I’m at my wits end. Young horse just won’t move!

[Rusty15]

I’m so frustrated. I have a lovely 4yo AQHA gelding. I’ve had him since he was 10 months old. He is a stunning mover, well built, very quiet, and has a very sweet personality. He is like a dog. He has PSSM-1 but is well managed and has never had any severe symptoms.

Last spring he went to the trainer for 4 months to get started under saddle. He rode great for me there and came home at the beginning of September. Since he’s been home he’s gotten worse and worse with not wanting to go forward under saddle. When I get on he’ll be ok for maybe 2-3 laps in the arena and then he’ll plant his feet and won’t want to move. I have to kick and/or smack him with the end of my rein to get him to take a couple steps. Then he’ll stop again. And again. And again. He gets worse if I try to trot or turn left (although he will go to the left fine when I first get on). He has also started reaching around and biting at the girth/me/his side when I ask him to move. He will happy follow my trainer on her horse at a walk or trot though.

Since he’s been back he’s had his teeth done, a lameness evaluation, multiple chiropractic and massage/PEMF treatments, he was treated for ulcers (no vets near me scope) and is finishing up the Stride 21 day hindgut program.

My regular trainer is completely stumped as was the trainer we regularly do clinics with. I can’t tell if he is just trying to get out of work or if there is a physical issue going on. He lives out in a 100 acre pasture with lots of friends and is only exercised very lightly. I just don’t know what to do. I feel so helpless I love this horse so much, but I don’t know what my next move should be to get past this hurdle.

[rulex]

Sounds like you have tried to rule out major physical issues. It might be something subtle though. I would try to change up variables and see if that offers any clues. Can you try with a different saddle? Different rider? Different environment?

[ShenanAnna]

I’ve been watching Cesar Milan, the dog/animal trainer, on television, and he solves an amazing number of dog problems with “calm intent,” basically acting like you’re the boss, the alpha of your little pack/herd (you and your dog or dogs). Can that work here?

[jherold]

Saddle fit

[anon29046226]

Saddle fit, hock changes, back changes. There is pain somewhere, it just doesn’t manifest until he’s been working for a bit.

[Night_Flight]

I had a young horse who didn’t want to go forward. Some days she would be great, and others she would just plant herself and not want to go forward (and especially not into canter). I had been the only person on her, so I knew she hadn’t had any bad experiences.

She didn’t belong to me, but I eventually convinced the owner to get the vet out, and the vet was shocked at how tense her back was. She couldn’t even palpate it properly because the poor mare tensed up her back immediately when she saw the vet going to touch it. She suggested that we x ray for kissing spines at the vet hospital (since her portable x ray likely wouldn’t give good enough images of the back), but the owner never took her. A trainer who I consulted about her felt that it sounded like his experience of horses with kissing spines, too. She was a Percheron/Arabian cross, so it really wouldn’t have surprised me to find out that her bones were too bulky for her short back. After she flipped over on me, I stopped riding her and she went without being ridden for a while. I’m told that once she was put back into work with her current rider, she’s been going well enough. Maybe she just needed time to finish growing?

[Helicon]

I always cringe when I hear a horse is a « kick ride » in my experience that’s a red flag for pain. I would start with ruling out heel pain. The lameness may not be apparent because both feet hurt equally. Have the vet block one foot and see if he goes off on the other one.

[Rusty15]

Wow thankfully he has not palpated sore on his back when I or the chiro/massage therapists checked him. My other horse had KS so I have experience with all that.

[anon29046226]

Get X-rays of back and hocks. Palpating will only do so much especially if your horse is stoic. Please don’t rule those out.

[Xanthoria]

@Rusty15

He has PSSM-1 but is well managed and has never had any severe symptoms.

When I get on he’ll be ok for maybe 2-3 laps in the arena and then he’ll plant his feet and won’t want to move. I have to kick and/or smack him with the end of my rein to get him to take a couple steps. Then he’ll stop again. And again. And again. He gets worse if I try to trot or turn left (although he will go to the left fine when I first get on). He has also started reaching around and biting at the girth/me/his side when I ask him to move. He will happy follow my trainer on her horse at a walk or trot though.

I might revisit the PSSM situation.

Also what was the ulcer treatment? For which kind of ulcers?

[anon29046226]

Oh I did not read the post for clarity.

@Rusty15 stop beating your horse into submission and investigate pain and his diet. I don’t meant to sound hyperbolic but damn!

