One sided horse & cut mouth- any suggestions??

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el_Snowflakes

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Hi all,

My mare is very one sided. Shes as stiff as a brick to the right to the extent that she will look to the the left when out hacking or if stood relaxed. Shes a very strong horse and i currently ride her in a french link snaffle. Well, my riding instructor says that instead of having a constant battle with her I should give her a fairly good pull on the right reign then relax. I took her advice and did this in our jumping lesson on monday and I noticed afterwards that her mouth was cut :( so used sudacreme & so gave her 2 days off. I rode her today and her mouth is cut again:( poor girl, its such a tricky situation.....so....

How long do you allow a horses mouth to heal & how do you avoid this reocurring?
any tips for a lengthening the muscles on a horses stiff side? (we already do carrot stretches)

ps. she is sound and in good health -all relevant checks been done

many thanks;)
 
I'm not going to comment on the muscle issues you're having, however for her mouth I would suggest using Alum crystals to help it heal - I wouldnt ride until its strenghthened up, otherwise its never going to get better, and then put some vaseline or similar on the corner of her mouth.
 
Poor thing - I hope her mouth recovers quickly.

is it possible a little bit of her skin got caught in the bit ring when you pulled her.

On another note i would swap instructors - give a fairly good pull on the right reign. very saddening to read that :(
Invest in a physio to try to overcome the muscular issues.
 
Dancing Queen said:
swap instructors - give a fairly good pull on the right reign. very saddening to read that :(
Invest in a physio to try to overcome the muscular issues.
Click to expand...

^^^

Stick to your carrot stretches too, you'll really notice a differnce in a months time, work on loosening your horses muscles up too before doing any real work in the school, probably a good idea to get her back checked again, get a some exercises to do, leg streches etc might be that your horse needs a on going checks and treatment to get her through it. :)
 
If your horse is bent to the left constantly it has a problem that needs dealing with ,it is stiff on its left side,not its right as it does not want to stretch its left side.
I would want to address this issue in a more positive way than pulling it in the mouth that will never help and has now caused further problems.
The horse needs to learn to stretch its muscles to the right,carrot stretches are useful but i would get professional help to get to the bottom of the problem.
 
if you have had her back checked and all is fine and its just a case of severe over development on one side i would suggest lunging if possible. I would do 90% on the stiff side she doesnt want to turn to and only 10% on her good side. you can do this in a lunging cavesson or even a headcollar until her mouth heals and it might just encourage her to bend more. start off with not very much though, shell find it very tiring using muscles she doesnt usually use.
 
My lad is/was quite stiff (again to bend to the right). I don't think he was as bad as your mare sounds bless her, but my instructor gave me some exercises to do for 10 mins before I get down to the nitty gritty of schooling.

On a long (ish) reign, walking in a straight line, ask for a little bend to the right, then to the left, gradually increasing the bend when they are comfortable to do so (keeping his body straight with your legs and gently asking for some bend, giving and taking the reigns). So 5 paces with right bend then 5 paces of left bend. You may only get a an inch of bend at first, but keep at it. Then throw in a few circles asking for inside bend on each reign. Make sure you give and retake the inside reign on the circle so you're not hauling her round.

In time my lad began to get more and more supple and his neck is loose and not stiff anymore. He now bends his whole body around my leg. Its taken time, but I do it every ride, and it's definitely helped!!

Sorry for rambling!!! :o

Good luck with her, hope her mouth gets better :)
 
What bit are you using? A loose ring may need bit guards to prevent pinching.

Providing all checks have been done (and consider, have you consulted a physio AND a chiropracter? muscular issues and skeletal issues are very different things and may not always be recognised by the opposite practitioner) then many cases of stiffness come from a weakness in the hind leg on the stiff side. Try lunging and hill work to stregthen the hind end, you could also lunge using a pessoa to strengthen the back.

It is possible your instructors words have been misconstrued on here - certainly your hold on the right rein doesn't want to be continuous (which is what stiff horses usually cause riders to do) as this will create a dead mouth and more fight from the horse. A feel and release will repeatedly remind the horse to yield to the rein but it should be a feel, not a pull. When the horse makes you feel you want to pull the rein, use your leg instead to move the ribcage over rather than pull the neck.
 
ruth83 said:
What bit are you using? A loose ring may need bit guards to prevent pinching.

Providing all checks have been done (and consider, have you consulted a physio AND a chiropracter? muscular issues and skeletal issues are very different things and may not always be recognised by the opposite practitioner) then many cases of stiffness come from a weakness in the hind leg on the stiff side. Try lunging and hill work to stregthen the hind end, you could also lunge using a pessoa to strengthen the back.

It is possible your instructors words have been misconstrued on here - certainly your hold on the right rein doesn't want to be continuous (which is what stiff horses usually cause riders to do) as this will create a dead mouth and more fight from the horse. A feel and release will repeatedly remind the horse to yield to the rein but it should be a feel, not a pull. When the horse makes you feel you want to pull the rein, use your leg instead to move the ribcage over rather than pull the neck.
Click to expand...

Agree with the above. It's not unusual for horses to become one sided and it causes discomfort when working on the stiff side. I'd leave the rein alone and ride with your seat and leg. I'd ride in a head collar rather than use a bit.
 
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