When a horse acts naughty do you ever stop to ask yourself…Why?

I find that I’m always asking myself this question.  Why is my horse running away from me?  Why is my horse bucking?  Why is he pinning his ears back?  Why?

He has a good life.  He gets spoiled, adored, doted on.  He isn’t beaten or abused.  He doesn’t even work that hard.

What is his motive?

Getting to know a horse down to the reasons behind their actions is so rewarding once you find and solve the root cause…and it’s a way to play detective.

Lately my horse has begun bucking and lead changing at the canter.  Since I know him well I can tell it isn’t rudeness, it’s pain.  My horse is uncomfortable.  Instead of the cantering and tough work he and I have been taking walk/trot hacks out on the property; low key and low workload.  We’ve also been doing some liberty work which he truly seems to enjoy.  Despite the reduced workload he still appears to be sore at the canter even when not riding.

I can rule out saddle fit for now…

I have also been doing some simple stretching and massage work with Blade.  He gets very relaxed and it allows me to feel out some areas that have been sore.  For example I palpate him and find some back soreness.  I work his shoulder and it gets stuck.  I work his hip and stifle and they too get sticky.

The next steps I take are hiring a vet to look at him and perhaps some chiropractic.  From there we will continue to search for ways to keep him comfortable.  In truth I believe his body simply isn’t tolerating being so crooked and I’m preparing myself to retire him to liberty and groundwork only.  A girl can still try though right?

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This was my first contribution to Stream of Conciousness Saturdays.  I hope you enjoyed it and check back soon for more!