What breed is he? To me he seems a little hardmouthed and is bracing against the bit, causing his whole fram to elevate in the front, and lower in the back, mostlikely causing his leg dragging.
Submit the video. The picture you posted says a million things right now
I would be interested if anyone has an educated helpful response, because we have a horse at the barn with really squared off front feet....the horse is sound....but I've never seen them quite so square before:shock:
How old is your horse? What kind of history does he/she have (ie off the show circuit, from a trail ride area). Is this a new problem? What sort of examination did the vet do?
my gelding does this sometimes as well.. but only when he IS lazy. just walking around.. when Im on him he doesnt.. but I did ask my farrier about it.. he said he djust does it when his toes are too long:P
Looking more at this picture and thinking about Barrel's response... I'm wondering if it has to do with foot length too. TWH's are positioned so they're sort of crouching a bit on the hind end, meaning they have to pick their feet up more dramatically to move their feet without hitting the ground. I'm not sure how to describe this, but it may be because he's too uphill and toes a little long? Still would like a video, hard to make a judgement like that on just 1 photo
we have a twh that does this. he has an old stifle injury and he has to have maintained regular exercise and customed shoes with a lot of heel. Posted via Mobile Device
another thing, if he carried his head like that a lot. get that bit out of his mouth and use a simple o-ring snaffle. his nose should not be stuck out like that. Posted via Mobile Device
another thing, if he carried his head like that a lot. get that bit out of his mouth and use a simple o-ring snaffle. his nose should not be stuck out like that. Posted via Mobile Device
I didn't hear him say anything about Kissing Spine. He is is flat shod all the way around. He doesnt trip alot he just drags them its like he's on his tippy toes vs actually sitting back on his toes when he walks. He is a 6 year old, no previous show history. I use him as a trail horse. Yes its fairly new. When I got him 2 years ago he wasn't doing it. The only thing that Im doing differently than what the previous owner does it I keep him in a stall.
Im posting the link to the video of him trotting. I can't upload it here because of the format.
to mls > yes i realize as we have gaited horse three that we have trained from ground up and we always start them in an o-ring snaffle or full cheek snaffle just like any other breed. just because they are gaited isn't a reason to use a shanked bit. ours gait just fine and hold a good formation in a simple snaffle. Posted via Mobile Device
A photo is a fraction of a second - and we've all had those kodak maments! So that may just be an awful pic! Forget the bit and let's work on the feet! I'm curious!
Okay, so I think a vet check is the first thing in order. I would speak to another vet because depending on how badly he is wearing his feet its either a sign of pain/discomfort or a sign of laziness. It could also be associated with some neurologic conditions (I would not bet on that with him because he has not fallen down and been unable to get up). Can you show a picture of how badly he is wearing his toes? After you have ruled out hocks and what not I would see if you could get a shoes on his backs with a bit more weight. This might give him a bit more weight and make him lift his feet up a bit higher. How long is he in the stall for? Is there a way to put him on choice turnout with a run in shed? In your opinion, has his muscle tone changed at all since you bought him? I am thinking mostly his butt muscles on this. How often and how long do you ride him for? What do you do when you ride?
I am sorry for all the questions. I just have a gelding that will drag his back feet too. He was tested for every neurological condition you can think of and came back negative. I noticed with him a big change in his condition and coordination when he was in a run in shed situation. I also noticed that the longer he works the better he moves. I also found that the more muscle he built up the better he moved. My horse has a devil of a time with circles he has to use his body and his hind end to turn and he just gets frustrated because its hard work for him. He also gets bored really easily (like an equine Stephen Hawking except take away the wheelchair and have binge eating disorder in its place ) He is a horse that when I find a home for him I will tell them that he needs to be worked (not heavily, but go for a walk or trot) three to four times a week. It just keeps his body working better. Thats the angle I come at with your horse too.
something that you can do yourself is work him on a long lead about ten feet from you and watch his back feet. our twh that dragged his feet a lot cannot lunge like this. his back end will completely give way. now if you give him more space say 20 to 30 feet he can do this but it is extremely challenging. he got caught up in an electric fence and luckily me and my husband were right there and there was little to no struggle but his stifle on his left hind is very weak and it cases him to drag and square off his feet badly. with constant exercise and custom shoes which have thicker heals and are heavier he does well. Posted via Mobile Device
If this is what you've been talking about, there is NO WAY it is coming from laziness.
Get another vet out, and have the horse evaluated for lameness in the hocks and/or stifles, or a neurological problem. It's pretty obvious from this video that there's a problem - all the way through, but you can *really* see it when she turns him around. Also, it looks like she was leaving slack in the reins, so his head being up and tossing like that says "Pain" to me more than it says anything else.
He kinda looks like he is getting 'stuck' in one of his hind feet.. but i know NOTHING about the way a horses confo or anything deals with.. so thats the most I can give:P
I apologize for not reading all the posts but the more I think about what the vet said regarding "being lazy" the madder I got:-|
1. The first I'd do is, by all means, find a new vet.
1. The second FIRST thing I would do is to locate a qualified chiropractor.
2. My Arab will drag his back toes when his ancient vertebra injury starts bothering him a lot.
3. The horse is in obvious discomfort for either one or several reasons.
3.1 Regardless of how "wrong" the equipment and/or the rider is, the horse should not be walking on it's toes in the back (OP said that a few posts back).
3.2 I would check very thoroughly for deep thrush. It's possible the horse can have thrush and walk ok at liberty but not under saddle.
3.3 I might try riding this horse bareback and with only a halter, in an enclosed area. Get pictures to see if the head/neck/back set are any different. Also check to see if the horse still lands on its toes.
There is no doubt this horse is uncomfortable - it's going to take process of elimination to figure that out.
One thing for sure, it is NOT a healthy sign the horse is landing on its back toes:-( That has not one thing to do with being lazy ---- blessssssthevetsharrrrttttt-------------:-x
i have actually seen a lot of walkers do this, sadly they were ones that had been padded and extremely long time and proper care not been demonstrated or at the auction houses. Posted via Mobile Device
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