Tell we what you see , besides a lame pony

[ycbm]

I'm sorry you didn't get anything conclusive.

Hopefully, getting him fit will show that's all he needs (assuming the hocks are sorted). And if not, then increasing his workload should at least give your team a better idea where to look.

Do you have some hills? I recommend a lot of hill work. It's great both for strengthening and for exposing lameness. It's very difficult for a horse to hide lameness or keep it subclinical if it lives and is ridden on twenty percent hills like I'm lucky enough to be on.

Please don't beat yourself up, you are a great owner, very caring, and your riding has improved hugely because you were brave enough to post video and ask for advice. If it would make you feel any better, I can show you video of my riding making a sound cob hop as I mistakenly block him with my hands. None of us is perfect.


.

 

[Pinkvboots]

If I were you OP I’d get off the forum, get him into some decent level of work and see what happens. It’ll go one of two ways, either he will push through and improve or he will break enough for the vets to see something.

Sorry bit blunt and not how everyone would like to do it but you’ve done everything you can. I’d get him as fit as you can and see where your at.

This is what I would do work work and more work.

 

[PaintPonies]

New to the forum but have read through your post. Can only agree with others to say that you are doing all you can. The only thing I would add is that as well as keeping a diary also keep videoing. Probably don't need to video every session but maybe go through a set routine once a week and video it. It's so easy to miss the subtleties of improvement, or deterioration, if you are seeing it every day. Good luck, I hope he goes from strength to strength

 

[Slightlyconfused]

This. You are not an appalling rider so dont blame yourself. You said he was naughty for the vet nurse as well, so clearly its not just you! I would be very tempted to find someone sympathetic but firm and send him off for a month. Have them work him twice a day, hacking and schooling and see if that fixes the issue or breaks him enough to see it clearly.

It has the added benefit that he will come back educated and it is much, much easier to ride an educated horse than a green one, so it will help you improve as well.

This is what I would do.

Send him somewhere who doesn't have the emotional connection you have and can just work him and then see what happens.

 

[Horse2018]

Have you ever thought he could be fake it for you to get out of work. My friends horse fake Being lame . If the vet says he sound I say there correct and there probably isn’t any issues. I say he is just be a brat and nows he can get away with it .

 

[TPO]

Have you ever thought he could be fake it for you to get out of work. My friends horse fake Being lame . If the vet says he sound I say there correct and there probably isn’t any issues. I say he is just be a brat and nows he can get away with it .

I'll bite...

Horses do not "fake" lameness; that is not how their brains are wired. Nor do they act like "brats"; they are a product of their environment, training and may display "bad" behaviour due to pain.

 

[Nudibranch]

Have you ever thought he could be fake it for you to get out of work. My friends horse fake Being lame . If the vet says he sound I say there correct and there probably isn’t any issues. I say he is just be a brat and nows he can get away with it .

Ok.....

 

[eggs]

One of my horses didn't feel 'right' (felt like you were riding a bicycle with a flat tyre) although he looked sound so we put him on a bute trial and worked him consistently over a week or two. It was very apparent that something was wrong as he felt so much better on the bute trial. A fair bit of investigation later and he was found to have a bone chip in his front fetlock which was removed and we haven't looked back since.

OP you are a very thoughtful owner and are doing your absolute best for Strawberry. Some of the videos you posted before showed huge improvements in both your riding and his way of going. I would be tempted to continue with the bute trial but have a more experienced rider work him whilst you video it to see if there is any difference.

 

[Slightlyconfused]

I'll bite...

Horses do not "fake" lameness; that is not how their brains are wired. Nor do they act like "brats"; they are a product of their environment, training and may display "bad" behaviour due to pain.

Normally I would agree with this but...... We had a pony that learnt to go "lame" when we first had him as he knew we would get off him and take his tack off.

We were very novicey at the time so the yard owner put one of the girls on him not telling her what had been going on and he was completely sound and happy to do anything she asked. We got back on and lame pony again🙄 so it was decided he had learnt to hop as it meant tack came off.
We had to get tough pretty quick and he never had another day's lameness until he was retired at 20.

So no I don't think they can lie or be a brat on purpose but I do think they can learn a behaviour to get an outcome they like. Just like any human or animal can.

 

[Chuffy99]

Yep used to be a fab lead rein pony round here some years ago that was sound hacking and having fun at home but as soon as it got to the show ground went lame, trouble was they couldn’t work it through it in the ring so they retired him and he did PC and hunted for years.
Agree with lots of the above HK think you need to get him fit and that involves lots of work, real long hacking with him walking out and as much hill work as you can but acknowledge Essex isn’t renowned for hills, trotting on suitable surfaces, hopefully you can find some company as I seem to remember you’re not a confident hacker

 

[ycbm]

I'll bite...

Horses do not "fake" lameness; that is not how their brains are wired. Nor do they act like "brats"; they are a product of their environment, training and may display "bad" behaviour due to pain.

