We have a school horse, 7 year old QH, who has an on again off again habit. He is fine at the walk and canter but at the trot, he will raise his head and nod/flip it up. Teeth are fine, saddle fit is fine, tried hackamore and different bits. This happened last year but resolved itself. This year, it’s back with a vengeance. It’s almost like he gets bored trotting and pitches a fit when we won’t let him do what he wants to (canter and jump). He will even stomp his front feet when made to work at the trot. The behavior does lessen when performing 20 meter circles, but as he will be lightly shown, we can’t do that all the time. Any advice would be appreciated.
Has he been seen by a vet? does he flip his head when ine foot or the other hits the ground, or is it ran dim flipping.
Horses when lame are not easily noticed at walk and canter. Trot is the gait of choice for Dx, as that is when it becomes obvious.
[QUOTE=merrygoround;7586735]
Has he been seen by a vet? does he flip his head when ine foot or the other hits the ground, or is it ran dim flipping.
Horses when lame are not easily noticed at walk and canter. Trot is the gait of choice for Dx, as that is when it becomes obvious.[/QUOTE]
I echo this. Without a video to get a sense of what you really are seeing, my guess would be he is off behind since his head is going up. When they are off in the back, sometimes it is harder to notice. Also, sometimes when they are doing more collected work (or at least work on a shorter rein that restricts thei head movement, such as you would do in a 20 meter circle, sometimes it is harder to see lameness than when they are moving out on a long rein with foll use of their head.
Since it seems to be something intermittent, I think I’d start with his feet. Have you checked his feet to see if they are sore. Is the ground a little harder than normal? It may be something as simple as him having low heels or sensitive soles and needing some heartbars or other shoes that give a little extra support. It also could be an abscess is forming that you can’t see and it’s causing him pain.
I’d have you vet and farrier check him out to get to the root of the problem quickly.
If everything checks out after a vet check, could it just be as simple as a horse that is trying to “seek” a proper contact? My youngster is learning about proper contact and moving from his hind end into my hand, his head will “bob” on and off the contact as he’s learning this…Also if the riders aren’t maintaining the forward from the hind end and a steady even contact this could be causing him to bob up and down while he’s trying to balance as well (not sure if I’m explaining this correctly) but it “could” be what you’re seeing!
Allergies.
If it’s a behavior thing and not a medical issue maybe he’s bored/sour and wants to do something outside of the ring. Try a trail ride or paper chase to mix things up.
Sounds a little like “head shaking” syndrome. Ask vet or look up. Can be allergy related or photo-sensitivity. Comes seasonally then resolves. Try putting a nose net on him and see if that helps. For some, it’s magic. Others not.
http://www.jefferspet.com/quiet-ride-nose-net/camid/equ/cp/QL-AW/
Also, look up head-shaking threads on COTH. There are several and they discuss different aspects.
My old Paint will do this. We’ve found that it is his way of telling us he’s bored. Yes, we had a vet look at him, no there was no issue. He hates flatwork and loves to jump- about 20mins of flatwork and Kody says enough!
With that said, don’t assume your horse is just bored. It may be a pain issue - have a vet take a look first. If it ends up not being a pain issue, then maybe mix things up a bit. Ride in a field or on the trails, weave cones and constantly change rein in the ring. Maybe do trot/canter transitions. Add a small jump in here and there.
.
If he vets clean call a well known REMT. They know more by touching the horse then the vet does sometimes.
[QUOTE=beowulf;7587381]
Allergies.[/QUOTE]
Ditto this.
Further clarifications: When he nods, it is worse to the left but it occurs either direction consistently, rather than when a certain foot strikes. We will pull his shoes and see if it all amounts to sore feet. He does minimal nodding on the longe line, it virtually disappeared with draw reins. The nodding began this year as soon as he was back in regular work. Thanks for all the ideas- we are willing to try anything to help him out.
Probably because the draw reins are forcefully holding his head down. Not something I would suggest using when you don’t know the cause of his behavior.
