can horses fake lameness?

[TheDuckCrew]

so i ride this horse named miley, shes a 6 year old quarter horse. she's REALLY lazy, and thats why i'm riding her, to make her do work! but lately, she's been acting lame when i ride her, but if you turn her out, she runs around perfectly fine. the owner had the vet and farrier out to make sure nothing was wrong, and they both said she was perfectly fine. the owner and i discussed it, and we were both at a loss, until we thought that maybe she's so smart she's faking it. we think she knows if she limps around, she won't have to do work. can they really be that smart? i have no doubt that she could be that smart, but has anyone else heard anything like this?

 

[PQ4evr]

I have seen this before in a horse I rode I had a vet check him out many of times even took him to a specialist 6 hrs away from me. he was a lazy bugger I hired a trainer to work with him and he kicked that habit.

 

[FarmGirl01]

I had a mule that did that. He was real lazy also. He started acting lame whenever I rode him. Not a limp in the pasture. I finally sold him real cheap. The new owner knew the whole story about his lameness. She says he never limps. Who knows.

 

[TheDuckCrew]

thanks. she seemed to forget about her act today when i rode her. she was amazing, i was so proud of her.

 

[Haviris]

They can, we had a pony that was very good at it! And she wouldn't wait for someone to get on her, you'd go get her and she'd act so lame she could hardly walk. Of course when you turned her loose she'd take off at a dead run, and throw in a few bucks as she went. The best way to make her "forget" was to bring out some powdered donuts, she loved powdered donuts and would completely forget her act!

 

[gaitnfool]

I am not sure about anyone else but I believe that a lot of that comes from poor saddle fitting or issues in their back/hips. I have a horse that sometimes has issues when I ride but not when I am off of him. Come to find out from an Equine Chiropractor that he was locked in his back (between the hip bones) and he was also locked in his SI joint. I use a chiropractor any time that he seems "off". Contact a chiropractor just to see what they say. It is a lot cheaper than xrays, nerve blocks or even a vet call. My chiro charges 75 dollars per visit plus she massages him before she leaves. Hope this helps.

 

[adoptedbyachicken]

I agree, some soreness can be rider or tack related so the horse appears sound without but is hurting with. However for sure YES some horses do figure out that if they gimp about riders get off. And the lazy ones are generally the ones that do it! So beware of both. Did you do anything different in the tack, riding or footing the day(s) when she was not lame? Was she just more willing that day, in a better mood? Is the lameness related to her heat cycles? That can be attitude or it can be back pain. If you think that's it talk to your vet about Bute pre-ride for those days. If that works it's pain and you just need to bute her those times.

 

[cwhit590]

One of my friends was just telling me this weekend that her old horse used to do that! From what she said he was a fairly lazy / stubborn horse. I think she might have mentioned that he had an injury when he was young, so maybe he learned from that experience to favor his leg to avoid being ridden...

 

[lizardz]

Quote:
OMG I think we had the same pony! (except for the powdered donut thing). She was **ll to catch, and once you did, she would limp so bad you thought you might have to have her put down. Turn her loose and off she ran, kicking her heels up in the air, seeming to laugh at you

I do think some can figure it out!
Liz

 

[Skyesrocket]

I think a chiro would be a good idea. The weight of a rider or ill fitting tack could be causing it. And a chiro should be able to tell you if it is. They could check the horse before and after you ride and would be able to tell if the muscles are tightening up from pain.
I think horses are smart enough to fake an injury, but doubt if they could fake muscle strain or tightness.
Pain can make a horse look lazy too.