Dear all - any thoughts on this (I appreciate "lazy" is a loaded description):
I need help with a friend's horse I haven't ridden him yet but owner says if he doesn't wear spurs horse is dead to his leg I've hacked out with him while I've ridden Rusty he's so slow he just couldn't keep up with Rusty at all and preferred to jog rather than walk out. Not very fit and coughs slightly under load, a very big horse 17HH+ Cleveland BayX his preferred head carriage is sometimes on the floor! His head is sometimes on the floor when tied up too and in the stable he rests it on the door as if it's too heavy for him to hold up! I wonder if it is, maybe his back/neck muscles are weak? But haven't seen other horses doing this on hacks out. Horse has a gentle, friendly disposition. I'm stuck because haven't had to deal with this type of thing before and wonder how to motivate horse to happily agree to move off leg when at moment he is ridden with spurs and a whip and I do not intend to do that. But there may be a biomechanical issue with his head carriage, plus poss. airway obstruction hence coughing? Suggestions gratefully received, thanks.
Too be honest Debbie, I'm not sure I would be happy riding this horse without knowing it had recently been checked out by a very knowledgable back/ physio ect to check for any problems.It sounds a little excessive for him to have his head down all the time even if he is unfit....Do you know if he has been checked out atall?
Without seeing the horse, it's not easy to advise but....
If there is nothing medically wrong with him and he is being fed correctly, his saddle fits etc I would be inclined to say that the horse does sound unfit and sounds like he has been ridden with constant leg pressure which has numbed his sides, and has a lack of motivation. In which case retraining, fittening and finiding something that motivates him would be a good starting point - remember less is more. Retraining(if you are not going the CT way) could include lots and lots of transitions to get the horse listening to the leg - remember it is really important to take the pressure off his sides as soon as you get a response from him (less is more don't forget). Motivation is dificult to advise on but it could possibly come from simply doing 10 mins of work with him and putting him out to graze - you will have to find what he likes best and use it to your advantage - the abity to rest and finish work could well be the ideal motivator for this horse.
If he is stretching his neck out normally (ie stretching his nose down to the ground not pointing it out), I wouldn't worry about it - infact I would say this is good becasue he is stretching through his back and neck using the correct muscles. An unfit horse is likely to do this - think of going to the gym for the first time, you are likely to want to strech out your muscles after quite a short stint of work. I'll probably get scathed for this, but you probably don't see many horse working with their noses touching the floor becasue they have never been allowed to. I alwasy try to do 10 mins of stretching before and after an riding becasue it is excellent for the back and neck muscles and contrary to belief is actually a very good way to train your horse to work correctly from the back end to establish a light forhand and nice head carriage.
Hi Debbie
He sounds exactly the same as a horse I've been working with recently. He too is a 17hh Cleveland, who is absolutely lovely but lacked enthusiasm about working especially in the school. We decided to have a go with CT/T with him, and it really was the key that unlocked that enthusiasm. That was 2 months ago, and since his owner has kept me updated and is thrilled with the way that Winston now looks forward to his schooling sessions and hacks out. He is more forward going (well as forward as a giant can be!) and definately more willing. We started using the CT/T method as he as most horses was very food orientated. We place poles in the school and moved him around using +R all the time, and he so responded, we then transposed from the ground to ridden and they've never looked back. He has got to be one of the best horses I've ever worked with, so perhaps give the CT a go?? Do have him checked over first, bloods etc to be sure before undergoing any training as he is physically prepared. Good luck
My horse has had a similar problem and I am in the process of sorting it out.
The first thing I did was get Lindsy, a healer to look at him and her treatments started the ball rolling. She then advised me to get a wholistic type vet and recommended one to me. This vet took a blood test and we have found out the my horse has a muscle enzyme count of over 5000, normal is 20 - 200. This is a muscular thing and will result in aching muscles - if worked too hard (which could even be trotting), he could seize up completely and be unable to move. He looks to be in superbe condition (the vet said that!).
Get him checked out before you do ANYTHING with him - can give you the details of the people above but not sure how useful they will be unless you live locally (Cheshire/Manchester).
If there's nothing physically wrong, then you can go onto the other suggestions.....
I don't think he's lazy, I think he's such down, depressed. I hard to judge when we don't know the history.
I was having lots of trouble with my youngster having just backed him. I called out the dentist first and elimanted cutting teeth and sharp edges. Slighty better but not right still. Next was the saddler, what a difference. Length of stride doubled and willing to stretch over his back, but again not quite right. It had to be physiological. I called out a chiroprator and she found a big knot just behind his pole, measuring 6 inches down his neck. Two treatments later and he was a different horse, pinging around the field like a new born foal. And wow can he move.
It cost me £250 for all of this but was priceless to see and feel the difference.
Try and get the owner to do this if these don't change then they may have to seek vetinary advise, blood tests etc. Hopefully it's something simple.
Also if a horse is constantly nagged it will shut off. The horse needs to move unhindered and when a rider is on at it constantly it will ignore them. A bit like men.
I agree constant nagging puts them off and slows them down even more. I had the same trouble, was using my legs, now I don't bother and although he doesn't go quickly, he is quicker. The other thing is anaemia. This would show up on a blood count and makes them tired and lethargic.