Ummm…don’t take this personally but you are grinding into his back every canter stride and you might also be moving your hands in and out of his mouth every canter stride, cant really tell. If he is sore anywhere along his back, the way your weight comes down on him every canter stride and your hands dont follow. is not helping him.
Stopping the exam after he flexed 3/5 in the upper limbs was…an interesting choice. 3/5 is not a “little off” or NQR. I dont buy tthe weak back end theory, those don’t flex 3/5 high up. They dont usually buck that hard with a weak hind either
Going to agree your money could be better spent in finishing the diagnostics instead of guessing where to use alternative therapies. We are finding more and more non displaced fractures in the pelvic ares and over time the horse compensates for them and you get all kinds of compensatory issues including pain. But they don’t limp. You need to spend to identify the source.
Otherwise he looks like a nice horse, worth spending to see if there’s a fix.
You might benefit from riding a lesson horse to build your position strength up to stabilize your weight too. Ive had one TB that demanded a quiet, steady ride. He didn’t get it, he would put an end to your ride. Nothing wrong with him, vetted to death, just hated a heavy and/or unstable ride. Ended up selling him, Im not that precise over jumps.
Do you know this horses history? Does he have a tattoo so you can get his age and trace his race record, if any? Sometimes theres clues to old injuries that become more evident with age.
Honestly, if he bucks when catering, don’t canter if he’s really fresh. You can get plenty done at the trot until you solve the cause if this behavior. I would not use bitting rig on him until you rule out old fractures, spinal or SI. You very well could cause more harm and/or pain then good.
