the money. grrrrr!
 
that is a definite definite symptom of PAIN, no question. get a vet out, get it sorted, for her sake and the horse's, i would say... before the horse ditches her in desperation, or worse...
the usual recommendations of different saddle, teeth checked, mctimoney chiro all apply, AFTER a vet has determined the root cause, if at all possible. the horse's reaction is extreme, which makes me believe that he might have a significant amount of pain.
 
If a physio has already seen the horse a couple of times and cannot solve the problem, if they are any good they should refer to a vet in any case (the good ones check with your vet 1st that it is ok to treat the horse!). I can't understand why her physio hasn't done this already.

I did know of a very good county level jumping pony that suddenly decided he would just stop jumping i.e., putting brakes on rapidly. It turned out he had very sore shoulders/withers - probably caused by badly fitting saddle and poor riding.

If 3 trainers also can't sort it out, surely they should all have recommended a vet check and not put the poor horse through more. I would also have to question how good they are too, if they aren't raising these basic sorts of questions and I would be gutted I had spent my hard earnt money on such poor trainers.

If the owner doesn't sort this out and keeps sending him away to have the problem solved, she may well end up with a horse that has more behavioural problems not less.
 
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