newfy
Member
Hello
I’m looking for a bit of advice as I’m a bit stuck following endless vet investigations and no real outcome!
My 14yr old mare is very stiff to ride and lacks suppleness. She will bend “outwards” rather in on a circle, and is particularly bad on corners in a school. It is manageable at a walk but trot and canter it feels like we are going at right angles. She is very reluctant to take a contact, and takes a lot of warming up and circling to get any form of contact, which usually then results in her head being low and BTV. Although when she does this it is much easier to then steer and achieve bend compared to when she is going round like a giraffe with a stiff neck. She also has recently been getting her tounge over the bit, and is generally very chompy with it. She so reluctant to walk into the school, but will stand at the mountain block, tacks up fine, and shows no other signs of discomfort such as no bucking/ ears back etc. she does yawn several times when riding which I have read can be a stress signal - she never does this on the ground.
I have had the vet out several times. She is not showing any signs of pain/ reaction to pressure along back, no swelling or heat. We have tried nerve blocking her hinds up to hocks with no real significant changes. Yesterday we nerve blocked front feet and fetlock, and X-rays. Only showed some sign of concussion likely from the hard ground, which would not explain this behaviour. We have been investigating this on and off for almost 6m now.
I have had several instructors out, most of them have tried to push through it, although my most recent instructor had agreed with me that the vet should have another check given the fussiness with the mouth.
When jumping she also has a habit of running out last minute. It is not consistent as some times she will jump a whole course, but may run out at 1/2.
She can be very forward and rushy. It takes a while of warming up to get a consistent rhythm
I’m at a bit of a loss with what to do next, given she shows no real signs of where the discomfort is coming from. The vet has a very good reputation in the area for lameness.
Thank you
I’m looking for a bit of advice as I’m a bit stuck following endless vet investigations and no real outcome!
My 14yr old mare is very stiff to ride and lacks suppleness. She will bend “outwards” rather in on a circle, and is particularly bad on corners in a school. It is manageable at a walk but trot and canter it feels like we are going at right angles. She is very reluctant to take a contact, and takes a lot of warming up and circling to get any form of contact, which usually then results in her head being low and BTV. Although when she does this it is much easier to then steer and achieve bend compared to when she is going round like a giraffe with a stiff neck. She also has recently been getting her tounge over the bit, and is generally very chompy with it. She so reluctant to walk into the school, but will stand at the mountain block, tacks up fine, and shows no other signs of discomfort such as no bucking/ ears back etc. she does yawn several times when riding which I have read can be a stress signal - she never does this on the ground.
I have had the vet out several times. She is not showing any signs of pain/ reaction to pressure along back, no swelling or heat. We have tried nerve blocking her hinds up to hocks with no real significant changes. Yesterday we nerve blocked front feet and fetlock, and X-rays. Only showed some sign of concussion likely from the hard ground, which would not explain this behaviour. We have been investigating this on and off for almost 6m now.
I have had several instructors out, most of them have tried to push through it, although my most recent instructor had agreed with me that the vet should have another check given the fussiness with the mouth.
When jumping she also has a habit of running out last minute. It is not consistent as some times she will jump a whole course, but may run out at 1/2.
She can be very forward and rushy. It takes a while of warming up to get a consistent rhythm
I’m at a bit of a loss with what to do next, given she shows no real signs of where the discomfort is coming from. The vet has a very good reputation in the area for lameness.
Thank you
