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 Expert
Posts: 5293
  
| OhMax - 2017-06-28 9:12 AM
Southtxponygirl - 2017-06-23 10:49 AM
OhMax - 2017-06-23 10:38 AM Sounds like my backup horse to a T. The gate issue and the second barrel. This horse came to us at 11 years old, a career rope horse but bred to turn cans and at some point in his life someone had started a pattern on him. This spring I started pushing him harder and at our 2nd or 3rd race we creamed the 2nd barrel. Before this he was started to get a little more on the muscle at the gate - and we hadn't really figured out what made him tick as a head horse either. All in all we didn't love him, but we didn't hate him, he had quirks we hadn't figured out. After we creamed that barrel he started blowing bad off the 2nd. He also started refusing the gate harder and rearing in the head box. I couldn't school it at home - he worked beautifully. We made for darn sure our tack fit and made adjustments. We treated him for ulcers, but didn't see much difference. I researched his pedigree on bridge equine and found pssm suspects. We have started feeding him low nsc feed and supplementing with MagRestore. We have a new horse! I haven't really opened him up and pushed him again, but we've made 2 good clean runs clocking where we left off last year. He chills in the rope box and is working awesome. He went from being one we thought about pricing cheap because we didn't enjoy him to being priced now in the low 5 figures. Just some things to consider, and the changes are affordable to try now while you save up for the big vet visit - i totally get that.
Thats awesome that you did the research on this horse and made him better, I love it when someone takes their time to try to figure out the problems and make a better horse thats becames a happy horse, your awesome 
Thank you! He's too sweet a boy to give up on. His entire demeaner is very wanting to please and he tries hard.
The coolest part has been my old school cowboy FIL noticing and being impressed, haha!
Here is the deal though, it might take him a little bit to realize that his hocks don't hurt anymore :) Horses are conditioned that gates and barrels mean pain so I would just suggest maybe hauling and doing a couple slow exibitions on him so he re learns that there is no pain, Just an idea. | |
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Posts: 3303
 
| FLITASTIC - 2017-06-28 11:33 AM
OhMax - 2017-06-28 9:12 AM
Southtxponygirl - 2017-06-23 10:49 AM
OhMax - 2017-06-23 10:38 AM Sounds like my backup horse to a T. The gate issue and the second barrel. This horse came to us at 11 years old, a career rope horse but bred to turn cans and at some point in his life someone had started a pattern on him. This spring I started pushing him harder and at our 2nd or 3rd race we creamed the 2nd barrel. Before this he was started to get a little more on the muscle at the gate - and we hadn't really figured out what made him tick as a head horse either. All in all we didn't love him, but we didn't hate him, he had quirks we hadn't figured out. After we creamed that barrel he started blowing bad off the 2nd. He also started refusing the gate harder and rearing in the head box. I couldn't school it at home - he worked beautifully. We made for darn sure our tack fit and made adjustments. We treated him for ulcers, but didn't see much difference. I researched his pedigree on bridge equine and found pssm suspects. We have started feeding him low nsc feed and supplementing with MagRestore. We have a new horse! I haven't really opened him up and pushed him again, but we've made 2 good clean runs clocking where we left off last year. He chills in the rope box and is working awesome. He went from being one we thought about pricing cheap because we didn't enjoy him to being priced now in the low 5 figures. Just some things to consider, and the changes are affordable to try now while you save up for the big vet visit - i totally get that.
Thats awesome that you did the research on this horse and made him better, I love it when someone takes their time to try to figure out the problems and make a better horse thats becames a happy horse, your awesome
Thank you! He's too sweet a boy to give up on. His entire demeaner is very wanting to please and he tries hard.
The coolest part has been my old school cowboy FIL noticing and being impressed, haha!
Here is the deal though, it might take him a little bit to realize that his hocks don't hurt anymore : ) Horses are conditioned that gates and barrels mean pain so I would just suggest maybe hauling and doing a couple slow exibitions on him so he re learns that there is no pain, Just an idea.
I agree, and following up in a week or 10 days with a chiropractor visit is not a bad idea either. Traveling to compensate for the hock pain and then traveling without hock pain can leave one messed up. | |
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Expert
Posts: 5293
| For sure! Its a viscious cycle. My vet is CERTAIN a horse only reacts to pain when they have it. Doesn't believe that when there is no pain a horse will react. I don't agree, its basic psychology. If a horse has pain every time they go in a gate, they will always associate gates with pain until they do it enough times pain free. | |
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 Shelter Dog Lover
Posts: 10277
| FLITASTIC - 2017-06-28 1:44 PM For sure! Its a viscious cycle. My vet is CERTAIN a horse only reacts to pain when they have it. Doesn't believe that when there is no pain a horse will react. I don't agree, its basic psychology. If a horse has pain every time they go in a gate, they will always associate gates with pain until they do it enough times pain free.
Totally agree. My gelding would not work his left whether it was his first or second barrel- he can go either direction. It took a long time to find his issue, didn't run him that much but after vet visit, injections or the multitude of things tried before we found it, I would make a run to see if the treatment helped. Fast forward to finally getting his suspensory healed and he will work his left beautifully if it's the second barrel but if I ever tried to take him to the left as a first barrel he would sometimes duck it but never miss a step if it was his second barrel. To the op, glad you got him in! | |
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Veteran
Posts: 217
| rodeomom3 - 2017-06-28 3:01 PM
FLITASTIC - 2017-06-28 1:44 PM For sure! Its a viscious cycle. My vet is CERTAIN a horse only reacts to pain when they have it. Doesn't believe that when there is no pain a horse will react. I don't agree, its basic psychology. If a horse has pain every time they go in a gate, they will always associate gates with pain until they do it enough times pain free.
Totally agree. My gelding would not work his left whether it was his first or second barrel- he can go either direction. It took a long time to find his issue, didn't run him that much but after vet visit, injections or the multitude of things tried before we found it, I would make a run to see if the treatment helped. Fast forward to finally getting his suspensory healed and he will work his left beautifully if it's the second barrel but if I ever tried to take him to the left as a first barrel he would sometimes duck it but never miss a step if it was his second barrel. To the op, glad you got him in!
Thanks :) there is a small show next week before the bigger one I will take him to exhibition to go slow and get him use to the lack of pain when he runs. Chiro was scheduled to come out this week anyhow, so that's a plus.
I do agree psychology would play a factor that arena = pain until they realize they're better | |
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