I’ve been dealing with a very frustrating tongue problem with my horse since the beginning of August, that I thought was solved but has gotten worse than ever. This is going to be a long post, but if someone has insight, I would really appreciate it. I recently bought this horse (after knowing him since January), and he is an incredibly talented young horse.
Background Info
I have known this horse since January. He is a five year old Hanoverian. He had a bad accident due to some mishandling as a three year old that led to a dislocated jaw. The people who bought him after the incident were very diligent about pursuing his problems. But despite having multiple vets, dentists, chiropractors, etc, it took a long time to find and fix the issue. So he was in a lot of pain for a while, I’m sure. He had a natural tendency to curl and evade the bit, but with proper training, he was really progressing. In all the time I have known him, he has been sound and healthy. He has always been mouthy, and will either try to chew on the crossties, or he will sometimes curl his own tongue under and suck on it while standing around.
August 8th
This is when our problems started. We were having some wonderful rides just previous to that. But then he started bearing down on the bit and curling his tongue out to the left during the ride in protest of the contact. We were riding him in a loose ring french link that could come in place like a mullen when he pulls against the contact.
August 12th
Had first vet out. She floated his teeth - he was not due yet, but he had developed some sharp edges and had an ulcer on the right side of the mouth. She felt confident that it would heal up and he would be back to normal soon.
He definitely was not pleased to have a bit in his mouth during this time. But he’s young, energetic horse who was turning into a demon with time off. I did not ride him, but I would lunge him with a bridle + cavesson. His tongue would not come out as much when being lunged. When I would use side reins, his tongue would come out (always to the left) occasionally when he came against the contact. If I lunged him in a halter (god save us all), his tongue would not come out.
August 26th
Had a second vet out, because the tongue issue was not going away and he was still bearing down on the contact. She found an infection along the gum line of one of his teeth, on the right side. She prescribed him a week of antibiotics. By the 5th-6th day, he seemed a lot happier and I started riding him again.
September 3rd
Decided to have a vet out who had experience in holistic eastern medicine as well as her DVM license. She decided to do acupuncture in his face, and also did some adjustment of his hyoid bone, because he was very tight there.
The ride after she worked on him, his mouth was the quietest it had been in a month. He has always been a mouthy horse, but for the past month, he would never stop chewing and playing with the bit. His tongue came out a little bit, but I figured it was just a habit that we would need to overcome.
September 14th
After some really good rides the past week where we thought everything was resolved, we started playing with bits. My trainer and I had been feeling lukewarm about the bit he was in previously and had been talking about switching it. He seemed to like a copper two piece eggbutt, but still there was some tongue, so we tried something else. I rode him in a three piece eggbutt with a flat french link on this ride, and he started hanging his tongue out of his mouth to the left, for 5-10 seconds or more at a time. Mostly at the canter.
I switched back to the other bit (and have tried some others too) - I can’t stop this behavior. I have tried switching bits, riding with incredibly light contact, throwing the reins at him when he sticks his tongue out. Nothing works. And it is hanging out of his mouth.
September 18th
Had a fourth vet out, who has a knack for figuring out the bizarre cases, and he was completely stumped. Since Monday, the tongue will just come out for very long periods of time. The vet feels this will be a “diagnosis by elimination” and isn’t ruling anything out at this point. Could be a bad habit, neurological, dental issue… We’re going to schedule some radiographs of his mouth.
So here’s what I know:
- Tongue always comes out to the left
- Tongue does not come out of his mouth unless he has a bit in
- Tongue comes out more when he is being ridden, but still occasionally on the lunge line
- He is not flipping his tongue over the bit.
- There is nothing I can do to make his tongue go back in his mouth.
- Tongue comes out the most at the canter, for 5-10+ seconds, occasionally at the walk, usually not at the trot unless it was out while we were doing a down transition from the canter.
I’m heartbroken about this. I just bought my dream horse - he is the most incredibly powerful and talented horse I have ridden in my life (and I have been lucky enough to sot on some nice horses), and right now, he feels broken. I’ve been trying to ride him in a hackamore, but he gets very strong in that. I also want to try a figure 8 noseband on him, but want to make sure there isn’t an underlying issue going on before I put a bit back in his mouth.
My boy - before we started falling apart.
PS: Riding him bitless - while it may work in the short term - is simply not a long term solution.
