pessoaing Nightmare post KS Surgery- Help and Advice Please!!!!!!!!!!!

islandspirit

islandspirit

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My horse is now 8 weeks post KS surgery to remove 5 dorsal spinous processes. We had 6 weeks walking in hand straight after the surgery which had its momenets but went ok. Spirit was tracking up in walk and was altogether more relaxed and a much nicer horse to be around but at week 7 I had to start lunging him in a Pessoa and progress is very, very slow! I just cant get him to relax and any advice would be extremely welcome. For the first 4 weeks he would have an absolute fit, bucking and bronking (he is used to a pessoa) and because I was worried about his back and legs I tried to calm him and get him back into trot from canter but by week 4 I realised that all the in hand walking had allowed him to think that he was boss and that the messing about was really him taking the p**s out of me! I decided that enough was enough and kept asking for canter until we had a nice transition on each rein. I now, though, have a horse who is listening to me but is sore again and still can't relax enough to drop his head, round over his back and start to build up some muscle. He is still tracking up in walk, but not in trot and the right rein is worst than the left and whilst he doesn't look lame. Any advice would be welcome, I feel as though we aren't getting anywhere and that maybe I'll never be able to get him right again.
 
Not every horse can cope with a pessoa.
Personally I hate the blooming things and the last horse I'd use them on is one with KS- I dont understand why vets always recommend them- most equine vets are not experts in horse training.
Try a harbridge or just lunge him loose to help him to relax mentally
 
Cound you lunge using 2 lunge lines? I find this works well & gets them working over their back which is important for you, put 1 onto the bridle same side as yourself, the other onto the bridle the other side, through the lunge roller & round his back legs just below the stifle, is not as "fixed" as the pessoa, hope that helps.
 
My horse wouldn't tolerate a pessoa, it made him panic, your horse may feel the same rather than him being naughty. He has been used to nagging pain and is likely to be thinking he could hurt again and is running away from anything that makes him feel constricted, certainly that was the case with my horse.

I would long rein him. I got extra long long reins by cutting a 3rd lunge line in half and getting a saddler to stitch one half on each of the other 2 normal length long reins/lunge lines so that I could do big circles if needed. It also it gave me the extra length to run the long lines through the bit and between the front legs to attach to roller under his belly, this way you can encourage the stretch without fixing the horse as it is his choice how much line to take and you aid the reins with little gives as though you are riding. Hope that makes sense.

I hate pessoa's and lunging as think it is one sided and unbalanced and am a great fan of long reining, I got some lessons from a good ground worker and my horse took to it very positively and it is the only thing that got us through. Funnily enough he is now so good on the long reins that he now tolerates lungeing and pessoa work too which is unbelievable given his attitude pre-op to both!

I completely understand your worries, my horse was so bad he split his stitches, 5yrs on he is being ridden 4 or 5 days a week and being taken out and about to shows and clinics, you will get through this, if I managed it, I'm absolutely certain you can too.

Good luck and keep on going!
 
Thank you for the advice so far, BethH, did your horse look sound when you first started the log reining? I'm worried that this is as good as it gets! I think he is worried about the pain but was definately also having a mental battle with me! I have tried long reining before the op, which was fine when I worked behind him but when I tried to move him onto a circle he panicked from the line around the back and I was too worried to persevere because I thought he might get tangled up! I can definately see the benefits of running the lines through the bit to the girth though as my other problem is that to avoid pain Spirit had learned to go everywhere with his head in the air when the choice is left to him. I'm feeling more positive already, please keep the advice coming, the more ideas the better.
 
Hi I have just posted you a really long reply that wiped itself from the computer when I pressed the send button, rather than typing it all again, if you want to pm me I am very happy to give you any help or ideas I can.

