Stiffnes in shoulder?

galacasinoking

galacasinoking

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Hi!
I have a 15hh welsh cob gelding, 13 years old. I had him on loan when he was 4/5 years old then he went to a college where the students rode him. I then bought him last December as Ive always loved him to bits!
All his life he has been jumped and rushed about everywhere & always ridden in a strong bit. When I got him I realised he had a few problems
1. He seemed stiff, almost lame in trot. He was always fine after I had walked him for a good ten minutes.
2. He had never been schooled, but when I began to school him, he seemed very unwilling to bend on the right rein.

Anyway, I just knew he did not feel right so I had a chiropractor out who seemed to make him worse. I then had a very good physio out who explained everything to me! He said all his muscles were wrong, he had too much on the left side and hardly any on the right. So he worked with him for an hour & a half, & also had another 2 sessions a few weeks after. He had lasor treament to try and relax his muscles in his back, he said because he had always been thrashed about with his head stuck in the air, his muscles had 'set' so he had alot of tension. I was very very pleased with how much better he was after this treatment. He started to school on the right rein & the stiffness was considerably better.

Now ... I have moved from that yard since January this year, where there is no school. The ground is very hard due to no rain, so I very rarely ride on the grass as its a night mare, also the land is very hilly and rutty. He has gone back to how he was before, stiff in the right shoulder, short stepping and he now seems to almost 'hammer' his feet down. Also, not sure if its related but the clenches on his shoes always seem to start rising by about 4 weeks after hes been shod & its always on the outsides of his fronts (backs are fine) Hacking out - he is reluctant to walk straight, always wants to bend his head & neck slightly to the left so I always feel like were walking diagonally. I try my hardest to use my legs, body and hands to work him straight but the minute I relax he falls back into it. Also whenever I canter him on a bridleway he seems to canter with his body bent to the left.
Im wondering if he cant cope with hard ground, as he always seems better in a school or on soft grass. When he goes out in the horsebox & jumps in a school, or does flatwork in a school he feels amazing, but then I wonder if its the adrenlin covering it up, as he loves going out!
I have started to ride him in a hackamore, as he is now hard mouthed & I couldnt find a bit he was happy in. He loves the hackamore, he is alot more relaxed & I have brakes. Hes quite a sensitive chap & has always been forward going so people have clung onto his mouth, then he would go round like a giraffe.
I feel stuck in a rut as to where to go with him, without it costing too much! I love this horse to bits so I realy want the best for him. Does anyone have any suggestions what it could be???

I had the vet 2 weeks ago for his jabs & I trotted him up for her, she could see no lameness or problems
Also, he never seems unhappy/in pain. He is always alert & likes his work. He just seems stiff.
 
I'm having a very similar problem with my sister's horse that I am looking after at the moment. Ellie also has extra problems - she came to me hugely overweight, her feet (front or back) aren't matched, and had a check ligament injury last year.

However, the main of her problem was a stiffness from her left shoulder. I have lunged her a couple of times, and have kind of schooled her a couple of times - but in the most I have stuck to hacking (which she loves), and incorporated flexing and stretching into her hacking. On roads that we can get away with it, I ask for some leg yielding, shoulder in etc - just to get her loosened up. She similarly can start off feeling a little stiff when you first get on, but is better once she's had a few minutes walking. The other thing that I have found has helped her is asking her to lengthen and shorten in walk and trot and get her working her back end better.

Have you checked the fit of your saddle? Ellie's saddle my sister sent with her wasn't great - and she has been a million times better since she has had a different saddle. I'm just staying with the hacking, and I'm going to see how she is after some more strengthening work out hacking.

Re the walking diaganolly - Ellie does this too - and I just keep reminding her to walk straighter, and she does seem to be getting better. I also give her front legs a good stretch out before we go out, which also seems to help her :)
x
 
thanks for the reply
the saddle has been fitted to him, it is an Ideal haflinger/cob to accompany his lack of withers and big shoulders.
my boy is not excactly lame, but it is almost as if hes stiff/short in his right shoulder. it is like he is short stepping.
 
