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  Discussion on Head DrOps when asked to trot
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New Member:
Jadamy

Posted on Wednesday, Nov 1, 2006 - 11:15 am:

This is my first post on this forum and I hope I am putting it in the right place. I have a 10 year old warmblood mare I have owned for about a year now. I have been working out several issues with her one by one. It seems each time I get one "handled" I have a new one. A brief run down of the issues is important before addressing my current issue. She is low in the heals and came to me with full pads and bar shoes on her feet. I have since worked with a farrier correcting her angles and dealing with corns arthritis etc. She is now in normal shoes and was moving more from the behind and giving more shoulder action in the front. Seemingly more comfortable overall. The vet at that point cleared her to get back in full work and prepare for next show season. She then started DrOpping her head practically on the ground when asked to trot. I noticed sharp teeth in the back so I took her to the dentist. She had TMJ, missing tooth, needed her incisors worked on as well as the teeth in the back ground down. She is no longer sensitive to touch at her jaw. After two weeks she still DrOps her head, even on the longe. When riding her she does begin to bring her head up the more I trot. I have just started keeping my hands steady hoping she will come up to them, and releasing the rein contact a little.I figured she may just be expecting the pain and after awhile will realize it is no longer there. She seems to not feel as "limber" as she did before the dental issues. Has anyone experienced something similar to this and maybe have some suggestions for me? I am new to a lot of this with this horse, maybe I am missing something from the dental work? I have thought maybe massage/acupunture thinking after all the corrections and past pain she may just need to release built up tensions. Suggestions?
Member:
Sswiley

Posted on Wednesday, Nov 1, 2006 - 10:36 pm:

When a horse lowers their head I sometimes think they are trying to ease some discomfort in their back or hind end. If there is no bobbing it still might be just a symetrical sorness of the back or a weakness in the hind end.
If you think it may be all in her head. you could try bute for a few days and then ride her. If it goes away then it is most likely a real pain issue.
I am curious, does she DrOp her head at the canter? Is she very forward in her gaits? Are her downward transitions comfortable?
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Thursday, Nov 2, 2006 - 6:09 am:

Welcome Jennifer,
I am more familiar with back pain resulting in a "head in the air", "ewe-neck like" appearance when a saddle is put on the painful back. DrOpping of the head I associate more with relaxation. I have seen horses that just have a naturally DrOpped head at the trot under saddle, Jennifer, and in some disciplines this is considered desirable. Or perhaps this is the result of some previous training?

If you feel this head DrOp is associated with some disease process a careful evaluation of the mouth, tack, lameness and neurological issues is warranted but it is not clear from what you post that the opposite might not be true: you fixed several issues and now the horse is beginning to relax and this is primarily a training issue. Of course if we saw the horse move we might feel very different.
DrO
Member:
Gillb

Posted on Thursday, Nov 2, 2006 - 8:18 am:

Every horse or pony I have ridden who has some discomfort somewhere (particularly in head, neck or back) has raised its head rather than DrOpped it!

Is this a new behaviour? I would have thought that if she was in discomfort previously due to teeth or whatever then she would raise her head when you took a contact. Maybe now that she is not in pain or discomfort she feels she can stretch out?

My ridden horses at the mo will stretch right down to the ground if you let them take the reins. How much rein contact do you have?
Member:
Dtranch

Posted on Thursday, Nov 2, 2006 - 8:43 am:

It is not clear if she is bobbing, or just DrOpping her head. If she is relaxed and DrOpping her head, that can be a good thing. In fact, in WP they dream about that. When she lowers her head, does she seem relaxed or aggravated? Is she licking? Where are her ears pointing? How is her gait? Is she pulling against contact, or are you giving her the rein when she DrOps her head? I agree with most of the above, usually pain or aggravation will bring the head up.
DT
Member:
Ella

Posted on Thursday, Nov 2, 2006 - 9:28 am:

I had a mare with sore front feet who would DrOp her head when moving at the trot. Is it less pronounced on soft going than on hard going. If it is not less on soft footing it is likely not her feet but is worth a check.


Ella :-)
Member:
Hally

Posted on Thursday, Nov 2, 2006 - 10:50 am:

Hi Jennifer,

My 6 yr old warmblood gelding had a very serious accident as a weanling. He flipped over a 4 foot fence at a dead gallop, landing on his back. To make a long story short, the vet came to the conclusion that something was fractured in the pelvic area. It was a matter of wait and see. As a three yr old I started him and he was fine till about 5 months into riding him. Then it started. Refusing to move forward, kicking out and just generally unhappy. He is retired now and not rideable. However in the pasture he shows no signs of lameness or pain, but if he is put on a longe line in a 20 meter circle, with his injured hip to the outside, he DrOps his head so low that his lip almost grazes the ground. My vet figures he is doing this to get any kind of weight he can off his hindquarters. The bad thing about these kinds of injuries is that, at least in my geldings issue, there is no diagnostic tool available to see what really is going on. I would suggest further investigation into the vet looking at your horses back and hind quarters.
New Member:
Jadamy

Posted on Thursday, Nov 2, 2006 - 7:18 pm:

Thank you to everyone that responded to my post!! After 2 more days of riding my mare she progressively got better. Today I rode her longer then any of the other days and by the end of my ride she felt supple and carried her head normal!!! I think she just needed time to realize the pain was not going to be there. And yes....I think a lot of it was a relaxed response as well. Again thanks to all, your feedback was helpful.
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