Long-term undiagnosed dental problem, will my horse forgive me?

[IrishMaresRuleOK]

I have owned my ISH mare since she was a 3 yo. Nell is now 11 years old.

Over time, Nell became impossibly strong out hacking. I regret that I have tried stronger and stronger bits and still couldn't hold her. I stopped riding in company as I had no control. I couldn't school her because she completely evaded the contact on one rein.

Two BAEDT dentists couldn't find a problem, nor could my vet.

Last week I sought another opinion and have identified the problem to be a gap between her first two teeth and impacted food. Now this food has been removed the gap has closed up. I am riding in a hackamore while she is on antibiotics but I don't have much control.

I was so excited when the source of Nell's pain was identified. A week later, I'm feeling despondent that I have taught her so many bad habits through riding her in very strong bits, and trying to school her when she was evading through pain.

I'm looking for others to share their experience of successfully undoing damage to a horse, either from a previous owner, or undiagnosed pain.
I'm hoping my horse will be forgiving, but I don't know if I should ask someone else to reschool her for me?

 

[southerncomfort]

Don't beat yourself up! It's not like you were ignoring the problem, you had 2 dentists and a vet check her.

I promise she won't hold it against you, horses aren't like that. She is probably just very relieved that she isn't in pain any more.

If you are struggling with the hackamore then it might be a better idea just to give her a holiday until she's more comfortable and then just start off with some relaxing hacks and remind her that being with you can be fun.

 

[be positive]

Horses tend to be incredibly forgiving, they have in many ways very short memories for certain things and pain can be one of those, I have had many arrive here with various physical issues and once the cause is resolved they start to work as if it was never there, that said I do tend to go right back to basics and even restart some of the more tricky ones.

I would put the history to the back of your mind, you did the best you could, the horse will forgive you you need to forgive yourself so you can move forward, then take one day at a time, don't expect too much initially but equally don't be too soft on her now you know she is no longer in pain you can gradually expect an improvement and as she settles you should be able to crack on and enjoy her without a constant battle.

I would also recommend getting a physio out before doing too much, if she has been holding herself in a tense way for years it would be beneficial to get that tension released now she has no reason to hold herself in that way, it would also make you more confident there is no reason to not work her.

 

[IrishMaresRuleOK]

Thank you so much for both your replies, I feel really reassured that there will be a way forward from this, and I've booked a physio too.

 

[Queen Dotty]

I think that with horses you are always learning. Don’t beat yourself up, you have found the problem and you are now dealing with it. Good luck with her, I am sure you will see some results soon.

 

[Tiddlypom]

The diastema has closed up in a week? I doubt that a long standing diastema would close up so quickly, they can and do close but it takes time. I wouldn't be too sure that this is anything to do with her becoming strong under saddle, though it's good that it's been found and sorted.

 

[Mule]

She will be fine. You'll both get a fresh start. Riding will be much more enjoyable for you both so she will be happy with that.

My horse had blind wolf teeth when I got him. His original owner used to saw with his hands and put a lot of tack on to keep his mouth closed (he wasn't strong)

He even had a weird bump on his neck from flexing the wrong way. An instructor called it being broken a the third vertebra. Anyway he's perfect now. I had help reschooling him. He now carries himself and doesn't have any issues with the bit. So all isn't lost.

You can't change the past so try to move forward as positively as you can. We can't blame ourselves for things we didn't know. Especially as both dentists and a vet missed it.