Is she just being naughty?

[Nickyhorse89]

Hello All

My mare has started to throw her head around, sometimes to the point of her tripping up, when I ask her to soften and work on the bit. She used to only throw her head down at the end of ridden work when she gets a bit tired. Now it's progressed to her throwing her head all over the place after 15 minutes. Sometimes she lasts longer sometimes shorter. I asked her to do some leg yields the other day and she threw an almighty fit and reared. Before she reared she did 30 mins of work and didn't throw her head that much. Her teeth and back/saddle have been checked and she's currently in a loose ring snaffle. I've got a physio coming out later this week to rule out any pain.

Is she just being naughty?

Thanks ☺

 

[PaddyMonty]

Impossible to say without seeing what is going on. It could be medical, it could be rider created or she could just be trying to avoid work.
It would be better to get professional advice rather than a guess.

 

[windseywoo]

Is she allergic to pollen, there is a lot of it about at the moment?

 

[Nickyhorse89]

Impossible to say without seeing what is going on. It could be medical, it could be rider created or she could just be trying to avoid work.
It would be better to get professional advice rather than a guess.

That's why I'm getting the physio to have a look at her. It's just getting progressively worse and I don't know why. I have regular lessons and if my instructor thinks I'm riding incorrectly which causes any pain/discomfort she would put me straight.

 

[Nickyhorse89]

Is she allergic to pollen, there is a lot of it about at the moment?

I don't think so, haven't noticed any other symptoms but that did cross my mind, what can I give her to help? She's not so bad on a hack as we pass a few fields. Still throws her head but more on the way home. 😞

 

[applecart14]

When her teeth were checked was it with an EDT or the vet? If it was the latter did the vet use a gag. Unless a gag is used I believe the back teeth cannot be rasped adequately.

 

[Nickyhorse89]

When her teeth were checked was it with an EDT or the vet? If it was the latter did the vet use a gag. Unless a gag is used I believe the back teeth cannot be rasped adequately.

It was done by my vet and a gag was used. My mare did have some sharp points but she wasn't behaving anywhere as bad as she is now.

 

[Nickyhorse89]

Another thing to ad is her left rein is her worst. Always falls through her right shoulder and has squished my leg against the fence on numerous occasions. When I try and use my right rein to block her she has a tantrum. Absolutely hates it when I ask her to bend rather than fall. Is it worth getting her teeth checked again?

 

[JillA]

And/or her saddle

 

[EQUIDAE]

Physio is a good place to start as they can sort any muscular pain - and a good one can assess and treat you as a pair if you are imbalanced at all and hindering her. They will also be able to tell you if it is in the saddle area so you can get the saddle checked. One thing to bear in mind though is that an all clear from the physio is not an all clear from pain as they wont be able to tell if the horse has SI issues. Another thing you can check is for TMJ swelling as this can cause them to throw their head about.

 

[Nickyhorse89]

Physio is a good place to start as they can sort any muscular pain - and a good one can assess and treat you as a pair if you are imbalanced at all and hindering her. They will also be able to tell you if it is in the saddle area so you can get the saddle checked. One thing to bear in mind though is that an all clear from the physio is not an all clear from pain as they wont be able to tell if the horse has SI issues. Another thing you can check is for TMJ swelling as this can cause them to throw their head about.

The saddle I have for her was ill fitted. I got another (reputable) saddle fitter out that instructed me to use a prolite memory foam pad which has helped. Didn't know about TMJ swelling. I'll have a look later. Thank you.

 

[splashgirl45]

what about your bridle? make sure it fits properly and is not too tight especially the browband and this can cause head tossing.

 

[Nickyhorse89]

what about your bridle? make sure it fits properly and is not too tight especially the browband and this can cause head tossing.

My instructor has checked her bridle and it fits. I'll double check. Thank you

 

[Nickyhorse89]

what about your bridle? make sure it fits properly and is not too tight especially the browband and this can cause head tossing.

My instructorhas checked her bridle and it fits. I'll double check. Thanks ☺

 

[gnubee]

Can you open her mouth and have a look at the bars? Mine took up messing with her head quite badly and shortly after her whole riding deteriorated to the point where we could barely walk laps of the school. I eventually spotted quite severe bruising in her mouth - hadn't really occurred to me to check because I was riding with almost western long reins, but when she tossed her head she would yank right at the end of the contact and had clearly done some damage there. No idea what set her off with the head tossing but I'm sure it continued because she was so sore around the bit.
We have gone bitless whilst she gets some more manners, and the ridden issues stopped almost immediately. but at some point will re bit and hope she's got over it!
It occurred to me that yours might have the same issues as some of the things I noticed on mine were:
- worse with lateral work (I took up a lot more of a rein contact for that as she needed more guidance)
- worse later in a ride (probably as the bruising got aggravated throughout)

 

[Nickyhorse89]

Thank you everyone for your advice. I have had the physio out and my mare has been confirmed to be back sore 🙁so no riding till I've sorted the saddle.

 

[BethH]

Back soreness can also be caused by un-levelness behind. Might be worth checking she is tracking up correctly & is straight. Might also ensure the foot balance is right and she is landing heel first or flat not toe first. Head tossing can caused by tension/tight muscles, if she isn't moving correctly, it might not be just the saddle so ensure you've looked at the other bits again too - I only say this because when my horse isn't right, which at the moment is often, it's usually a couple of things together that trigger it and usually not the most obvious thing! Good luck, hope it resolves.