Loss of Performance Workup?

[Ellisymonds]

My horse is 15yo, 15hh Appaloosa x Welsh and as diagnosed with G4 ulcers nearly 4 weeks ago. He is naturally a very 'stressy' type, I've owned him since he was 3yo and in that time he has always been a box walker and very sharp when ridden. He's reacting very well to the treatment but it has got me thinking after reading plenty of 'if your horse has ulcers, it must be in pain' posts!

He is competitive at Medium level BD and in the last year we've been teaching him his changes. He has a very established counter canter due to me stupidly never thinking he'd get above Novice and the simple changes are super sharp but he really struggles to change clean - I'll add here he can change clean, we've seen it lots but it's 1/10 times rather than the other way around.
He's quick to learn things and has had both myself and my trainer ride him over the last year to get them established, he is calm with them and able to not anticipate them etc but it is something he struggles with and therefore, I am wondering if it would be worth getting a loss of performance workup done...

He's treated by a chartered physio every 4 weeks and I've had second opinions too from other physios, none of which have come back with any soreness. He has historically had a soreness in his SI which was due to a rotational fall a while back and showed huge improvement in his way of going since that has been treated. Saddle and teeth done every 6 months and feet done 4 weeks (barefoot)

Sound on both surface and solid ground as well as on tight circles and there are no other symptoms that would indicate anything is untoward. Happy in all other aspects of ridden work.

If you were me, would you get it looked into or accept he's just finding it a big challenge?!

 

[milliepops]

very tricky one and probably one to chat over with a good equine vet, ideally one who specialises in this area.

I'd say.... common things are common, and it's common for a horse that has a very obedient counter canter to then struggle to learn a change.

It's also commonly found that ulcers go hand in hand with pain issues, and you already know you have a historical issue which is a bit of a question mark.

Though...my horse undergoing ulcer treatment at the moment has been checked over several times and vets have found nothing to warrant further investigation at this stage, nor has there ever been anything worrying in her past, so we are currently assuming it's "just one of those things" and she got ulcers just by themselves.

therefore i'd say either scenario is possible and the best person you can ask about it is a really experienced vet. I think a trainer's input is useful but they aren't always best placed to notice physical problems. If you feel that the changes are progressing, albeit slowly, I'd err on the side of it's just a difficult thing for him to learn but it might give you peace of mind to get him looked at.

 

[oldie48]

Tricky but I can only share my experience with you. Rose's work has stepped up considerably since I've had someone else riding her. She was getting good scores at medium despite not being established at that level but because she failed a vetting in Jan 2016 (long story) I'd always worried that she might not be quite right. She passed a very stringent 5 stage vetting in November 2019 with clear hock X rays and I have never seen her take a lame step or felt that she did, however recently I've wondered if she was finding the work harder than she should so I had her looked at by a vet who specialises in performance issues. He has been the National SJ Team vet since 2005. He saw an issue straight away, not serious but definitely affecting performance. She had HA hock injections, four days off with hand walking and three days back into work there was an appreciable difference in her performance. I can't update you any further because the next day she knocked herself and has had to have a bit more time off (darn horses). Rose was very adept at compensating and if I had left it until she started to show lameness I would have had a much bigger problem to deal with. I followed my gut and I'm very glad that I did. The vet is based in Lincs but travels all over the country with a number of SJ and dressage yards where he does clinics. He comes regularly to our yard wihich is how I heard of him and would recommend him. Please message me if you would like more info although he's easy to find if you google.

 

[oldie48]

Sorry it's Notts not Lincs.