1.) My Horses is about 16 hands and he has like...a kink in his back leg. He has had it for a while...there is nothing broken or fractured but sometimes when we canter he has to carry it for a few steps. Do you think I should get a joint supplement or any suggestions are welcome.
2.) My friend works at a barn and mare has picked up a bad habbit of dropping her head to the ground right after a jump so her hind end propels you foreward and off. Suggestions on how to correct this?
Answers:
To question 1. you have already gotton the suggestion you were probably expecting...Vet exam. Unfortunately, none of us can see the horse in action or be there to run our hands on him and can only give you some possiblities. I am leaning towards the possible stiffle problem myself, but I really would like to know what you mean by kink? Like a knot, buldge or bump? or a kink in the way he moves?
Warming him up before you canter is a must on any horse-..walking, trotting (jogging and extended trotting), circles and surpentines, and of course bending (just a few suggestions) -hopefully you are not one of those saddle up, hop on, hit the arena and canter people.
As for question 2. If I understand what you are trying to tell us... I have a horse that "used" to put his head down and almost stop and buck right after the jump as soon as his feet would hit the ground- VERY dangerous! He is and was perfectly sound with no ailments, he was just goofing off and thought he could get away with it.
IF and only IF- (I do not know your friends riding experience nor yours for that matter)- You are a strong rider, assertive and confident with good balance and a secure lower leg you may try this. Otherwise I suggest you have someone with more experience help with this issue.
Also you did not mention any height of the jumps, I am going to asume around 2' or so.
First of all comming into the jump you know that there is a possibility that she may drop out from under you after the jump so prepare...Sit up, sit deep and sit back. Stretch into your heels, and look up (where you are going, and NOT at the jump). Wait for the horse to come to you. You need to remember before you land to start to return to your saddle as soon as possible from your 2 point position over the fence, without comming down on her causeing her to drop the rail with her back end. This is securing your seat as soon as you can, giving you the anchor you need to push her through after the fence. As you land (stretching into your heals, Sitting up) you are simply going to have a good feel/ hold/ slight pull on the reins and a press with your lower leg and prevent it BEFORE it happens. If you come in on a loose rein and or land in one, and your are landing with your weight on her neck instead of holding yourself up, then she has all the opprotunity she needs to dump you. If you assertively push her through this split second moment every time, she will realize that this is time to pay attention not misbehave, and will stop doing it and proseed to the next jump in a fluid fashion as she should.
Hope every thing works out for you! Happy jumping!
eww
Yucca is the best supplement for joint in horses. Make sure he is completely warmed up before you break into the canter too, that will help.
Well, I will only give my opinion on the first one. I won't get into the "jumping" world as I'm not qualified and maybe I'd be wrong.
The first horse however... I don't know what you mean "kink" but I do understand the "holding"... again may not be right but I own a stifled horse and this just sounds like his stifle is locking out. Get your vet to do a full exam, better safe than sorry, and have them give you a "rehab" program if its the case. My vet helped me on a "saved" horse, he was on his way to slaughter in May and I had him to world by the end of october, same year (not his qualifying obviously but... what I ride you can "supplement one horse for another). AND, (not all stifle injuries will be as minor as his but rehab on a stifle is the biggest factor! I have a GREAT vet, very knowledgeable on everything I toss his way, he hasn't faultered on me yet. If this is the case, and you don't get much help from yours. . I'd be more than happy to repeat his words or give you his number so you can hear it straight from the horses mouth, so to speak!!
Good luck
suggestion for the first question, are you sure he hasn't gotten stung or has some part of a fence in it, a splinter could have caused an infection.
Give the glue factory a call!
I would agree that your horse's stifle should be examined before you go any further. Giving a horse suppliments can be very beneficial, but there is no use paying for a product that can't help your particular problem. Suppliments such as glucosamine can help with arthritis and joint problems, but I don't think they will do much for a stifle problem. Make sure your vet is very experienced with horses, and make sure he sees the horse lope. I would take along a lunge line at the least, or better yet, plan to ride the horse for the vet to see.
Second question - it would be really helpful to see what the horse does when it jumps. You make it sound as though the horse really bobs its head down after each jump, which is very unusual as it would throw the horse off balance as well as the rider. I would wonder about a soundness issue with this horse, too. It might be worthwhile having a lameness check, or if nothing else having a chiropractor work on his back or something like that to see if it help. Obviously the lameness check would give you an idea if there was pain, and where since once again its pretty tough to treat pain if you don't know where or what it is!
