Performance Troubleshooting

Is your horse being a Jackass (being difficult) or is there an underlying pain issue?

This is a partial list of symptoms that ARE NOT NORMAL and need to be investigated for your
horse to perform at maximum capability.

Symptoms    

 

Disciplines in General:     Western Performance Horses
Swapping or missing leads Twisting at the pole   Not wanting to run to the steer
Hopping in the hind end Hoping on front limbs during gait transitions or depart   Not stopping hard when roping a steer
Bunny hopping Traveling with open mouth   Ducking out after roping
Not extending hind limbs on the backside of the jump More comfortable moving  one way than the other   Not wanting to pull
Not wanting to push from behind Being lazy   Letting hind end drift to the right
Traveling with their nose to the ground Working out of a mild lameness    
Neck bent to one side or the other Looks good on a lunge line but feels terrible under saddle   Not wanting to enter box or alley
Heavy in your hands or more on one side than the other Consistently landing on a specific lead in the front   Wide arond barrel
Twisting at the pole Dropping a leg over the jump   Hitting barrel
Landing toe first Abnormal tail carriage   Not wanting to engage hind end
Stumbling Stopping at jumps    
Muscle atrophy/soreness      
Kissing spines x-ray - Dr. Brent Barrett of Barrett Equine Lamenes - Ocala, FL and Colorado Springs, Colorado, CO 352-456-9824
Here's an example x-ray of kissing spines

This radiograph shows kissing spines in multiple locations along the back of a horse that bucked off most of her riders. The red circles show areas that have bony remodeling from excess contact with one another, and the yellow circles illustrate where the dorsal spinous processes are either overlapping or fused. Kissing spines on radiographs aren’t always clinical, but I believe in this case it is the explanation of her behavior issues.

Many of these symptoms can be caused by multiple issues. Some of the often-undiagnosed sources of pain include foot soreness or imbalance (negative plantar angles in hind feet), neck issues, sore back or SI, muscle disorders (PSSM/MFM), EPM, and soft tissue injuries (hind suspensories can be missed).  A thorough exam to identify these areas is crucial.  We do more than flex and inject.  We offer a wide range of therapeutic options for addressing performance-related issues. Our goal is to help your horse recover and return to their normal activities as soon as possible.