Yep - that's exactly like Ellie. Ellie was really unfit when she came to me though - which is why we're sticking with hacking to strengthen her up using hills and slow steady work before we do any more.

My plan with her is to get her as fit as we can, to give her the best chance of coping with working correctly in the school x
 
well i dont have a school which is rubbish! and ground too hard. but when i take him out and use a school he feels great. he still needs reminding not to go diagnally but he certainly is not stiff!
its just so frustrating because i worry that i shoudlnt be riding him but he seems so full of himself and alert that it makes me think hes not in pain
 
I would do what you think is best for your horse - you know him better than anyone else. They will tell you if they're not right. I would just stick at it - get him into a school when you have opportunity, and do little and often :) x
 
Maybe get the vet out again and ask for X Rays to be done. I don't want to worry you but my horse was stiff on the right rein, he was sound in the school and on grass but was slightly lame on hard ground about 4 weeks into his shoeing. The X rays showed ringbone in both front coffin joints. The farrier looked at the X rays and shod him he is now sound again. For how long no one knows. Hope it's not that with your horse but just something to think about.
 
If your horse appears stiff in its shoulders, it is highly likely that it has bilateral front foot pain. The horse doesn't show obvious lameness because both feet hurt.
 
thanks, i appreciate the honesty
he is not stiff after 4 weeks of being in shod, he is like it pretty much all the time.
its just the clenches on his shoes come up after about 4 weeks.
 
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Seriously get the vet out, I'm glad I did even though it was not great news. My vet says he could be in work for many years, he is on a joint supplement and back in normal work. Mine is a Cob and it is very comment in heavy horses.
 
was your horse ok if you took him out like competing. mine is like a spring chicken if you point him at a jump or take him out in the box. or even just in a school
 
Funny you should say that lol. I've only had him since January, he first went lame after I'd had him month, he had trodden on a rock so we thought it was just bruising. So we buted him and box rested him for a few days he went sound again. We went to our first show in March and he took off with me in the field, he was really forward and completely sound. He was jumping in the school and was never lame on soft ground. I just thought something didn't feel quite right with him, he had difficulty turning tight circles and when and doddery in the first few strides in trot on the road.

Then he went dog lame again while I was out on a hack, again 2 weeks before he was due to be shod. He came sound after a couple of days on Bute, then I had the X Rays done. He was shod 4 weeks ago and is still sound. I don't trot on the roads anymore and are careful on hard ground.
 
My horse is doddery on the right rein on a small circle or if i turn him tightly (but only on hard ground - he is fine in a school or somewhere with alot of grass coverage) and he is short in trot on hard ground (including concrete) but if i bring him back to walk then give him another ten minutes walking, he is normally fine in trot after. Or if he has spooked at something and is more 'alert' and forward going, he is fine in trot then, even if ive literally just got on him.
 
You are describing exactly what my horse does. If he's chasing me for food his trot is perfect, but when ridden it's as though he's crippled for the first few strides after he is ok. He is perfect on grass and in the school. The farrier and vet said that it is due to the concussion not exactly by movement, so he has gel between his shoe & hoof which so far has kept him sound. Although he still trots hard ground like he's only got 3 legs. I just try him once a week to see if he is still comfortable. Good luck with your horse.
 
so i have 2 vets coming out this morning at 11am to look at my horses. just wanted xrays done but they say they cant do xrays untill theyve done other lameness tests like nerve blocks etc so its gonna cost more money due to more visits. but at the end of the day, just wanna know whats wrong with my boy. hope hes ok :(
 
vet said he has flat feet & big heels so hes been using the back of his feet all his life instead of the whole foot. He nerve blocked him and found he is definitley lame in both feet. Having xrays next week, but he thinks its in his coffin joints
 
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