If the horse is totally sound, do you think the horse is purposely trying to misbehave, or is it just not schooled well or poorly trained? I think I would go back to square one and do alot of schooling the horse over groundpoles, doing alot of really low grid work and getting the horse to move forward, relax and forget about this behavior. If it is misbehaving you might need professional help to learn what to do - I suspect it needs to be pushed forward after the jump, which is where grid work might help. It is is not trained well, then it needs a better foundation in the basics before you raise the jumps.
Anyhow, good luck with both horses. Hopefully their problems can be solved with a bit of help from an expert!
1) I don't know much about horse's hips, but my riding teacher's horse had this think in his hip, and he did this thing with his hip. It was kinda wierd but it worked, you could try to look it up.
2) My horse did the same thing for a while. I hate pulling on the rains-I think it's torture, but you have to wait till she's about to do it, right as she's about to put her head down, jerk on the rains and she'll put her head up. It might take a few tries, but it works.
For the @nd question...
Does she do this after every jump? do you feel like your holding her up? If so just let go of the reins when she does it and "drop her on her head" she will then learn to carry her own head . . . do this for a while and she should get the hang of it.
You should def. talk to a vet about this problem. I'm sure its bruised tissue or even a bruised bone.
thats weird
My horse Scarlet did the same thing because when she was less than a year she got tangled up in some nasty barb wire. Now when we ride some times you will here a click. I would call a vet and ask them for advice.
It does sound like a stifle issue with your horse. This happens when the horse's ligament associated with the kneecap slips over the lower part of the femur and locks his knee in place. This is locking suppose to happen so he can stand when he is resting. If he can't unlock it while moving that is where you get either short strides in back or the rear leg lifted for a few strides. If his condition is intermittant or mild, regular exercize that really makes him work his hind end should help - work up gradually. But if it gets worse, the area swells or is persistant you should get a vet check right away - supplements WON'T help this problem. If rehab does not work there is a surgery that cuts this ligament and has a pretty good success rate, but your boy will have to lay down to rest. Good Luck!
Question 2 - So many things could be causing this - probably rider related (is she trying to avoid the bit as the rider tries to catch thier ballance?) or back related - pain will cause a horse to gradually get what we think are "bad habbits."
Jessie.
I recommend J-flex concontrate. My stiff horses can work good after it.
As for the other horse. Tell her try jumping then stopping. Try trooting then jumping. Also, give her only as much rein as she needs to jump, if there is any extra rein pull it up.
Good Luck!
Pretty boy! if he only does this once in a while, it probably isn't a huge deal, but something is bothering him-I don't think I would call the vet if you can't feel any heat in it, but next time you see the vet for something else, I would mention it. If it gets worse, then definitely get the vet. For the mare, knowing she does this, I would probably start carrying a crop, and as soon as she gets over the jump and starts to lower her head, pop her with it a few times--the bat with the wide end makes more noise than discomfort, but this is a dangerous habit and needs to be nipped immediately. You can make a training aid--they probably can be bought, but can't remember the name right now, but it is like a reverse martingale. it attaches to the saddle, runs up the neck,then splits and runs down the cheek straps and hooks to the bit on each side. it is short enough that when she tried to lower her head past a certain point, it automatically pulls the bit and her head back up, but if she is going normally, it doesn' t affect her at all.
for your first question- I have a 15 year old TB who has a weak back end (was a racer and we rescued him from an abusive trainer). do more riding outside of the ring, like trail rides and trot sets up and down hills. this will help strengthen his back end which will help when he is cantering. you can try commercial joint supplements to protect against future joint damage or start him on injectable joint lubricators like Legend or Adequan (take to you vet).
for your second question- work more on the flat or over ground poles striving to get a lighter, more uphill canter. also, you might get the vet out to evaluate if she has back or joint problems. also, check if her saddle fits properly. if all that is well, then while jumping, give half-halts on the approach to make sure that she is balanced and in front of the leg, and practice a deeper 2-point and make sure that you are not holding the reins so tight the you are popping her in the mouth or getting left behind. grab a piece of mane or the top of a breastplate and give her so slack in the reins just after takeoff. make sure you don't drop your shoulders over the jump and try to secure your body with your abs
he is pretty. a relaxer probably would work and if it doesn't you should have the vet take a look at it because it might be arthritis.
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