Horse Talk

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Thanks, I'll look into him! I've got a nice collection of horse training books, what's one more? Lol.
And when people say they'd never hit horse, they don't mean that they don't apply pressure with a whip when lunging, etc. do they? Becuase I don't see how it would be possible to teach a horse how to disengage or round pen without actually touching them. I guess if they can then more power to them, lol. I would never hit a horse either, but sometimes a tap on the rear or shoulder is completely necessary
 
If someone had skills like that I'd sure like to see it lol I feel like that's the way they always try to make look in movies
 
I'm not sure if this is the right thread to put this on, but my horse has been acting kind of wierd. I try to lunge her every evening because it's too hot to ride. Normally she is very hyper and trots, bucks or breaks into a canter. But the past week she has acted very sluggish and I'm constantly telling her to go. It's a struggle to keep her trotting just 10 minutes. And as she trots she bobs her head up and down very oddly. I know horses do this when their lame but it looks different. And even when I stopped lunging her she was still throwing her head up and down. Normally she will do this if she excited to see me or give a really sweet treat. But she just stood their doing this for no reason for awhile (she wasn't wearing a bit anything on her head). I was really starting to worry she may be lame and I needed to call a vet. But I got up this morning to walk her back to her stall (she sleeps in the round pen at night) and she literally dragged me back to her stall. So is she really lame or is she testing my authority in the round pen? I talked to my trainer about how her attitude in the round pen and outside of it are so different. And she suggested that she may be developing joint issues and that working in a small area is too difficult. But would a horse that's in pain from walking in a circle try to run off with you when you leave the round pen?
 
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I don't know much about horses so maybe someone else will know more but to me, if she is normally hyper and never tests you, it seems odd that she would all of a sudden start. I think you definitely should at least get her checked out by the vet or farrier or maybe even the horse dentist. Even if there is nothing wrong, I think she needs to be checked out. Also as for dragging you to the stall and acting that different if she's in pain, I think maybe the actual work is painful but just walking might not necessarily be. If it is arthritis it may not be bad enough to constantly hurt yet. A horse I used to ride developed bad ankles and you had to be careful when you cantered or did tightish circles so you wouldn't hurt him. I messed up a few times but thankfully he wasn't necessarily in pain then but it was just a long term thing. I forget what it was but I think you had to pull his head up on the turns and not let him duck down to far and be on a certain angle. Anyway, he was like 24 and a lesson horse (he might be retired now idk) but he could ride perfectly fine, you just had to be careful in certain situations. That might the case with your girl. Just because SOME situations are painful doesn't mean ALL are painful yet. Not to mention the fact that going back to her stall and near the other horses (if you have any) may have simply been exciting to her and riled her up or that she wanted to check things outm Doesn't necessarily mean she's not in pain. My dog injured his leg a few years ago and we were supposed to limit exercise for a couple weeks or months, we tried he still wanted to run, wanted to play, etc. Animals don't alwaya necessarily know what's best for them so if she wss excited she might drag you even though she's in pain. If it was me I would stop trying to put all these thoughts into her head, automatically assuming she's testing your authority and all that, and just get her checked out. She's clearly trying to tell you something is wrong especially with that drastic change in behavior. Generally with animals when they are acting differently from their normal behavior then you know something is wrong. If it was just one day or something then mayhe she was just not feeling it that day but to consistently act strange for a week, something is wrong. Even if she's not lame, something else might be going on. And even if nothing is going on, the vet can rule it out and be sure.
 
Thank you for your reply. I have to have the farrier come out soon so maybe I can get him to watch me exercise her to see what he thinks. She is prone to abscesses, but when she gets them she refuses to even walk. So I don't know what this is since it's just trotting. She is 16 so arthritis is possible but she still seems so young to me. I just had the vet out a few weeks ago for a different issue which turned out to be nothing. And i would have hated to have them come out again if this was just a behavior issue. But if the farrier can't help or it gets worse I'll have to call the vet. Thanks again
 
chickluvinfreak said:
Thank you for your reply. I have to have the farrier come out soon so maybe I can get him to watch me exercise her to see what he thinks. She is prone to abscesses, but when she gets them she refuses to even walk. So I don't know what this is since it's just trotting. She is 16 so arthritis is possible but she still seems so young to me. I just had the vet out a few weeks ago for a different issue which turned out to be nothing. And i would have hated to have them come out again if this was just a behavior issue. But if the farrier can't help or it gets worse I'll have to call the vet. Thanks again
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You're welcome and sorry if it sounded mean or amything, i wasnt sure, but hmm, yeah since you just had the vet out i can definitely understand why you wouldn't want to have him out again. I would definitely see what the farrier thinks first. 16 does seem a bit young but you never know. I would see what he thinks. Could it be that she ate something bad? Or you could be right, could be the heat and refusing to work. But it sounds to me like a health issue. I would see what the farrier thinks and if he can't tell then see what the vet says if it's not better by then
 

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