Snatching 5 year old -Help!

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AshleighEmma

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I have a 5 year old ex racer that ive owned since November last year. She had her final race in July, had some down time then I bought her to reschool.

Since then we’ve had a few health issues including POD in her back fetlock’s due to concussion - these have been injected with Arthamed and signed off by vet.

We’ve also had a kissing spine diagnosis which was secondary to the POD - she has had 3 bone shave surgery and again signed off from the vet after 14 weeks of rehabilitation.

Fast forward to now and we’ve been riding for just over a week. Taking it slow and steady each day with the hope to build up over the next few weeks.

prior to surgery she got very upset with any sort of contact where she would evade and snatch constantly not allowing me to hold the reins on bad days. This was never something replicated on the lunge, just during ridden work. I put this down to kissing spine pain.

Since restarting the ridden work the snatching and evading has restarted. She has been signed off from the vet as sound and comfortable so I am confident it is not pain and more of a learnt behaviour from previous pain triggers.

Can anyone suggest any ideas, exercises, tips, tricks to help me with this?

I’ve got her in a standard caveson bridle with a thick eggbut snaffle just for info.

thank you x
 
Has a dentist seen her? Sounds like a problem in the mouth, not something a vet will be the best person to judge.

If the dentist gives you the go-ahead, I'd be calling up a bit fitter next. Also, it's always worth having a go in a headcollar or a bitless bridle - if she's better in it, that's a good sign that the bit's causing problems.
 
Hiya sorry should have said this. Had the dentist to her about a month ago and nothing to report that’s difficult.
I’ve enquired about a bit fitter that’s a good idea thank you!
 
I would also recommend a bit fitter, or as a first step, you could perhaps complete a neue shule online bitting advice form. It is very comprehensive and reviewed and answered by bit fitting specialists not a bot. I had a horse given to me who would snatch the reins and I changed him from the French link snaffle he came with to a NS ported bit with a roller and he stopped immediately.
 
Most rehab doesn't address posture. If you ride when you've not fixed the posture and way of going, ultimately the cause of so many hind leg, SI and KS issues, you've not fixed the horse. Have a look at https://www.facebook.com/wildmagicllc which is the page for Celeste Leilani Lazaris, amazing groundwork. I suspect you might have something like nerve impingement going on, not just a bitting issue. Worth looking into
 
We have had only one ex racing full TB, and his 'contact' was almost non existent, if you looked at what most people would call contact. Your horse from being about two has never been ridden with any sort of traditional contact, so you have to find a working compromise, to work from, which probably means thinking a different method.
I would go back to voice aids, work on not using your hands but mainly body and seat. With ours even tight shoulders and elbows, would stop ours going forward, it's a very odd feeling, because if you saw him working, his head carriage, would say he was on the bit, he was very obedient and did well in dressage competitions, but actually you had a sense of just pushing him forward and nothing else, with your body you just allowed him to do things, with almost a loop in the reins.
When we got him he was a teenager, and he had a phobia about his mouth, he was sedated for the dentist, and needed a lot of it, he would be almost falling over but still hated it being touched, so I would never rule out anticipated pain. When he had his hoof punctured he was just the same, anticipating the pain unless distracted.
Compared to all the others we have had over the years, he was a very complicated animal, but my competent but nervous daughter could ride him, and our CBXTB, was almost as bad, nothing is obvious and its hard mental work
 
honetpot said:
We have had only one ex racing full TB, and his 'contact' was almost non existent, if you looked at what most people would call contact. Your horse from being about two has never been ridden with any sort of traditional contact, so you have to find a working compromise, to work from, which probably means thinking a different method.
Click to expand...

The first stage of Balance Through Movement Method is "connection to contact" so addresses that from the go-get, I agree that racehorses have to have the biggest issue of all horses with this.
 
sbloom said:
Most rehab doesn't address posture. If you ride when you've not fixed the posture and way of going, ultimately the cause of so many hind leg, SI and KS issues, you've not fixed the horse. Have a look at https://www.facebook.com/wildmagicllc which is the page for Celeste Leilani Lazaris, amazing groundwork. I suspect you might have something like nerve impingement going on, not just a bitting issue. Worth looking into
Click to expand...
Very interesting.
 
So… i bought BB from racing. He was 7 and had raced successfully from the beginning. I know racers get a hard time and its a lot on them. We had issues as he was so short backed and compact even though he was 16.1. Struggled with a saddle, finally got there and the whole time he used to chew on the bit and make faces and pull the reins out my hand. He was also in a thicker eggbutt snaffle. He was already in a micklem so i just set it up for bitless.
i took the plunge and went for a hack bitless, the change was almost instant for me. No more pulling and chewing. Its just a very expensive leather headcollar for me as I dont use all the extra poll parts etc.
it has made a massive difference to me.
 
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