Neck or kissing spines (or SI) would fit with it being a canter issue and starting after the month off. Worth looking into.
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Jean Pierre Hourdebaight- Equine Massage
I can’t get the image to
Upload.
I’ve found this book to be helpful in sorting
out some horses who are not quite right and don’t fit into standard veterinary evaluations. He talks about limitations/restrictions and how they manifest in movement.
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My IAD horse isn’t a head finger but he definitely roots down a lot when he is having airway issues (even though it’s lower airway problem, his upper airway appears totally fine on dynamic scope). Canter is a huge trigger for him as far as airway. I think because they tend to breathe every stride in canter. If he is having a bad airway day, he can keep it together somewhat in walk and trot but not canter (rooting, falling out of canter, almost mouth breathing type behavior). He is generally too polite for leapy tantrumy things.
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I cannot tell you how many times my own horse has been scoped - standing, dynamic, lung washes, guttural pouch checks, etc. over a few years. (Allergies, infections, sounding like a freight train but not actual roaring, exercise intolerance, basically all the fun respiratory things except actual roaring)
It was not until her most recent lung wash about a year ago that one of her vets finally saw her epiglottis become momentarily entrapped. Eff me, if we’d been able to figure that out years ago, I may have done surgery 
but late teens, nah. On the bright side, this winter she seems to have figured out how to meaningfully clear her throat and carry on without becoming stupid. It’s a totally new noise, more of a grunt than what I described to vets as a glottal stop (Don’t bother describing this to a vet unless you’re willing to demonstrate with your own voice lol) which was her old noise when her breathing was particularly bad and seems to be way more effective for her than that. Head tossing and bracing in canter have been an on again off again things, but usually only short durations and not every ride.
Er, hijack over, but bringing up weird respiratory things as a possibility for head tossing makes total sense!
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My friend’s horse does the grunt thing. He has lower airway and upper airway issues. The upper airway issue for him was an abnormality with the laryngeal cartilages—they would close off the airway periodically when not supposed to. And he did a lot of head tossing, looking kind of head shaking like. But he also did it in trot work. Keeping the throat latch open in work helps him. Figuring out his allergy issues helped a lot as well with the overall airway inflammation—seems his lower airway disease just caused so much overall inflammation that the upper airway issue was exacerbated due to chronic irritation.
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Well, I’m on the schedule for a different farrier on Monday. He seems to be good at keeping toes short and shoes set back.
Cue the drama when you switch farriers. Gah. They’re like high school girls!
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Oh yeah! Egos run strong in the horse world.
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They are! I about lost it hearing the one that works on my trainers horses say he and his farrier buddies all go out to breakfast together once a week. To be a fly on that wall 
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I think one of the simplest things you could do in this case is to put front shoes on with a wedged pad since the angles aren’t ideal. It almost sounds as if she is protecting the front end by popping up and transferring weight to the hind. IME, issues with front feet rear their ugly head with greater impact such as ground poles. The issues with collection do seem like a hock issue but I would assume that the horse’s back would also be sore with hock issues. Could be a culmination of things.
I’d also be curious to know if this happens without the weight of a rider on the spine. Would she collect on long lines in the canter? You could also get more information about the saddle this way by asking her to collect with and without a saddle.
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Barring the new farrier saying no, I think I will put shoes on her just for troubleshooting.
I thought about putting her on the lines, but honestly so much of how I ask her to collect has to do with my body that I don’t think she will understand what I am asking if it’s on the lines. I think it won’t be a true-tell of if she’s mad due to discomfort or mad because she doesn’t understand what’s being asked.
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What breed is she?
I agree I’d put shoes back on her. In my experience canter issues are almost always teeth or hind end related. Hind end almost always needs farrier management. This screams stifle to me. If she was out of work, it could be something as simple as a weak stifle. An easy way to test the theory is to stretch her stifle and see if she has any type of reaction. I’ve found mares particularly honest…
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Just chiming in to say I love the description of “pegasus leaps” I have never found a good way to describe what my mare used to do for 6+ months of every year at the canter, but I think that may actually capture it 
Otherwise, your mare’s issue does not sound like mine, but mine was definitely caused by pain and it was h-e-l-l to figure it out, so I wish you luck OP.
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No reaction to that, I started doing all kinds of stretches with her daily when her hamstrings were tight and spasming. No reaction at all.
Its effing hard to ride, I admit it! The landing and then the UP! and then the landing - waaayyyy more air between my ass and the saddle than I like. I ride it way better sans stirrups, but then I bet the thunking stirrups may be setting her off more but tough nuts, I’m trying not to get decked lady.
Ah, I missed that part. Sorry!
I wouldn’t rule out loose stifles. Your new farrier may have some insight, too. I know mine can tell me when my gelding’s hocks need injected a month before I can…
I’ve seen a lateral heel wedge give a lot of relief to Thoroughbreds when they’re coming off of let down or back from their winter break.
It probably wouldn’t hurt to check her VIT E levels or any factors she may be predisposed to. I guess you can’t really test for PSSM - but if you don’t get to the root of the problem, you could try dietary changes and see if that makes any difference.
All this being said, I live in an area where I have very poor professional support in terms of veterinary medicine. If you continue to have issues and have the ability to get a full work up, do it. My guesses are educated but come from a place of pure desperation lol
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Vit E has been tested, she’s on the higher side. I’ve had 3 different epm titres done on her, all in the “middle of the road” range. Lyme is negative.
I’m hoping (but not really because $$ and her being turned out with my Old guy when I move them home) shoes help. Definitely worth a try for troubleshooting at least
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I set out the pivo. Then I forgot to grab it off the counter, of course. So, all I have is under saddle lunging videos for today.
For her ride, I tried to switch it up on her. After warming her up on the lunge, I got on, walked one lap in either direction and then went straight to canter work. It went well until we took a walk break, and then I asked for leg yield at the canter and got the leapy stuff. She tried to offer it, then started launching around. Did some trot work and called it quits.
Sigh.
She joined the Old Man for his 10 minutes of trotting daily, and enjoyed a roll after. Clearly she’s not feeling TOO shabby.
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Old Man is SO bewildered by her antics!
I am on mobile so I may be missing something more obvious on a larger screen, but I watched your other post’s videos and the only thing that stuck out to me besides the lack of separation was when she broke the canter her RH had some abnormal ROM, possibly to offload the LH. I don’t think that’s anything you don’t already know. I agree it’s not terrible - but good eye to notice something’s a little amiss.
I know you mentioned you’d be putting shoes back on, here’s hoping that helps.
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Poor old man was just trying to have a roll. 
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