I completely agree that they don't fake lameness but they can do some very odd things. I had a horse once I was doing a barefoot rehab on who started hobbling on stones when putting himself away in the barn. I got a headcollar and lead on him to trot him up and he was totally sound. I had to lead him over the rough tarmac for quite a while before he agreed he could walk over it just fine all by himself 😆

 

[Horsekaren]

Thats the plan, i am going to bring him back into harder work and set some sort of baseline. I am then going to start the bute and work him quiet hard. He is being sweet on the ground, i lunged him in the field this morning (15 mins walk 5 mins trot) and he looked great, started to stretch all be it inconsistently.


My issue i have is getting on board :'( i feel really nervous about it as i know i'm going to have a battle on my hands as he is going to rush off, break into canter and run at the fence before dragging me back onto the right rein. I think i am leaning on the left rein, he will go forward and go faster and faster running towards the fence, i then lean on the left rein to turn him and then he will buck and get really pissed off. I feel like my head is in a muddle with my aids.

For all you better rides out there how would turn a horse that was really resistant to it? Lets term this "turning for dummies" What aids would you use (really broken down simply)
Should i really open my left rein? lift the left rein? what do i do with my right rein and my legs? i feel like ive got all uncoordinated and my brain has turned to mush when it comes to bending. Im not after anything pretty i just want to turn him left, if i drop the reins he will still go right. I want to help balance him not pull him around.


Also if he just wants to tank off and run back to the gate how would you ride that?

I know i need help! i'm just figuring out where to get this!

 

[SEL]

Thats the plan, i am going to bring him back into harder work and set some sort of baseline. I am then going to start the bute and work him quiet hard. He is being sweet on the ground, i lunged him in the field this morning (15 mins walk 5 mins trot) and he looked great, started to stretch all be it inconsistently.


My issue i have is getting on board :'( i feel really nervous about it as i know i'm going to have a battle on my hands as he is going to rush off, break into canter and run at the fence before dragging me back onto the right rein. I think i am leaning on the left rein, he will go forward and go faster and faster running towards the fence, i then lean on the left rein to turn him and then he will buck and get really pissed off. I feel like my head is in a muddle with my aids.

For all you better rides out there how would turn a horse that was really resistant to it? Lets term this "turning for dummies" What aids would you use (really broken down simply)
Should i really open my left rein? lift the left rein? what do i do with my right rein and my legs? i feel like ive got all uncoordinated and my brain has turned to mush when it comes to bending. Im not after anything pretty i just want to turn him left, if i drop the reins he will still go right. I want to help balance him not pull him around.


Also if he just wants to tank off and run back to the gate how would you ride that?

I know i need help! i'm just figuring out where to get this!

You've got an instructor I think? I'd get them out and ask them to watch you in the scenario you describe above. What we think we're doing and what we're actually doing can be completely different things as I've had proved to me recently!

 

[ester]

You need good help on the ground, and preferably a bit on top too so they can show him the right way.

 

[milliepops]

You need good help on the ground, and preferably a bit on top too so they can show him the right way.

this, this would be the best time for you to get some expert help in quickly to address this - it will help you in the long term too.

my quick answer would be that to turn left, I use the outside (right) rein as much as the left rein. If you only pull on the left rein, he can kink his neck and body and still run to the right. If you control the outside of the horse with the outside rein and think of turning the whole horse as one unit, then they can't do that. You need to imagine the 2 reins are like train tracks and the horse goes between them.

It's very weird to start with as completely against your instincts, and if he is not used to being ridden from the outside rein it won't be easy, either.
which is why some really skilled help on the ground, and to teach him too, would be so useful to you.

 

[eggs]

Without actually seeing what is happening or sitting on your horse it isn't really possible to give you too much advice on how to turn. The best way forward would be to work with a good trainer.

 

[ester]

this, this would be the best time for you to get some expert help in quickly to address this - it will help you in the long term too.

my quick answer would be that to turn left, I use the outside (right) rein as much as the left rein. If you only pull on the left rein, he can kink his neck and body and still run to the right. If you control the outside of the horse with the outside rein and think of turning the whole horse as one unit, then they can't do that. You need to imagine the 2 reins are like train tracks and the horse goes between them.

It's very weird to start with as completely against your instincts, and if he is not used to being ridden from the outside rein it won't be easy, either.
which is why some really skilled help on the ground, and to teach him too, would be so useful to you.

I would like to work on a teleportation device for you

 

[Pippity]

For all you better rides out there how would turn a horse that was really resistant to it?

Definitely not a better rider, but my experience might help. My horse is really resistant on the left rein, which is what prompted the initial investigation that led to the bute trial.

My instructor taught me the following:
Lift left hand and demi-arrete to get her flexing left at the poll. It's harder for her to lock her neck if she's got that little bit of flexion.
Make sure my hips and shoulders are correctly positioned so I'm not blocking her. I naturally sit with my right side further forward, and it can make it easier for her to evade, especially when I fall into the trap of locking my body and trying to haul her round with brute strength.
If all else fails - keep my schooling whip by her right shoulder, and tap to encourage her to turn.

She's starting to get the idea of turning from the outside rein, but it's taken a good few months. She still has her moments of either locking her neck and walking into the school fence, or just going sideways to avoid turning, but she is improving.

