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 Porta Potty Pants
Posts: 2600
  
| Ok … more help/suggestions needed. My horse has started a different "quirk". Actually a couple … When loping, he has started dropping his head and carrying it low (like a show horse) and I have to work to keep him moving (I don't complain about the nice easy lope). The dropping the head is concerning … it's not like him. He used to lope along and he starts that way, but drops his head and at first I thought it was because he was going to buck, so I pick his head up and speed him up … but he doesn't buck, hasn't' bucked … The massage therapist was out, she found some shoulder soreness but not much else. No back pain, no pain in hocks …
Riding a Sibley and Tod Sloan pad. Saddle fit isn't an issue - as far as I can tell. |
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The Advice Guru
Posts: 6419
 
| If the horse has shoulder soreness, I would say saddle fit.
Also it could be an airway issue |
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Regular
Posts: 56
Location: Oklahoma | I would check respiratory...... |
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 Go For It!
Location: Texas |
A low head is a nice relaxed horse... Could you be reading too much into it? How does he carry himself in the pasture. People pay big bucks to get their horses to travel nice and relaxed, lol.
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 Keeper of the King Snake
Posts: 7622
Location: Dubach, LA | Saddle too narrow. Bad teeth. Front foot issue. |
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 I am Woman hear me Roar
Posts: 3395
Location: Choctaw, Oklahoma | Any way you could get a video? My 9yr old lopes differently than when I first got him, his head is a lot lower. A video would help. Does he feel off? |
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 Veteran
Posts: 106
Location: Da Booshes | Without a video can't really say but one reason maybe that he is "hiding" from you.
It can be common in horses that are taught a headset rather than it being a result of riding back to front. |
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I just read the headlines
Posts: 4483
| MadCow - 2015-01-01 5:33 PM
Without a video can't really say but one reason maybe that he is "hiding" from you.
It can be common in horses that are taught a headset rather than it being a result of riding back to front.
^^This^^^ |
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Porta Potty Pants
Posts: 2600
| This isn't normal for him. I'm thinking saddle fit too but am also thinking it could be respiratory too. He doesn't cough or have any other symptoms of respiratory issues. In the pasture or round pen .. and before this he does not drop his head.
ETA: He doesn't "feel" off …
Edited by azsun 2015-01-01 8:35 PM
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 Extreme Veteran
Posts: 371
| saddle fit. my mare did this when I had a saddle that was too tight/small for her. she would have her head down by her knee's. got a propperly fitting saddle and she now lopes normal |
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 A Somebody to Everybody
Posts: 41354
Location: Under The Big Sky Of Texas | Have you tryed a different saddle? |
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I Need a Xanax!
Posts: 2774
| grinandbareit - 2015-01-01 1:46 PM
A low head is a nice relaxed horse... Could you be reading too much into it? How does he carry himself in the pasture. People pay big bucks to get their horses to travel nice and relaxed, lol.
I agree with this.....maybe the massage really helped him a lot...maybe he feels better and is more relaxed and is lowering his head to stretch his back out because it feels good. If he appears happy and comfortable I'd let him be. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 477
Location: Lost in the swamps | Following! because my horse started doing this, this year, he only does it loping to the right, not the left, he gets chargey, gets his head down chomps the bit a little, and goes a bit faster like he's ticked off. His ears aren't pinned or anything. Thought it was his teeth so I had those done and he's a little better but He was also on stall rest for 3-4 months last winter for a splint fracture on the left leg. And has had a respiratory infection in the summer. I started using a 5 star saddle pad, and have been in the same saddle for the past 2-3 years and I would think that if his back hurt because of poor saddle fit he would hollow his back not round it?? Vet cleared the leg fracture and I started him back slowly and monitored his leg like a hawk! He does get ouchy in his sacrum every now and again, I do message therapy and chiro has never picked up a sore back. would someone think hocks? To me if he's rounding his back he's using his rear. To propel And maybe by using it he's ouchy somewhere? Any thoughts?
Edited by imturnin3 2015-01-02 10:07 AM
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Porta Potty Pants
Posts: 2600
| He started this before massage … it's not normal for him. That's what has me concerned. I would love it if he were that relaxed.
I'm sitting here dropping my head and rounding my back trying to think, "If I were a horse … what would I be trying to do if it did this?" LOL. I'm thinking saddle fit too. He's got some whithers but widens out quite a bit.
Will put a call into my vet this morning. I suppose saddle fit is probably the prime candidate. Which presents another set of problems! We all know that story! |
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Porta Potty Pants
Posts: 2600
| imturnin3 - 2015-01-02 10:04 AM
Following! because my horse started doing this, this year, he only does it loping to the right, not the left, he gets chargey, gets his head down chomps the bit a little, and goes a bit faster like he's ticked off. His ears aren't pinned or anything. Thought it was his teeth so I had those done and he's a little better but He was also on stall rest for 3-4 months last winter for a splint fracture on the left leg. And has had a respiratory infection in the summer. I started using a 5 star saddle pad, and have been in the same saddle for the past 2-3 years and I would think that if his back hurt because of poor saddle fit he would hollow his back not round it?? Vet cleared the leg fracture and I started him back slowly and monitored his leg like a hawk! He does get ouchy in his sacrum every now and again, I do message therapy and chiro has never picked up a sore back. would someone think hocks? To me if he's rounding his back he's using his rear. To propel And maybe by using it he's ouchy somewhere? Any thoughts?
What were the symptoms of respiratory issues? My horse has no cough, no runny nose .. nothing to signal any respiratory issues other than the dropping the head when loping … ONLY when saddled. |
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 Expert
Posts: 2604
Location: Texas | My one horse used to do this. I finally realized that he was probably stretching his neck down to relieve saddle pinch or tightness. Different saddle & pad, no longer does it. |
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