[Foxglove]

I’d like to know if the horse is willing to go forward in hand --lunge line or round pen on a cue. “The horse you lead is the horse you ride,” John Lyons –

[Rusty15]

Yes he is very responsive on the ground. I’ve done a ton of ground work and is very engaged and willing, although he is definitely a “more woah than go” type. He’s always been that way.

[Rusty15]

That is what I’m trying to do? But I am not made of money. I can’t just X-ray every single part of his body at once. I’ve been chipping away at every possible cause I can think of and no professional has been able to find any reason for his behavior. It’s not like I’m beating him when I ride. Just a light tap on the shoulder. We have been using short rides to experiment and see if anything helps. He’s not in regular work until I figure out what’s going on. He’s only been ridden 3 times since the beginning of December.

[Rusty15]

He received gastrogard. I live in a remote area and none of the vets have the ability to scope for ulcers so unfortunately I’m flying blind.
As for the PSSM, he has never been symptomatic other than for a short period before we knew he had it where he was being fed grain and alfalfa at the trainer. He has been changed to a low NSC forage based high fat diet and fed a complete forage balancer designed specifically for PSSM horses. His muscles and overall relaxation are better than ever before.

[S1969]

I think that “not moving forward” might be symptomatic of PSSM.

But, I’d start with feet. You don’t mention them.

Does he wear shoes? What kind of terrain? Maybe consider trying shoes/pads?

Will he lunge but not ride? That would help determine whether it’s saddle/back or not.

[Helicon]

Have a vet do lidocaine blocks. They is usually not that expensive. In my experience they are cheaper and more definitive than X-rays. Start with heel blocks of his front feet (or just do one foot and see if he goes lame in the other) I am suggesting this because have been down this road a few times with stuck horses. Also you mentioned he is a quarter horse, and that breed is prone to heel pain issues.

[Critter]

It might be worth hauling him for a scope. I had my 4 yo start acting out last year…I treated him for ulcers too, just assuming that was the issue. I had been already treating him for almost a month when we took him to the clinic for some other stuff. While there, I said, you know, just go ahead and scope him so we can make sure there are not ulcers (given I had treated for a month). He had grade 3 ulcers!! And that was after a month of treatment (with ulcergard). So we changed the treatment plan, added sucralfate, and adjusted the dose of the ulcergard. Next rescope in 6 weeks, showed they healed.

I learned not to assume the ulcers are/are not there just because I’ve treated. Just a thought!

[Pepsy]

Hi you might try adding some plain fat to his already PSSM appropriate diet just to see if it makes a difference. Some of these horses just need that.

[beau159]

@Rusty15

I’m so frustrated. I have a lovely 4yo AQHA gelding. I’ve had him since he was 10 months old. He is a stunning mover, well built, very quiet, and has a very sweet personality. He is like a dog. He has PSSM-1 but is well managed and has never had any severe symptoms.

Last spring he went to the trainer for 4 months to get started under saddle. He rode great for me there and came home at the beginning of September. Since he’s been home he’s gotten worse and worse with not wanting to go forward under saddle. When I get on he’ll be ok for maybe 2-3 laps in the arena and then he’ll plant his feet and won’t want to move.

Curious. How is he if you go out for a trail ride? Get out of the arena?

Is he arena sour?

@Rusty15

I have to kick and/or smack him with the end of my rein to get him to take a couple steps. Then he’ll stop again. And again. And again.

When needed, I will use a whip or rein end to get a horse to move. But you have to do it correctly.

Let’s say you are at a stop and you lightly squeeze your calves to ask your horse to move into a nice walk. If they do not respond IMMEDIATELY, then you give them a big enough smack with the whip that they jump forward. You want it to mean something. Let them go forward a few strides, then ask them to stop, and you try again. They should briskly respond to your light calf squeeze to move into the walk.

The key is that you never end by using the whip. Don’t let them continue going forward after you’ve whipped them. Or pretty soon, you’ve taught them to move only in response to the whip. And now you’ve got a problem. (Could this be what’s happening in your case?) They should only be rewarded with the forward movement when they have responded nicely to your light soft cue.

@Rusty15

My regular trainer is completely stumped as was the trainer we regularly do clinics with. I can’t tell if he is just trying to get out of work or if there is a physical issue going on.

If your trainer rides the horse, does the trainer have the same problem?