Cantering and bucking oh my

[2bayboys]

Last fall horse started bucking in the canter, primarily left lead. Did diagnostics which were unclear, we injected stifles and had previously injected SI. We also tried mesotherapy as he was palpating sore across his back. Finally just gave him the winter off and he’s had six months of no work while I just did massage and stretches on him which he loves.

We’ve now started back into work and while he feels better, the left lead canter is still not right. He wants to swing his haunches in, pins his ears, threatens to buck.

On the lunge line he looks perfectly sound. At the trot on lunge and under saddle he looks and feels perfectly sound. Only time he acts uncomfortable is under saddle in canter, much more so on left.

Flexions have been mildly positive RH but not significant. Radiographs of stifles didn’t show anything out of the ordinary.

I have not radiographed hocks.

Horse is seven and was fit and showing at a low level when this behavior started last year. Looking back at my records, we started various therapies (SI injections, meso, then stifles) mid summer last year when he started showing resentment in lead changes. Seemed to help but then in the fall he progressed to not wanting to canter at all.

What would your next steps be? Where would you be looking?

To recap, the horse feels better after six months off, there is no lameness evident at trot, but still something going on in left lead canter under saddle only.

[LazyA1]

I had a lease horse that wanted to swap of his left lead, the whole lead, not just in back.

He was such a good guy, I knew it was something physical.

After quite a bit of trying this and that, a change in saddles solved it. Night and day difference.

I am a huge believer in saddle fit now. Are you sure his saddle fits?

[2bayboys]

Thanks, yes, his saddle has been professionally fitted to him by Annette Gavin.

[OzarksRider]

Did the diagnostic workup include checking for kissing spine? One of my horses has kissing spine, and his symptom was bucking under saddle. He was a rescue at the Humane Society and was used in their lesson program. They checked saddle fit, did chiropractor, finally took him to the vet school where he was diagnosed with kissing spine. The Humane Society put him up for adoption as a pasture companion, and he’s mine now. He’s perfectly fine in the field and doesn’t need any special maintenance yet, but he can’t be ridden.

[2bayboys]

I asked about that and vet felt it unlikely with his breeding and conformation. He’s a short coupled overgrown pony. But definitely on the list to look into!

[mfglickman]

Did your vet do a field neuro exam? If you’re in an area with EPM it might be worth looking into. Our aqha mare was diagnosed at 4 with it; her primary symptoms were resistant to canter, bucking into canter, and not holding a lead. Vet thought maybe slight stifles but shouldn’t cause this much drama in a fit 4 year old - a brief neuro exam was eye opening and blood test confirmed it.

[2bayboys]

We did! No neuro symptoms thank goodness.

[beau159]

@2bayboys

Last fall horse started bucking in the canter, primarily left lead. Did diagnostics which were unclear, we injected stifles and had previously injected SI. We also tried mesotherapy as he was palpating sore across his back. Finally just gave him the winter off and he’s had six months of no work while I just did massage and stretches on him which he loves.

We’ve now started back into work and while he feels better, the left lead canter is still not right. He wants to swing his haunches in, pins his ears, threatens to buck.

On the lunge line he looks perfectly sound. At the trot on lunge and under saddle he looks and feels perfectly sound. Only time he acts uncomfortable is under saddle in canter, much more so on left.

Flexions have been mildly positive RH but not significant. Radiographs of stifles didn’t show anything out of the ordinary.

I have not radiographed hocks.

Horse is seven and was fit and showing at a low level when this behavior started last year. Looking back at my records, we started various therapies (SI injections, meso, then stifles) mid summer last year when he started showing resentment in lead changes. Seemed to help but then in the fall he progressed to not wanting to canter at all.

What would your next steps be? Where would you be looking?

To recap, the horse feels better after six months off, there is no lameness evident at trot, but still something going on in left lead canter under saddle only.

Personally, I would xray hocks at least. I have had a horse (my horse Red) be absolutely fine for flexions even though he had very advanced fusion in his hocks. Vet and I were rather surprised when we finally decided to do xrays of the hocks.

How flexible is your horse? Does he easily bend his neck and ribcage or does he tend to be more of a stiffer style of horse?

My horse Shotgun ended up having some very severe problems with his neck that were manifesting as hind end lameness. He was using his hind end incorrectly in order to compensate for the neck issues and that’s why he was getting sore in the hind end. He didn’t really “let on” either with palpatation, chiro checks, etc. I knew he was always a stiffer type horse but I didn’t think much of that b/c I had owned him his whole life and he was always like that. Now it’s something on my radar for any future horse. We xrayed his neck and back, and then my vet sent his xrays off to a neck specialist for an expert interpretation.

So since you seem to be grasping at straws, I myself would seriously start xraying body parts. Vets are so, so valuable for where they think there is a problem but yet, horses are so danged good with hiding what actually hurts. X-rays are pretty “cheap” in the grand scheme of things.

So if your pony has stifle and SI problems, I would absolutely be checking hocks, neck and back. And going from there.

[cayuse]

Teeth? TMJ maybe? I know you probably have check this but I’m throwing it there as I had a weird experience with a pony that was NQR in harness. Some of the problem ended up being “all in his head” as he had a sinus problem, probably from a dental issue (I did have his teeth done every 6 months) The little guy is much softer thru his body now since things have been fixed and using himself better.

[atr]

Start with hocks–bucking at the canter has nearly always been traceable back to hocks in my personal experience. And sore hocks = sore back 9 times out of 10.

And it’s a simple diagnostic and relatively simple treatment.

[OceansAway]

I had a similar issue with my mare and the canter on both leads, but worse tracking left. It turned out to be double suspensory strains, with one likely compensatory to the other. I complained about this issue for months and it wasn’t found until her front feet were blocked. She ultimately needed surgery, but did come back 100% sound after lots and lots of blood, sweat, and tears.
Edited to add that my friend’s horse was also having a bucking issue, and he was also found to have the same injury as my mare. I actually recently posted about him. To be fair, he also had some SI arthritis, but the vet said it is much more likely to be the strains causing the bucking, because the horses experience it as lightning bolts of pain.

[Flyaways]

There was a horse that came through the barn I rode at a few years back who would buck when you rode a circle or turn to the left. I believe it was traced back eventually to his shoulder but I don’t recall the exact diagnosis.

Has the horse bucked with different riders? I wonder if the rider is off balance and the horse is trying to compensate or sitting some way that the is aggravating a minor issue.

[floppyammy]

I would 100% x-ray the back. Bucking only at the canter, sore back, comfortable on the lunge line but not under saddle is exactly how my kissing spine horses both presented. Back X-rays are fairly cheap and an easy way to rule in or out kissing spine, before you go down the rabbit hole of other things. Kissing spine has been found across many breeds and builds, including ponies.

[LovieBird]

Feet? Sometimes my guy feels off if he has an abscess pocket growing out that leaves a small flap in the sole.

He was also a bucker, but chiro, massage and saddle fitting has helped. I found that initially, even though he felt better, he was still pretty protective, anticipating discomfort. Here though it’s important to know when its mental and when it’s actual discomfort. I’ve seen sore suspensories make horses crabby like this too.

[AAHunterGal]

I know this has been done, but saddle fit? Does he do it in all saddles/ with all riders?