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  Discussion on Horse Only Trots One Direction
Author Message
Member:
njen

Posted on Tuesday, Sep 27, 2011 - 4:11 pm:

I'm confused about my horse's behavior. I've had him a year and all was well till a few months ago when he started just stopping at the canter (and dumping his rider). I had him checked by a vet who found his right back hip area was sore and gave us some exercises to do and on a recheck determined he was better. Then the trotting issue started. When asked to trot, in either direction, he would sort of half trot/half canter. Then it occurred to me that my saddle was extremely ill-fitting and got a wider tree saddle that does fit. With the new saddle the behavior got slowly better to the point where he is trotting normally to the right but to the left he is still doing the odd gait, though less than before. I have no idea what could be going on. He does seem to swish his tail that direction but I may be reading into that. Any ideas of what to look for? It is quite frustrating as he is a very willing horse.
Member:
sdms

Posted on Wednesday, Sep 28, 2011 - 8:35 am:

Hi Jennifer. Saddle fit is always the first thing I look for especially if the behavior is different under saddle than when not. Even though you've addressed that issue it's possible you're seeing residual effects from the time he was ridden in the ill fitting saddle. Have you had your vet check him again since the trot issue arose?

Personally, I'm a firm believer in equine massage and chiropractic work. There are probably people that would disagree but from my experience I've seen it work. I have used an equine chiropractor for years on a gelding that has a longer than ideal back and tends to get sore and pissy from being out of place. I recently started using equine massage on the same horse and he's SO much happier. (Of course, I would be too with a monthly massage! LOL) In combination I have him massaged 2 days before the adjustment and it really helps.

I'm lucky enough to have these qualified professionals in my area so I'll keep my fingers crossed that you are, too.

Best of luck finding and fixing your guy's issue. Once he's more comfortable you'll both be a lot happier.

Sara M
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Wednesday, Sep 28, 2011 - 3:35 pm:

Hello Jenifer,
I too would be interested if this behavior was the same when lunged with the saddle on and saddle off. How old is this horse? Has he been reevaluated for lameness recently and when evaluated is he looked at under saddle? I wonder if given a 2 week course of NSAID if the behavior would improve?
DrO
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