My new ottb will buck and kick out twords me when I lunge him to the right, he doesn’t do that going to the left, he has been checked by a vet, any ideas why he would be doing this
What did the vet check for?
Are you the same lunging him to the right as you are to the left?
The vet checked to make sure he wasn’t in pain anywhere, had his feet x-rayed, and he was fine, I lunge him the same way both directions
I have had two horses that did the same thing. One was a TB, one a WB cross. I wouldn’t worry about it except as a training issue.
Add me to the list of people that have had horses do the same thing. I think they enjoy the freedom of being out on a longe instead of just walking in hand, and are anticipating when you switch to the second direction. I just give them an extra bit of whoa and a tug on the line if they look like they are wound up to take off going right, to let them know right away that it is not acceptable and that school is still in session.
My only thoughts are that it could be vision related (but doesn’t really make sense) or maybe he doesn’t feel as strong going that direction so he is acting out a bit. Or maybe he feels more balanced and likes that direction better and just has more fun going right! Horses are weird, but it seems like you have ruled out something health related.
Assuming you’ve ruled out pain and physical issues, can I take a wild guess at something: do you always lunge to the left first and then switch to the right? If so, a couple things could be going on:
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When you switch directions, he’s now warmed up and feeling a little more exuberant, so you’re dealing with some excess energy. TBs tend to start quiet and build, so this could be some of his energy level starting to spike.
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TBs tend to be worked a little more to the left than they are to the right, Many if not all of them are stiffer on their right side than they are to their left. This could be his way of letting you know this is hard and he’d rather go to the left again. He may physically have a hard time holding himself out on a circle to the right. Don’t forget that lunging is hard on their joints. So even if he’s not injured or in pain, he could be mildly uncomfortable just because he’s stiff.
Try starting him to the right instead of always starting to the left. Keep your lunge sessions short so you don’t tax his joints. When you’re riding, spend some time flexing and bending him right to loosen him up. Also work on counterbending, especially when you’re tracking left.
Also, it might be worth having your vet watch you lunge. I did that with one of mine before, and got the reassurance that nothing was wrong, I just had young, high-energy horse who needed more turnout and an outlet for his enthusiasm lol.
I had a TB that only lunged to the right. Probably because they run to the left, they only lunged to the right to attempt to work both sides. You could get him to go to the left but it took having to walk up to him and turn him, constantly chasing him and eventually he’d just turn himself around and go to the right. Besides lunging him for the vet a few times or to evaluate soundness I didn’t lunge him.
My WB lunges better to the left. He tries to exit stage left when working to the right…and he has had a ton of groundwork training. I find working him in the round pen if I need to is more productive for me than lunging, but that’s just my opinion.
An ottb is going to be very unbalanced and quite hot so you can have any number of expressions of these basic issues to work through.
Could have a chiro check him too.
