Lip curling ...?

[ForeverBroke_]

My horse has recently started lip curling when I groom him in the mornings before I ride.. He doesn't ever do it normally. I can brush him all day long in the evening and I don't use any different brush, lotion or potion. The only difference is that he hasn't semi-recently had breakfast, but even then his feed hasn't changed recently. It is without fail and quite a marked 'new behavior.' He has had me scratching my head for the last year with repeatedly getting himself cast, having a SI injury as well as PSD on one hind, so I'm just curious if this is just a new 'thing,' or whether there is more to it / it's more of an indicator of pain. He's quite a spooky/sensitive soul so when he originally was acting out last year I had every intention of scoping him for ulcers - but everything else kind of happened in between times, and he doesn't show any 'typical' ulcer symptoms.


Thoughts?!

 

[Sky’s-Legacy]

My shetland used to do it as a response to pain/when she had colic.

 

[Firefly9410]

How interesting. I have never heard of this as a response to pain before. Does it happen when you groom a particular area? That might give you an idea of where to investigate for the cause. Hope it is easily fixable.

 

[ForeverBroke_]

Hmm.. He's got the vet on Thursday anyway, so I will mention it to her.

 

[HeyMich]

Yep, ask the vet. With my mare it is definitely a sign of some sort of discomfort.

I know horses that do it when they smell a mare nearby in season etc, which is more normal behaviour I think!

 

[ForeverBroke_]

When my previous horse had colic he lip curled a lot also, which was what made me think it would possibly be pain related aswell..

I really think guinea pigs was a way I should've gone!

 

[Equi]

My mare does this when she’s annoyed If she thinks she’s been forgotten at dinner

 

[Goldenstar]

It’s often a pain response but some horses seem to do it in a response to something they mildly dislike the smell of.
I have one who does it when the physio massages him and gives every appearance of enjoying of what she’s doing .