Horse unlevel WWYD?

stencilface

stencilface

High upon a hillside
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So after PSD and tenosynovitis I'm just (I thought!) getting norman the horse back into shape for jumping this year. I wasn't happy with him in the school on saturday so didn't jump, he wasn't lame, just wasn't right. Then hacking yesterday he seemed fin, nothing i could tell at least.

He had the chiro out yesterday who said he was unlevel, but that I should continue riding him and push him as either what is making him unlevel will fix with work, or it will get worse in which case there would be something treatable. I think atm a vet wouldn't do anything. He plaits with his near hind, so I'm not sure if its a learnt unlevelness as a result of the PSD. I'm tempted to up his work and increase his fitness to see if this irons out his niggles, but what would you do if it was your horse? :)
 
My horse is slightly unlevel too. Vets and physio have both told me to carry on as normal as it's too slight to do anything about and they think it's a learnt unlevelness. I have pole work exercises and also exercises on the ground from physio to help sort it.
 
Thanks. I don't want to be negligent in not doing anything for him, but I honestly don't think I have every looked so carefully at a horses gait before, and its driving me nuts! He seems perfectly happy to work, but is naturally quite laid back (read lazy!) so its hard to tell what is laziness and what is something else. I'm havign lessons with 2 different people next week so will have to see what they say, and indeed if they see anything, its so minor sometimes I feel like I'm creating the lameness :o
 
What sort of work does he do now? Do you lunge him regularly? Lucky was still slightly unlevel after shed been treated for her front feet, which the vet said was to be expected and she has to learn not to do that anymore. I've worked her a lot on the lunge in a looseish pessoa so I can just cocentrate on sending her forward in a controlled manner and monitor her movement, and its improved massively ans the new improved way has started to become default for her work under saddle....and no more unlevelness!
 
Stencilface said:
Thanks. I don't want to be negligent in not doing anything for him, but I honestly don't think I have every looked so carefully at a horses gait before, and its driving me nuts! He seems perfectly happy to work, but is naturally quite laid back (read lazy!) so its hard to tell what is laziness and what is something else. I'm havign lessons with 2 different people next week so will have to see what they say, and indeed if they see anything, its so minor sometimes I feel like I'm creating the lameness :o
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Funnily enough mine is v lazy too, especially on the lunge so it was a hard job for physio to assess him properly as he wasn't really going forward. Did eventually but it still made it hard for her to see/determine properly.
 
Thanks Kat - trouble with lunging is that I don't want to do too much circle work until he is much fitter and has better support, for his previous issues, although it might be worth me doing a short session and building it up, I am wary of too much school work, but maybe I have to get my head around a more boom or bust type scenario. His current work isn't challenging him, and more intense schooling work will either break or fix him. He gets ridden about 4x a week currently, mostly hacking, but I'm trying for one school session a week, hard when you don't have your own, and all the local ones for hire are flooded - dratted weather!

From both your replies it seems I should start lunging and invest in a pessoa. I only have a chambon and side reins currently, and couldn't really get Kerillis method to work for me last time.
 
I agree there's not much vet or physio can do but if mine, I would turn him away for as long as possible on preferably a hilly field or at least one which makes him work to get around it in the hope that that would strengthen him up to be able to work properly. I'm one of those that feels uneasy working a horse that isn't level but saying that, my horse of a lifetime had a gait lameness after some racing accidents; he had just learnt to compensate by stepping under more with one hind and was uncomfortable if you used the other diagonal but other than that sound for the five seasons I had him here.
 
He had pretty much a year off with PSD, with six months box/paddock rest and was slowly and v carefully brought back into work. He lives on a very hilly field, and yet still I seem to struggle to get him nice and muscly, when I had a TB he seemed to need barely any work to keep fit on our field! Again, I would do hill work up and down our field, and have done in the past but atm its just too wet.

I have changed his feed to power and performance, in the hope that alongside increased intensity work this will help him build muscle, luckily atm for him he is pretty slim, he's a horse I struggle to keep the weight off - lives off air!

ETA - PP I have often wondered if my horses 'laziness' is done to some underlying cause, although he's not lazy all the time certainly not at the start of an xc!
 
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Well when I first got him he would not move. That is no lie, honestly and truly he was the laziest horse I've EVER ridden. Awful and I too thought there must be an underlying health reason.

Then changed yards, winter came, clipped and change in feed (changed him to Power and Performance) and he got this new burst of energy and forwardness! Have swapped him to Fast Fibre now but he still seems forward on that!

Hacking he's always been fine, speedy gonzalos, people always complain 'can you slow down' when I hack with them lol, it used to be just in the school.

We will get the odd day, but mainly he is okay. It just seems to be on the lunge he is reluctant to go forward now.

Who knows. I guess if a horse has a degree of unlevelness they probably would be lazier as some of the energy created would be lost in the unlevelness if you like? Bit like if a horse isn't straight they often aren't particularly forward as any energy created goes out the side doors or whatever.
 
I have an older TB who had suspensory issues, followed by his hock needing injected then SI issues, stemming from him compensating for the other injuries. He was better but still unlevel after the injections. We knew we needed to push him though it a bit to encourage him to move better to help get him stronger, but it was proving difficult.

We had a couple of sessions of acupuncture done, this opened up a window where things stopped hurting, we got some good work into him and got him moving correctly, this broke the cycle and horse is now sounder than he's been in the time we have owned him, moving well, is off Bute etc.

If we hadn't tried the acupuncture I think we may have had to admit defeat and retire him, instead he's in work, doing a little jumping and gaining muscle in places he's never had it before. I've just had another one 'stabbed' to deal with a neck/contact issue and again I'm getting results. If your guy does just need 'ridden through it' then I'd recommend looking into it. It might just give you the opportunity to get him moving how he should be moving and then he can help himself!

Good luck! :)
 
Gah! You mean I need to do another therapy?! :p

Acupuncture could be an option, he saw an osteo 3x last year, same with chiro and we have magnet rugs etc but am up for a new alternative therapy! How do you go about finding a reputable acupuncturist? I know the old vet at the equine vets does it, but would be interested to compare prices with an independent person :)
 
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