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 Veteran
Posts: 135
 
Location: louisiana | my barrel horse is running past the first barrel, within a year has went from clocking 1d an now 2d/3d. Sent him to the trainer for a month to help fix but the problem is still there when I ask for a rodeo run, He is 13 yrs old reg aqha. He runs in a simplicity bit, very light mouthed, had him looked over by a vet everything is fine, had him looked over by a chiro- his hips where out got that adjusted, let him have a month off to just relax, slowly bringing him back and now he is just stiff with his movements as far as lopin a nice tight circle keeping his hind end under him, he is more on his front end
Edited by jw1990 2014-05-15 11:36 AM
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  Keeper of the King Snake
Posts: 7616
  
Location: Dubach, LA | Massage therapist. They have hands on every muscle. Can find a lot of little things that way. |
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 Miss Laundry Misshap
Posts: 5271
| Are you sure your saddle fits him properly? Teeth been worked on? Diet change cause ulcers? Good Shoer got his angles right? Age? Checked hocks? |
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Veteran
Posts: 135
Location: louisiana | his teeth have been worked on a few weeks ago, feet are perfect, his diet hasn't changed, I keep him on aloe vera juice just to prevent ulcers, also got his hocks checked a few months ago everything has been fine. he is 13 ive had him since he was 4 |
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 Expert
Posts: 1857
| saddle fit? sometimes they'll get on they're front end and drop the inside shoulder to avoid the pressure. Also if his hips were out he may have been compensating for that and now its a habit for him. Do lots of drills that get him on his butt. roll backs into the fence but instead of heading back down the fence line and rolling back again, roll back and continue into a circle and back to the fence. Do small circles and move him back over the top of himself and then hustle him out. get you a quirk or use your hand and when your circling him tap the outside hip and get him to suck his butt up underneath him(you can do that working the barrel too).
You might look into finding a bit that offers more lift. If you like that goosetree's you might use the pickup shank bit(long shank or short, which ever you prefer) or the double gag. The double gag will give you more lift than the simplicity but is lighter than the pickup bit. |
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Veteran
Posts: 135
Location: louisiana | thankyal so much, I will be getting my saddle fit looked at this weekend, I currently ride in a billy cook, any suggestions on saddles/saddle pads?
I was using the classic equine esp pad but it started sliding back during my runs so I swapped to a tod slone saddle pad, seemed to help a little bit. |
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The Advice Guru
Posts: 6419
| If his hips were out, I would suspect he has something going on in the hind end, was he xrayed? I would start with a good lameness vet as I suspect hocks and stifles.
If he vets absolutely clean, I would work on getting him more supple, as it sounds like he is bracing on you. You might need a different bit, one with more bend, and shoulder control |
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Married to a Louie Lover
Posts: 3303
| Depending on how bad and for how long his hips were out, they could be back out.
My chiro reccomends riding as soon as they are adjusted and continuing to work them, it helps them learn that it doesn't hurt anymore and also helps start to build muscle in the right places and correct poor muscle from the hips being out. |
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Veteran
Posts: 135
Location: louisiana | He vet checked clean, had his hocks/stifles checked. Got his hocks injected in Feb. 2014, I appreciate all the replys and input thankyal! :) |
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Veteran
Posts: 135
Location: louisiana | he was out for awhile due to another chiro telling me he was fine, the new chiro had me walkin for 20 min by hand. (5 min then 3 turns each direction doing cross overs, then backin 20 steps.) do that for a week,an once a week he got lunged for about 5 min. then the chiro came back 4 weeks later to check him again everything looked great he was moving way better and no sign of being in pain.
Edited by jw1990 2014-05-15 2:20 PM
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My mind still works
Posts: 8912
| Take him back to chiro. One visit usually isn't enough for one that was out like that.
Then slow him down going to the first and then let him rip |
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The Advice Guru
Posts: 6419
| jw1990 - 2014-05-15 2:09 PM
He vet checked clean, had his hocks/stifles checked. Got his hocks injected in Feb. 2014, I appreciate all the replys and input thankyal! :)
If he vet checked clean, why inject, and if you injected were there X-rays. I don't let any vet inject without X-rays.
Also if he was done in feb you are coming up to the three month mark, generally they need to be done every three months. |
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Veteran
Posts: 135
Location: louisiana | I had him vet checked for hocks and stifles the first time, got hocks injected. still having issues brought him back for full lamness exam everything was fine. |
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 ND Sweetheart
Posts: 3471
Location: In My Own Dream Land | I've got a gelding that was a known fence runner.. I'm talking every single run, no matter where (except home) he'd FLY by the first barrel with no intention on turning it.. Turns out he has hock problems.. Since you said he has vetted clean, IF his other barrels are good, could it be that you are not trustin him to turn 1st? That was my problem, I'd pull, pull, and tick him off so off he'd go. Might not be the problem, but thought I'd mention it since that is my issue. |
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 Regular
Posts: 53
Location: Nebraska | I'd be worried about possible suspensory or tendon issues if hocks/stifles have truly been ruled out. Maybe even an upward fixating patella. I'm not talking about where they go upwards and lock completely (where you get the stifle that's locked and leg can't bend) but they can "catch" which is pretty painful. The patella tends to do this when rating or stopping and horses start to avoid wanting to slow down.
I'd also watch his front half. He may be overcompensating for pain on the front end as well.
I'd get a second set of eyes on him from another equine veterinarian. Maybe even one with a lameness locator and make sure he is observed on hard and soft ground.
If it all comes back absolutely clean, then it may just be a mental thing on both of your parts. |
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Veteran
Posts: 135
Location: louisiana | Well got the massage therapist out this past weekend to rub him from head to toe, he was fine all over except when she got near his stifle region on both sides, he would start moving all over the stall then eventually relaxed to let her rub him. |
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