Horse suddenly went crazy and changed entirely being ridden

[Bogie]

@theninfea

Hello there, i give one last update.
The first two days i rode him with super long reins, not asking him anything more than trotting and cantering in relaxation and stretching. He seemed pretty chill. Then immediatly when the next day i tried doing some ground poles (again, with a super relaxed canter almost with no reins contact), he started again being nervous and stressing out. Gave him another 2 days of after this, then tried to do some poles again, he did even worse, bucking me for every single sound he heard from outside the arena, and trying to avoid contact by balking. Moreover he sweated so much with 9 degrees celsius for some ground poles not even with short strides!

The horse is telling you as clearly as he can that he does not want to do pole work or jump. A month off and then two days of riding is not enough to change this behavior. If you do not enjoy flatting or taking him for trail rides, then it is probably a good idea to sell him to someone who wants to do what that horse enjoys. It’s possible that he could jump again, but it would take months of careful and slow progression.

[charlieTBD]

I think the vet injured him with the injection. You said it was in the front feet or in the hocks? Either way, I think he injured the ligaments and the pressure on the foot from jumping makes him act this way. This vet will never admit it.

And before many people say you cannot injure with injections you can most definitely. Many, many people are injured each year and animals too. If it was steroids injected then a much higher chance of injury but any incursion into a joint can injure.

[skydy]

@charlieTBD

I think the vet injured him with the injection. You said it was in the front feet or in the hocks? Either way, I think he injured the ligaments and the pressure on the foot from jumping makes him act this way. This vet will never admit it.

And before many people say you cannot injure with injections you can most definitely. Many, many people are injured each year and animals too. If it was steroids injected then a much higher chance of injury but any incursion into a joint can injure.

I’m sorry charlieTBD. I was hoping that your parents would have been amenable to having a different vet diagnose and treat your horse, since the vet you have been using has given some dubious advice and treatment and that your trainer has not been helpful either.

Horses certainly can be injured by improper injections. I am glad that, at least you have not been injured by this horse. It really does seem that he will not be the jumper that you or your parents hoped for.

[sp56]

Tripping and inexplicable lameness can sometimes be caused by neck arthritis or something going on in the spine. Think pinched nerve (ouch). Bone scan can be helpful for these strange situations. I wouldn’t ride him though until you can figure it out. No sense in making things worse or hurting yourself (or him).

[GiveEmEl]

Reading your last update, I would definitely say your horse no longer enjoys jumping. Perhaps he tweaked a muscle over a jump at some point and now associates jumping with pain, I don’t know. I’ve come across a few former jumpers in my lifetime who absolutely hate jumping now and will panic when asked to even go over a ground pole. If he’s done jumping, he’s done jumping, and if you continue to ask him to one or both of you will end up seriously injured.
Hope everything works out both for you and the horse.

[charlieTBD]

@skydy

I’m sorry charlieTBD. I was hoping that your parents would have been amenable to having a different vet diagnose and treat your horse, since the vet you have been using has given some dubious advice and treatment and that your trainer has not been helpful either.

Horses certainly can be injured by improper injections. I am glad that, at least you have not been injured by this horse. It really does seem that he will not be the jumper that you or your parents hoped for.

It is not my horse. I was simply stating the obvious conclusion no one else had. Horse had no major problems other than some crooked work (not so unusual) and is showing over jumps for years happily. Horse then received injections in front legs and immediately afterwards is tripping, in pain and refusing to do things that put pressure on front legs like jump. Vet says horse is fine. Trainer who recommended vet says horse is fine. I’m not a conspiracy person but it seems one thing follows the other too closely.

Only other explanation is that the horse was ridden by someone who hurt or frightened it when OP was not present and was not told later on.

[kande04]

@charlieTBD

It is not my horse. I was simply stating the obvious conclusion no one else had. Horse had no major problems other than some crooked work (not so unusual) and is showing over jumps for years happily. Horse then received injections in front legs and immediately afterwards is tripping, in pain and refusing to do things that put pressure on front legs like jump.

If the horse was getting injections in his front legs there very well may have been problems with them that weren’t fixed by the injections.

And now both the parents (who have a financial investment in the horse), and the trainer (who wants to continue to pressure the horse as long as s/he’s not the one in the saddle), refuse to consider that the horse might be in pain. No surprises there.

[skydy]

@charlieTBD

It is not my horse. I was simply stating the obvious conclusion no one else had. Horse had no major problems other than some crooked work (not so unusual) and is showing over jumps for years happily. Horse then received injections in front legs and immediately afterwards is tripping, in pain and refusing to do things that put pressure on front legs like jump. Vet says horse is fine. Trainer who recommended vet says horse is fine. I’m not a conspiracy person but it seems one thing follows the other too closely.

Only other explanation is that the horse was ridden by someone who hurt or frightened it when OP was not present and was not told later on.

Sorry for the mix up charlieTBD.

[Bethe_Mounce]

Is the horse in America or in Italy? If in Italy, what region? Grew up in Naples, vet care was not a priority due to cost and horses worked pretty hard…

[GiveEmEl]

@theninfea

Hello there, i update after a while.
I have stopped riding him, because the last time i did, after i gave him like a week of rest and two weeks without jumping to see if he improved he bucked me off and basically jumped over my head, almost hitting it, while usually horses avoid you when you are on the ground. I wasnt afraid, i even got back on, but my parents were so scared and said he was to be sold. I was so angry, i have been them for a month that he needs help but they wont act.
Now to decide what to do i’ve not been riding him for 2 weeks, only randomly lounging him and letting him out. 2 days ago, my trainer touched a spot in his back with a precise pression and my horse instantly reacted by twitching in that area. Of course, he has pain there and everything i went through is clearly attributable to this. But my trainer went : oh he reacts a lot there, but he is just a jerk every horse has some muscolar weakness this isnt pain, he is just very sensitive and overreacts. It was OBVIOUS pain, whether from a typical soreness, whether from a more serious problem. I got so worried, cause its not fair for the horse, since my parents plan was to let my trainer ride him to sell him.

I told my parents about this back pain, but they still need to see his “contraction” as a reaction to being touched there. So they called my trainer, and of course he said the same thing : its just a weakness not pain. They told me, you wanna spend more money on a vet and he probably has just some soreness? We just need to sell him cause even if we fix the problem its his reaction to pain the problem, he is a dangerous horse.
Words cant describe how much stress i have in this period. I feel SO guilty for my horse who is suffering and he is being insulted as a “jerk horse” when he is just reacting to pain.
I dont know what to do anymore. Im 20 yo but its as if i have no freedom of choice on this matter, even if the horse is mine.
And my parents maybe are right, he is dangerous because of how he reacts to pain, but you cant sell a horse with a back problem. You fix him, then if you decide he isnt for you anymore anyway, you sell him, being sure that he is healthy and happy.

P.S, the point of pain is much behind the saddle position, and i have always used the same saddle in 3 years, so i dont know if its a saddle related problem

If you do end up selling him, he would probably make a good dressage horse. Several horses I’ve known who were jumpers and one day decided they hated jumping have become superb dressage horses.

[LovieBird]

I don’t have anything to add which hasn’t been already said here. I just wanted to wish you luck in finding a solution. Your horse is lucky to have you to speak up for him.