Very backwards horse... Please help!

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Peppie-Poo

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Hi,

I am posting this on behalf of a friend... She has owned her 16'3 full ID for 3 years now and is having real problems with making him go forwards (he is basically dead to the leg). She has tried everything under the sun including whips, spurs, less leg and more voice, but the more you 'beat' him the slower he gets. It is so frustrating as he can do everything but is just mentally not willing at all. He used to love his jumping and was most forwards doing this... She jumped him yesterday and he barely picked himself up over the fence and just crashed through it. His tack all fits him and he has no visible injuries. Has anyone got any suggestions?

Thank you in advance :)
 
Is he insured? I'd go and get a full performance work up from your vets tbh, especially if this is a change in behaviour rather than how he's always been.

It could be a virus, a strain, almost anything. But it's not normal, and I think you need a vet to make sure he is ok before you try anything else. Please don't get a physio before you get the vet either.
 
Definitely get him checked out by a vet, make sure she asks for blood tests to be taken too. This sounds very similar to my late gelding, he was diagnosed with EMS and was a changed horse once on medication - but could be a number of things, even something as simple as a deficiency in something. Let us know how she gets on x
 
I would bet he has some undiagnosed ulcers. One of the first symptoms is lack of forwardness. Does she have a way to get him scoped?
 
if all medical checks are done , the best thing I can suggest is to just let the horse offer the pace , because lets face it not matter how much we kick and click we cant make them go forward if they don't want to ,
good luck =D
 
My horse was a bit like this, she seemed to have an upset stomach as she was very grumpy and sensitive, as well as backward and nappy, and got worse after worming. She didn't hold weight well either which was very unlike her type. I recently changed her food to dengie healthy tummy (alfalfa based to buffer acid and with pre/probiotics) and the difference is amazing - she is happier, relaxed, no napping, a little bit spooky but generally energetic and much more forward. So perhaps food is worth thinking about?
 
Thank you all for your suggestions, I have looked into EGUS but this is literally the only symptom that he is showing... he is a very good doer too! It seems to be a reoccurring problem in the summer months - he just gets super lazy. He is not sensitive around the girth or flanks area at all, its like he has lost the will when he is exercised - when on the ground with him he is as sweet as anything.
 
Mine is like this in the Summer he has an auto immune disease and is a headshaker. My expectation is that when it is hot and dusty he must feel like poo. I had to really think about alternative potential problems before this was diagnosed, he was 100% sound, & in general good health, but the problems made him lethargic and stuffy, which apart from being itchy and having skin lesions on one leg, were the only symptoms.
I would never again assume a horse is 'lazy' or 'naughty'.
 
If it is summer only, and he is a good doer, I wonder if his feet are sore, as in low grade laminitis. Can she get him off grass, or onto a starvation paddock, soak his hay/haylage and feed him a low sugar/cereal free diet? And ask the vet to put him o a bute trial a couple of weeks to se if it helps - if so she will know it is pain and inflammation. Does she know how to feel for digital pulses?
 
He does get hacked out a lot... it seems to be the only thing he will actually do! And yes he goes in company as well as on his own sometimes. He is not laminitic - he has a grazing muzzle on every other day in order to control his weight and he is not showing any laminitic signs. She put him in a field with another horse last night to see if it makes him any happier. I think she has decided to try him on healthy tummy too just incase there is a possibility of gastric ulcers. Thank you all
 
Peppie-Poo said:
He is not laminitic - he has a grazing muzzle on every other day in order to control his weight and he is not showing any laminitic signs.
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That's the point - low grade laminitis often gets missed because it is subclinical - there aren't any of the usual symptoms. Does he have "grass rings" round his feet? Those used to be thought of as like tree rings, indicating the changing state of the grass. Now it is thought they are indicators of low grade laminitis over the preceding months.
And can I just say, a grazing muzzle every other day will be doing nothing as regards keeping his weight under control - he will compensate by eating more when he is able to. A recent study has confirmed that.
 
sorry what I meant is that the owner is a very well educated person and would know if her horse had laminitis. He has lost quite a bit of weight since he has been muzzled and he is only out grazing for 12 hours a day anyway
 
Peppie-Poo said:
sorry what I meant is that the owner is a very well educated person and would know if her horse had laminitis. He has lost quite a bit of weight since he has been muzzled and he is only out grazing for 12 hours a day anyway
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How would she know?

There is obviously something wrong, which she hasn't got to the bottom of.
That is no criticism of her (or you) but it can be very difficult to work out why a horse is/is not doing something until the signs & symptoms become very pronounced. The owner needs to write a detailed account of exactly what has happened, including feed and changes, management routine and any changes to it and which activites on what kind of ground the horse appears to enjoy and which he is reluctant to do. That may help her to pinpoint what has triggered the behaviour.

I wouldn't be surprised if sub-clinical laminitis was behind his lack of forwardness, she really needs to have a vet look at him.
 
Please, please get him off the grass. My big lad, a 17.1 ID X, is currently recovering from acute laminitis. His first signs were an unwillingness to go forward. First vet suspected a suspensory injury, advised rest and danilon. She arranged a second opinion, but something made her think laminitis as well, so she padded him up. 3 days later he was in the acute stage of laminitis - rocked back and virtually unable to move. He's still got putty pads on, as at his size and weight the risk of founder is huge. Thank God my vet padded him, or I would no longer have him. Grass is lethal at the moment. If it's not laminitis, it won't do any harm. Note: my horse wasn't overweight either.
 
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