Oh, sorry I missed that in your post! Yes, he could have had his tongue bitten off!!
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Drop the bit a few holes.
Jacking up the bit doesn’t work…so try the other direction. She will then have to carry the bit on her tongue.
Of course, continue with doing all the mouth health/teeth check ups is appropriate.
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Did she do this with her tongue at the track? What bit was she raced in? Was she tongue tied then?
I’m glad you’re gonna get the dentist out to see her.
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What does she do if you (gently) grab her tongue and wiggle it? I knew two horses on the track that for whatever reason developed this habit and saw it as a fun interactive game - it certainly got your attention! It was always fun to watch visitors in the barn go near either of them and be horrified when a tongue flopped against an arm or even a face if they were standing in the right place.
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Why are their tongues tied?
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So the tongue doesn’t impede their breathing!
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tongues are tied on racehorses to prevent “flipping the palate” which interferes with breathing and affects performance. At some point in the race if the palate flips, the horse will “run out of air” and drop back behind the field. Of the couple dozen racehorses I’ve galloped, only one was prone to flipping palate during training and wore a tongue tie for any speed work. She was an inherently stiff, braced mare, and she was the type to just GO until she couldn’t. When it happened, you’d notice a loud change in her breathing and she would metaphorically “spit the bit” and slow to a canter or trot. I was instructed to use a nylon tongue tie strap; the mare never objected to it, and would either hang her tongue out or let me stuff it back in her mouth (where it would usually stay).
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Get her teeth done by a vet who does them well.
Learn some massage techniques, she might be open to really loosening those jaws with some good time work and just recalling she owns her own mouth. If her tongue was tied she’s just got a habit going on. Heck, hand graze her a bunch in good grass in a well fitting snaffle, maybe she’ll remember she can own her tongue’s location after all.
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I just want to say I’ve seen two cases lately where the horse had no “classic” signs of ulcers and each horse was scoped and shown to have grade 3 ulcers. One is a very close friend of mine and I can attest that her horse looks beautiful - healthy weight, shiny coat, filled out topline. Has professionally fitted saddles. Regular body work - truly the whole 9 yards. You might be surprised at what you find.
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My grade four was an easy keeper pony with a phenomenal coat, zero girthiness, who never once pinned an ear. These were gnarly blood ulcerated spots that took months and months to resolve with multiple prescription medications and four scopes. If I’d treated based on symptoms I’d have never known.
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What would cause you to scope a horse that wasn’t showing symptoms and was otherwise happy? Just curious!
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In my friends case it was because the horse coliced in December. She did a round of GG. Felt the mare buck undersaddle once (unlike her, but also it was only one time) and wanted to scope for peace of mind.
I wouldn’t say scope a horse that seems perfectly happy. But my point is that lack of some of the “classic” ulcer symptoms doesn’t mean the horse doesn’t have ulcers.
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Don’t even get me started on ulcers.
I do not even entertain the thought of ulcer meds until a horse is RELAXED AND CONTENT LIVING IN CONDITIONS THAT DO NOT PROMOTE OR CREATE ULCERS. This is one of the BIGGEST scams in the horse world today. Slapping an expensive bandaid on a problem that is being manufactured by mismanagement. Flame me all you want (everyone has) and attempt to defend crappy horse maintenance. Doesn’t make it right and doesn’t fix stupid.
My OTTB has been put is in group pasture - this means over an acre - with 2 other mares. She has access to 24/7 forage (round bale with a slow feed net). She has the big 3 things - 24/7 forage, company where physical touch/grooming is possible, and room to move as she sees fit.
After she has lived in these conditions for several months and fully adjusted to her lifestyle, her surroundings, her feed, and work schedule… then we treat for ulcers if need be.
Fix the root of the problem.
Treat the symptom.
EDIT TO ADD : if a horse is on heavy pain/inflamation meds for any period of time I always give ulcer meds (omeprazole if that’s spelled right?) with it to prevent ulcers and protect the tummy.
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QFP ….wow….
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Oh I know. I will get flamed.
Usually by people packing ulcer meds into a horse that is locked in a stall, fed grain, and hand walked on Saturdays and Sundays.
Change lifestyle of horse, then treat.
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And for those of us that had horses on 24/7 forage, great herd setting, zero life pressures, daily in hand work, massage/chiro/amazing farrier work, no grain, and still dealt with horrific ulcers it feels really dismissive and rude.
I can think of multiple horses I know including retirees living out in a field with zero work that have scoped positive for ulcers.
There’s also little research to support that environmental modification alone can heal existing ulcers. You just end up with a pasture horse with ulcers.
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And where did I say DON’T treat?
I didn’t.
Just that I find it substantially more effective to get lifestyle changes sorted out and then treat IF still required.
Not jump straight in with a band-aid then wonder why they came back.
The judge cannot ignore this fault, whether it’s at Intro B or GP. Bolding is mine.
From the rule book:
Putting out the tongue, keeping it above the bit or drawing it up altogether, as well as grinding the teeth or agitation of the tail, are mostly signs of nervousness, tension or resistance on the part of the horse and must be taken into account by the judges in their marks for every movement concerned, as well as in the collective mark for “submission
You do yourself a disservice by expecting to slide by at lower levels when it comes to the rules.
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I find this interesting.
I’ve watched enough higher level dressage to see that agitation of the tail and visibly miserable horses receive high marks. So why is that?
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Who’s to say the marks weren’t lower because of agitated tails?
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