For me the long reining was the key and I can give you some tips and exercises if you want them, I have had all of the worries and concerns that you are experiencing as basically Ryan threw the book at me bless him! He had to learn to use his back legs from scratch as had never walked properly so anything really was an improvement!!!! As for his behaviour that was pretty dire too - funnily enough I had always got on well with him as he was a very personable little horse (albeit somewhat awkward!) but the long reining created a fantastic bond where he learned to trust me a lot more and allowed me to take control and that helped him to relax and move on. I should add that at one point he was so bad pre-op the vets were considering PTS as I couldn't even walk him from stable to field without him flipping out, so although you are feeling this is bad at the moment, your horse will get through this and move forwards and you will look back with pride that you got him through it.
 
instead of using a pessoa, my vet recommended lunging on the side of a hill with nothing tieing the horse down, as it does the same thing, it is a parelli technique, which to be honest i frowned a bit at. if there is lots of grass this also helps as the horse should try and grab a mouthfall as he goes and encourages long and low and therefore collecting the hind quarters.

for post KS treatment you don't need a steep hill

http://files.parelli.com/hilltherapy.pdf

the site has got advice on how to do it but talk to your vet, and there is no annoying bits of rope etc for your horse to object to

Good Luck
 
TheMule said:
Not every horse can cope with a pessoa.
Personally I hate the blooming things and the last horse I'd use them on is one with KS- I dont understand why vets always recommend them- most equine vets are not experts in horse training.
Try a harbridge or just lunge him loose to help him to relax mentally
Click to expand...

This, I'm another that hates them and would rather not have the 'tug, tug, tug' on the mouth by the action of the hind legs.

What about good old side reins? First time my horse ever rounded and went in an outline was sidereins, he just 'got' them and once you pushed him forward and got him working from behind he looked super!
 
debby1 said:
instead of using a pessoa, my vet recommended lunging on the side of a hill with nothing tieing the horse down, as it does the same thing, it is a parelli technique, which to be honest i frowned a bit at. if there is lots of grass this also helps as the horse should try and grab a mouthfall as he goes and encourages long and low and therefore collecting the hind quarters.

for post KS treatment you don't need a steep hill

http://files.parelli.com/hilltherapy.pdf

the site has got advice on how to do it but talk to your vet, and there is no annoying bits of rope etc for your horse to object to

Good Luck
Click to expand...

I like this - thanks for posting, it's a good idea and great advice.
 
I've tried side reins but somehow he manages to fight them and ends up with a weird swans neck! The only time he ever totally relaxed and worked long and low was when ridden, which isn't of any great help at the mo! Has anyone used the laura bechtolsteimerr gadget that looks like a very long piece of string?
 
Just been discussing the Passoa with a friend a BHSI and we both agreed that they are not good to use as they jiggle the bit around too much. When my mare was being broken she was worked in a Passoa and she definately hates it and gets very sullen when worked in it.

Have you tried just lunging him with just a cavesson and lunge line. Treat him like a baby horse learning to lunge.

Practice just Halt to Walk, Walk to trot, Trot to Walk and Walk to Halt. Re establish the obedience - for this you will need to walk a circle too so that you can stay close enough to bring him back to you when he starts getting smart.

Then once you have regained the control you could then start using a chambon - this will have him working loong and low and build his back muscles without putting undue stress on him. I do find that some horses become too forward moving in the Passoa so you may find this a better way to keep him under control.
 
Hi there,
Not sure if you are still having problems but I never used the pessoa after my horse had the operation either. Side reins were recommended by the vet so thats what I used.
To be honest when I was lunging him he used to bugger off bronching etc at the beginning, eventually after seeking advice I realised he was just taking the p out of me. I couldnt long line him either, he would put his head in between his legs and was off and at 16.2 there was no way I was holding on!
I found hill work was VERY good for him.. I would lunge for a short period of time then take him for a walk in hand up a long steep hill, at first on a loose rein then doing it with long side reins on, this really helped with his topline.
Have you started having physio yet? I found my physio to be a life saver, she gave me a core strengthening exercise sheet with loads of different things to do with him to build him up.
I can go on and on about it but dont want to bore you, if you want more information please pm me, im more than happy to talk to you :)
xx
 
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