Also - I have her in a full cheek bit. I'm not sure what you have Strawberry in, but it just gives that bit of a push to the turn, and makes sure the bit can't get pulled through.

 

[Annagain]

Again, definitely not a better rider but have some experience of a similar situation. My boy wouldn't turn / bend right and would lock his neck / shoulder. My method probably wasn't very textbook/PC but it worked! I'd get my right leg as far forward as I could and would give him a sharpish kick as close to the shoulder as I could. He'd instinctively move away from it which created a bit of bend, at which point I'd give him lots of praise. He soon learned the bend was what I was asking for an as soon as the bend came, the turning got easier.

One of the other things that made a huge difference was me learning to ride a lot less with my hands and a lot more with my legs. It's the hardest thing in the world when it feels like he's running away with you but use more leg to move the shoulders and control the outside shoulder with outside hand. If you just pull the rein, it will move his head and neck and cause his shoulder to pop out and the rest of his body will follow the shoulder.

A good way to practice this is to ride him on the buckle - just in walk and do a 5m circle in each corner and at E&B use your body and legs to steer him. Imagine you're going round a maypole and look at the maypole at all times. Turn your upper body to do this not just your head, but keep your inside leg in front of your outside leg. Your inside leg should push him outwards and your outside leg - slightly behind the inside - should bring his quarters round, thus creating bend. I start every schooling session with this and don't stop until he's turning nicely from my leg and not trying to run off. We then do the same in trot but with a 15/20m circle (start with 20 and work down to 15 as you progress) at A,C, E and B.

 

[Equi]

I would put lameness out of your head for now - it’s hard but it really holds you back (I know this)

Start working on strawberry as though he was a new horse and you have issues to fix ridden not physically. Work on the ground and get that mounting sorted.

 

[Mahoganybay]

Hopefully the Bute will give him some relief whilst you work through some issues.

One of the things my mare did (amongst others) that indicated an issue was that she would always fall out through her shoulder on the right rein and spin left. She picked up quite some speed doing it and then would put in a massive buck for good measure.

With my instructor and following vet treatment/rehab etc I have worked on using my legs more and my hands less.

So on a right turn on the circle on the right rein, I will ask for slight outside flexion, use my outside leg to turn and really open out my inside hand to show her where I want her to go. I also really look round the circle (almost behind me) and put my inside shoulder back slightly.

It only took a few sessions and we have nailed it, I know no longer have to open my inside hand so much and can actually give a little with it.

Oh, and when she did fly off through her left shoulder and spin I was turning her into that spin, my instructor stopped me doing that straight away. I was taught to pull her up sharp to a halt and then use my outside aids and send her right again.

 

[Trouper]

It is so easy to describe what to do and so hard to do it while you are sitting there trying to remember it all, wondering if you are doing it correctly and then wondering if you are going to get an explosion from your horse. Agree with everyone who has said either to send him away to be worked or to get someone else in to help both you and him - whatever works best for you. Would only add one other suggestion - maybe have a lesson on another horse with the express purpose of sorting out how you are delivering the aids and then, when you are happy, get back on your boy knowing you are doing it correctly and you can concentrate on his reactions and how he is going. Good luck - you will get there.

 

[indie1282]

I would avoid the schooling altogether and get him out hacking. It really is the best thing to build up stamina and will strengthen him much better than school work.

You need to do lots of hill work and can still do transitions to keep things interesting.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

Certainly get him out of the school and hacking but also concentrate on turning him with your body by turning to look where you want him to go and *your legs*. As someone else said, ride him on the buckle, so that you forget about turning him with the reins and tell him where to go with your legs. Hacking is good because you won't often need to do a circle or even a corner/right-angled turn, you can use natural obstacles, such as puddles/parked cars to move him over on tracks/roads. If you can find a hacking buddy with a calm traffic-proof horse, that will help you both relax, which will also help. When we get tense we often unsciously block the movement that we are trying to get.

 

[tristar]

hk i would do everything! gently, then ask for more, and have you ever been to the gallops? you dont have to gallop a lot just do what what you can and build on it on a good surface going straight, and for god sake learn shoulder in, its the best thing ever!

 

[AmyMay]

I would avoid the schooling altogether and get him out hacking. It really is the best thing to build up stamina and will strengthen him much better than school work.

You need to do lots of hill work and can still do transitions to keep things interesting.

I absolutely agree. Hack, hack, hack

 

[Meowy Catkin]

I have to agree with the hacking advice and I also think that he needs to build up hill work while out and about. In fact good, old fashioned 'straight line work' ie six to eight weeks walking, slowly building up distance as fitness improves and then slowly introducing trot etc... is exactly what i think this horse needs.

 

[AmyMay]

I have to agree with the hacking advice and I also think that he needs to build up hill work while out and about. In fact good, old fashioned 'straight line work' ie six to eight weeks walking, slowly building up distance as fitness improves and then slowly introducing trot etc... is exactly what i think this horse needs.

Again, absolutely agree.

 

[ester]

I think that depends whether the OP can be confident enough with him out hacking to have him working properly

 

[Meowy Catkin]

Could she arrange to have a sensible hacking buddy? Maybe get someone else to ride him to start with? Have someone else come on foot or on a bike?