Pony strong in one side of mouth

[zbella]

Hello! So my pony has this little problem of on the left rein the right side of his mouth is incredibly strong and it’s near impossible to try get him to do a circle or even turn round the corner. Although on the right rein the left side of his mouth is so supple and very easy to circle/turn. He used to be in a single joint full cheek snaffle but then I changed it to a loose ring snaffle with lozenge and it helped so much, until may of this year where he has started his strong ness again. He is also just in a cavesson bridle with no flash. He has had dentist, physio etc and can do his carrot stretches perfectly, (moves his neck on both sides completely fine)
Im just wondering if anyone has had the same problem and if anyone has any little flatwork exercises for me to try with him? Thank you for reading

 

[TheMule]

I would seek a second opinion on the mouth- preferably under sedation for a full assessment
Normally if that is all ok but they’re numb on one side it’s the rider’s hand on that side that is the root cause- either you or previous rider may ride more fixed in that hand so the horse switches off to the aid

 

[daydreamer]

I’d probably also get teeth checked again. Did the dentist use sedation? Without it it can be hard to see right to the back so I would get a vet out that specialises in dentistry to have a look.

Then I’d get a chiropractor/osteopath out and get a second opinion on the body. It seems unlikely to me that a horse understands the aids to bend and turn one way but not the other.

If all that comes back fine I would get in a good instructor with an eye for detail. If they are physically fine but heavy in one hand it can be because they aren’t moving off that leg.
Hope you get to the bottom of the problem.

 

[Jellymoon]

I may be completely wrong, but when I read your post, I was thinking, that may not have anything to do with his mouth, it’s his body that’s not able to bend on the right rein. Could be something like an issue in his hocks affecting his back.
I’d get the vet out for a work up.

 

[chocolategirl]

Hello! So my pony has this little problem of on the left rein the right side of his mouth is incredibly strong and it’s near impossible to try get him to do a circle or even turn round the corner. Although on the right rein the left side of his mouth is so supple and very easy to circle/turn. He used to be in a single joint full cheek snaffle but then I changed it to a loose ring snaffle with lozenge and it helped so much, until may of this year where he has started his strong ness again. He is also just in a cavesson bridle with no flash. He has had dentist, physio etc and can do his carrot stretches perfectly, (moves his neck on both sides completely fine)
Im just wondering if anyone has had the same problem and if anyone has any little flatwork exercises for me to try with him? Thank you for reading

When I had to this issue with one of mine, it turned out to be neck arthritis?

 

[Season’s Bleatings]

I may be completely wrong, but when I read your post, I was thinking, that may not have anything to do with his mouth, it’s his body that’s not able to bend on the right rein. Could be something like an issue in his hocks affecting his back.
I’d get the vet out for a work up.

I was thinking similar, or that he is falling out to the extreme through his shoulder.

OP do you have an instructor?

 

[mariew]

I would be surprised if its mouth related, as others have said I would guess your pony is stiff or sore somewhere and finds it easier to evade the bend than do it. A good instructor would be a good start, or you could get a body worker in (or vet) to rule out any physical issues.

 

[TotalMadgeness]

Both of mine do that and its down to hind end issues (bone spavin in one and compromised stifles in the other, worse on the right hind in both cases).

 

[Widgeon]

I was going to say maybe hind end too, mine has a slightly iffy hock and leans on one hand in the arena when it's feeling stiff. It's worth a thought anyway, if it is a bit of arthritis it will hopefully be easy to diagnose and treat. FWIW mine is not particularly noticeable on trot up (fortunately we have a pretty eagle-eyed vet) but I can feel it ridden, so don't let a vet brush the idea off too quickly unless they can give you a good reason for why they're ruling it out as a possible cause. Good luck getting to the bottom of it.

 

[Red-1]

I took one on for schooling that was like this, one side of the mouth was so hard that I had to fix my hand against the saddle to get any response whatsoever when I first assessed the problem.

In that horse's case, there wasn't anything physically wrong. On unravelling the problem, I think he had been somewhat less responsive on that side, I think it likely started as he was weaker one side, so the rider had used more pressure to get what she wanted. The horse could lunge both ways in a halter. It had got so the horse was barely rideable, as when the pressure got uncomfortable to him, he didn't know to yield to it, so he pushed into it.

Poor horse had got into a vicious circle, he would't respond so she used more pressure, so he pressed into the pressure (natural for a horse) and it all got worse...

I took the horse back to basics as he had also become nervous (what with being in pain a lot of the time, and not understanding how to make it stop ). Started with a halter on the ground and taught him to yield to pressure. Then took that to a bit, but still from the ground. Then to the saddle, but at halt and reverse only to start with. Then some halt/walk.

It was important to hep the horse to find the release, by helping him learn to yield.

He ended up a nice ride, long term sound.

 

[FourWhiteSocks]

It might be worth trying rubber bit rings, just in case the loose ring snaffle is pinching his mouth on one side.

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

It could be a lameness issue or just that his crooked and hanging on that rein falling through that shoulder.

Is it worse when the offending rein is on the inside when your schooling?

 

[splashgirl45]

are you absolutely sure you are even yourself, this can be caused by the rider. many years ago there was a chap at my yard who had regular lessons and the horse was always stiff on the right side. all checks etc done on the horse, when the instructor got on the horse it was stiff to start with but then responded much better.instructor gently suggested it might be rider problem... he then got another horse, and guess what it was the same but the rider still couldnt see that it was him causing the problem. not saying its you, but best to rule yourself out first...

 

[Leandy]

I agree this is very unlikely to be a mouth issue. Do you have an instructor? What do they say? What happens with a different rider? Do you have similar issues if you ride a different horse?

 

[Shilasdair]

I agree with some of the others on two points;
1. It is likely to be a problem in the right hind.
2. The rider is possibly leaning on the right rein themselves and therefore the horse/rider are bracing against each other.

 

[poiuytrewq]

When I had to this issue with one of mine, it turned out to be neck arthritis?

This totally

 

[Sossigpoker]

Sounds like he struggles to bend to the left because of pain somewhere on his right side ,.most commonly this tends to be the hind limb but of course not always.
A vet would be a good starting point and if no lameness is found they can reger to physio/chiropractor etc.

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

Hello! So my pony has this little problem of on the left rein the right side of his mouth is incredibly strong and it’s near impossible to try get him to do a circle or even turn round the corner. Although on the right rein the left side of his mouth is so supple and very easy to circle/turn. He used to be in a single joint full cheek snaffle but then I changed it to a loose ring snaffle with lozenge and it helped so much, until may of this year where he has started his strong ness again. He is also just in a cavesson bridle with no flash. He has had dentist, physio etc and can do his carrot stretches perfectly, (moves his neck on both sides completely fine)
Im just wondering if anyone has had the same problem and if anyone has any little flatwork exercises for me to try with him? Thank you for reading

My mare occasionally is like this. Normally she needs the chiro