Have any of you guys had a horse who just hates leg pressure? I try to just squeeze him forward and he tries to bite my legs and feet and it’s just so angry and it makes him stop immediately. He’s been treated for ulcers and he is not bothered when I like touch his stomach and is not girthy. I don’t think it’s a saddle fit issue because we’ve gotten his saddle checked and he also does it bareback. I palpated his back and there was no reaction. He just had a chiropractor appointment. I’m running out of options. I don’t really know what’s up with him.
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Do you have any videos of him going W/T/C? It really could be anything, but it is him communicating something about being asked to go forward is bothering him enough he’s biting or stopping. Good on you for listening to it and trying to get to the bottom of it.
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I’ll get some next time I ride him. He’s very on and off with it. He’ll have good days where he’s absolutely perfect and then days where he is so shut down.
I knew a horse like this that had a cracked rib. Have you had the vet check ribs, pelvis, etc? Have you scoped for ulcers recently since last treating? If there’s something else bugging him, the ulcers could come back.
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The chiropractor who I had out was also a vet so I feel like that would’ve been noticed, but I could be wrong and I know ulcers can come back, but he wasn’t displaying this behavior when he had ulcers and is showing no other signs of ulcers.
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How is he on the lunge with a saddle on? Is he very sensitive to grooming?
Kind of a dumb question, but have you tried using a dressage whip versus leg pressure on him to get him forward (I hope it’s obvious I don’t mean whipping the horse, but using the whip as an aid instead of your leg.)
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He could just be saying no to that leg pressure and moving forward from it. Your job is to figure out why?: He does not “Hate Leg”, he hates reacting to it, might be he has learned it is a request not a demand or similar training problem.
It might also be pain related. Refusal to go forward is often a sign or trouble in the hocks, stifles or rear suspensories. Could be higher up behind, old fracture in the pelvis or hips, sacro issue. Could be in front-sore feet (they will not limp if both feet are sore, they jut will not go forward). Could be a shoulder issue. Could be ribs, KS, spinal damage, neck issues. All sorts of stuff, most of which does not create an easily seen limp.
That vet-chiro? You hired them to do some adjustments, not palpate the rib cage looking for a displaced or broken rib or any other internal diagnostics, they did their job as you requested.
The best answer here is to set up an appointment with a vet for a good lameness evaluation and physical exam. I know that costs but if you are on a budget it is better to find out what is actually wrong then throw money at body workers who could do more harm of there is an hidden injury.
Do you have any video you would be willing to post? Some pretty keen eyes here that might help you focus on any problem areas. Don”t be afraid, most people are honest but kind, easy to ignore the few that are not.
Try to get working trot both ways around the outside rail. If possible get some straight line trot directly towards the camera then directly away from the camera. You will need somebody to help you but it will be very much worth your efforts and could save time and money trying to figure out what the problem is.
Is there a trainer there? Does he react the same way when the Pro rides him? Does the pro ride him often or long enough to allow the problem to school out if it is a training problem?
Also, how old is the horse, what breed and what is his history with you and before if you know?
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Are you in an area where Lyme is possible? Several of mine get very touchy when having a Lyme flare.
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He doesn’t react to pro rides, lunging or my friends getting on for that he’s perfect even when consistent or not consistent. Me and my trainer have a theory that I’m making him back sore because I ride very crooked due to my hips and lower back being very tight and uneven so while I’m doing chiropractic and stretching to try to even out and loosen up I’m going to work on him from the ground while someone else rides him I think he associates me being on him with stiffness and soreness. I feel bad for not noticing earlier I knew these were two problems, but I didn’t think that they could be related like this. We sent the chiropractor a video and she agreed that this is likely what’s going on.
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Can you have someone ride him for a few weeks exclusively and see if the behavior appears and use that time to do some pretty intensive physical therapy?
Yes that’s what I’m planning to do!
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If he’s fine for others, it may be a learned evasion - if you allow him to stop when he reacts, he will (work is hard!).
As long as you’re not asking him for things he’s not physically capable of (which means the strength to support your body as well), he’s playing you. No matter how uneven you are, though it’s great that you recognize your problem and are working to fix it. Think of it this way - he only has to work and hour a day (and probably not every day). He can tolerate dealing with you for that long.
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I agree with this! Sometimes I think we can get obsessed with being “perfect” for the average w/t/c work on a saddle horse. Now, if you’re asking a horse to jump big sticks or do upper-level dressage, that’s one thing. But I’ve had trainers get obsessed with rider symmetry to the point that the horse is given excuses for taking a few steps forward, just to do the most basic work. You’re his owner. A few laps at the w/t/c even if you don’t have perfect form isn’t going to ruin him forever-he has to get used to your body.
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It could be your saddle fit. If he doesn’t react to being lunged or with your trainer, it could be something with your saddle fit or with how your saddle fits once your weight is in the saddle.
How old is the horse? I’ve seen some quieter minded recently backed babies do this and stop pretty quickly with correction and never have an issue with it again.
The only horse I’ve ever had not in this category was a mess. Full of ulcers and arthritis pretty much everywhere. I imported him from an old friend in another country I thought was doing me a favor who disclosed none of this to me (don’t worry I paid less than 5k for him). I suspect among all of those things he was abused by grooms as well.
He was a pretty nice horse, really pretty and jumped beautifully, but I didn’t really have time to deal with all that, gave him injections and 30 day ulcer treatments and gave him to another local trainer for free, who I disclosed all this info to, and he looks like he’s doing pretty good from what I can tell. But yeah he would really aggressively bite you in the wash racks and bite your feet when you would push. Like I said I see videos of him looking great now but I just didn’t have time or money for that unfortunately.
I really believe that most of these kind of habits can be fixed with proper ground work, vet care, and riding as long as the horse is not too injured to work but all of this stuff takes a lot of time.
