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Post by Kimberly on Mar 3, 2008 8:59:00 GMT -5
Pedro has always appeared clumsy, even stepping on himself and leaving a nasty mark, swelling, hair loss... I was lunging him yesterday and he slipped twice..he was able to keep going. Is this clumsy or sure-footed.I will keep training. At other times he appears so graceful.  |
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Post by DianneC on Mar 3, 2008 12:27:30 GMT -5
Can you give more details? Was the ground wet or muddy when he slipped? Is it always the same foot? Both back feet? Always the same gait? Does he trip or seem weak?
When you tip his head toward his tail and ask him to move his hips away from you does he step under himself with his back leg or bump his other leg? Its a matter of the brain knowing where the hind feet are.
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Post by Kimberly on Mar 3, 2008 16:55:37 GMT -5
The leg that always seems to slide out and under is the hind left. It crosses under him hitting the right leg....
Yesterday we where in the arena and it looked like a big animal had relieved itself in the round pen , right on the trail.That made his front slide out from under him both sides/ways... I kicked dirt over the spot and went into another area.
He does not seem to trip and he is not weak.I do think he gets distracted and even day dreams during training....
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Post by Michelle Clarke on Mar 3, 2008 17:36:02 GMT -5
Kimberly, horses in general are just not clumsy...there is usually a good reason for it. It sounds to me like you may need to find a good chiropractor in your area. There could be lots of reasons for what is happening, but it may be a hip out of alignment or a stifle issue. I do body work (chiropractic, osteopathic, stress point, etc), and from the pict above it seems as if his left hip is dropping more than is should in that point of step. It also looks as if his hock is swinging in and not moving straight forward. He may even be "tight rope walking" with the hind meaning his right hind steps into toward the medial line to take the weight instead of it being even. A good farrier will keep an eye on the wear of the feet and ask them how balanced the horse is moving each trim...if they can't really answer you - get a new one! If he is loading more toward the medial line, the inside of his foot will be shorter and more worn (carrying more weight). You may even see a flare on the outside if you go long in between trims.
The joints on the left side of his hip/leg should have more bend in them if they were coming up and moving forward - that would also make his left hip not drop so dramatically. His head position is a little unnatural and "strained" looking, as they use the neck/head for balance, that will tell you alot. I would really be interested to see a video of his movement. Does he roll alot or not at all? Does he lay down to sleep? Does he yawn or roll after you ride?
Horses in the wild or in varied terrain can fix themselves as they have to adjust going up and down, changing gaits quickly and making quick adjustments in thier body positions to move smoothly over the ground.
Keep us posted and see if you can't get someone out to work on him.
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Post by Kimberly on Mar 3, 2008 20:14:39 GMT -5
Thanks for all the useful information. I will send a video of him moving and some more recent pictures. There is a chiropractor coming to our barns on the 17th , I will get him an appointment.
He does lay down to sleep and he does have a habit of rolling after a workout..We don't really ride him just have short training sessions.....mounting, sitting, walking.He is lunged about 5 days a week , sometimes twice a day.He lives in a stable w/o turnouts right now,we are moving him soon, he will have a turn out.
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Post by DianneC on Mar 4, 2008 2:35:19 GMT -5
That's super. It can make a real difference and they often can give good advice.
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Post by fantasykiger on Mar 4, 2008 12:53:52 GMT -5
I love my chiropractor and if ever my horses are a bit off, she is the first person I call. She can let me know if they are out of sync and need adjusting or in pain and I need a vet or just plain ignoring me and I need to get their respect in a training lesson.
I have only had one horse where she felt her all over and she said there is not one thing out of place on this horse and that was my 20 yr old Morgan mare. So they don't always find something with your horse, but it is rare to come across a horse that has not tweeked itself somehow and always self corrected it.
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J
New Born
Posts: 43
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Post by J on Mar 4, 2008 21:28:06 GMT -5
I just picked up the book, the well adjusted horse by Dr. Kamen. He teaches owners how to adjust their own horses and has gotten in quite a bit of trouble over it in some states. At any rate, I checked his book out of the library today because I was curious.
I do some energy work on my own animals and I have had my dog adjusted...just never my horse.
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