Can the canter become worse as the horse ages?

[erikaeq]

Hi there.

I have an 8yo warmblood gelding who I have owned since he was 4. Recently I have been watching videos of when we first got him vs now and I feel like his canter isn’t as nice as it used to be. I think in the old videos it is a lot more long and flowy looking, and in recent ones it is not bad, but definitely doesn’t look as nice as it used to. A bit more short-step and choppier looking

Please help! He is a pretty nice mover overall and his canter is still nice, just not AS nice as I feel it used to be. What do I do? Is this natural? Is it just the perception of his legs being more proportionate to his body? I have never seen anyone talk about this and I want to see if anyone has dealt with this before as well.

[Bristol_Bay]

There could be a few reasons, like if his hocks are stiff or his saddle doesn’t fit well.

[iberianfan]

Not a H/J person, but I would say check what @Bristol_Bay says and check for soreness anywhere. 8 is not old. I had a mare whose gaits deteriorated and she had sore s/i joints.

[Willesdon]

As @Bristol_Bay said and check things like foot balance and even if his winter rugs fit properly so his movement can remain uninhibited.

[erikaeq]

I will definitely check this out! He was out on lease for about 2 years and they did inject his SI joint which had helped but I don’t think entirely. I’ve had him back for about a month, and I will definitely look into my saddle fit and his hocks. Do you think that shoeing could also be a factor? He was barefoot when I first got him and was for a while, and then my trainer had us put all four shoes on.

[erikaeq]

We have injected his SI joints within the past year, id have to check exactly when that was. I thought I was going crazy! His lease kept not placing well or at all in hacks and had even said he just wasn’t fancy enough. I thought it was weird because he is a nice mover but I assumed maybe she just wasn’t riding him forward enough.

[Bristol_Bay]

Whatever it is, it sounds like your vet should be involved. It could be a simple fix, like changing his shoeing or getting a different half pad.

[iberianfan]

This. A thorough lameness exam. Xray his feet to check angles and any other joints the vet recommends. I would not expect gaits to deteriorate by age 8. If anything, they should improve with proper work, strength and balance. These should be some of his peak years.

[Rumorhasit93]

If he was leased out for two years, it could very easily be the training or the rider. If anything, as the horse gets more developed, more trained, and stronger, the gates should improve…IMO.

Of course soreness could also be a factor. But I wouldn’t fret, especially if the horse has been out of your care/management.

[paw]

Horses are athletes, but are not motivated ones. If your young horse isn’t moving as well as it used to, chances are that it’s realized that it can get by using its body incorrectly, which is going to (eventually) lead to soreness.

You likely have no idea how the horse was ridden while leased out. The fact that it was injected suggests that it wasn’t using itself properly during that time - likely wasn’t really strong enough in the proper muscles to do what was being asked. For the horse’s sake, you now probably ought to start back at the beginning, working the horse properly through on the flat so that it can develop the correct muscles to do its job properly. This isn’t going to be a quick fix.

And while saddle fit can be a factor, no saddle is going to fix a horse who isn’t using itself correctly. Go back to working on the longe if you’re worried about that (in fact, proper work on the longe would be a good thing in any case).