# Weird hop my horse is doing?



## edgecomb48 (Jul 13, 2016)

I'm wondering if anyone can tell me what exactly my horse is doing.. My trainer is stumped, my vet checked him over and says he is fine, just silly.. He only does it when trotting or cantering to his left.. link to my youtube video:


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## Prairie (May 13, 2016)

Sorry, no video is showing up.


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## jaydee (May 10, 2012)

Not seeing a video
The easiest way to post them on here is to open a YouTube channel and then post the link here - be sure to have them checked as 'public viewing'


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## edgecomb48 (Jul 13, 2016)

Prairie said:


> Sorry, no video is showing up.





jaydee said:


> Not seeing a video
> The easiest way to post them on here is to open a YouTube channel and then post the link here - be sure to have them checked as 'public viewing'


Fixed it!


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## Saranda (Apr 14, 2011)

The video is showing for me. It is very short and dark, but, from what I can see...

...get a different vet ASAP! No horse does this kind of erratic, tense movement to a specific side just because he's "being silly". Never. He's showing you discomfort and you'll need the help of a good vet to determine what's hurting. Also, who and when has checked his saddle and its fit?


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## jaydee (May 10, 2012)

Unfortunately the video is too short to be able to tell what's going on


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## Wallaby (Jul 13, 2008)

Is there any way to see a longer video? 5 seconds, one-ish strides, wasn't enough for me to actually see what he's doing... 

What breed is he? The little I saw made me think it might be some kind of gaited thing? What do his gaits look like on the other side?


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## Prairie (May 13, 2016)

It's showing now.....and I agree that this horse is showing some pain and has escalated the communication since you missed the earlier signs. Call your vet to check him over ASAP.


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## edgecomb48 (Jul 13, 2016)

I know it's a short video, I'm going to get a better video this afternoon. He's being ridden in a bareback pad in this video but he does it even without me on his back, only on his left side. I will update this later with another video.


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## Saranda (Apr 14, 2011)

The fact he's doing it exclusively on the left side and both ridden and without a rider is a huge red flag. Does he only do it in the roundpen, or does he move like that in the pastures (larger space) as well?


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## edgecomb48 (Jul 13, 2016)

Wallaby said:


> Is there any way to see a longer video? 5 seconds, one-ish strides, wasn't enough for me to actually see what he's doing...
> 
> What breed is he? The little I saw made me think it might be some kind of gaited thing? What do his gaits look like on the other side?


He's an Arab mix, we were thinking it might be a gaited thing because he really doesn't seem to be in any pain. He sometimes does it to his right but usually only after being ridden to his left and then he changes into a normal trot. He's a very expressive horse, and definitely lets you know if he is uncomfortable. Which he doesn't do at all when being lunged or ridden to his left. Vet looked him over not too long ago, has been with and around Coyote for over a year now and doesn't see anything that could be wrong, also had a chiropractor out and they said he's fine too so I don't think it is pain related.


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## edgecomb48 (Jul 13, 2016)

Saranda said:


> The fact he's doing it exclusively on the left side and both ridden and without a rider is a huge red flag. Does he only do it in the roundpen, or does he move like that in the pastures (larger space) as well?


Only in the round pen when lunged and ridden and during smaller left turns. He's fine if I'm leading him in tight left circles, or if he is in the pasture playing around. It's almost like it's just a gait of his that is really sloppy, and I can never sit it long enough to get a good feel for what he is doing.


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## Saranda (Apr 14, 2011)

Arabs are not naturally gaited, though.

If you are 100% sure it is not pain related, it still looks like tension and any tension can eventually lead to pain. First thing I would be doing is relaxing, stretchy groundwork to establish good, supple transitions and straightness throughout the body. Look into Straightness training for this, it has loads of excellent exercises that can be transitioned from the ground up in the saddle.

Still, I persist. Tension and erratic movement only on one side + mostly in the roundpen/small turns + with or without rider = seems to me that something is being missed and it is very likely the horse is in pain. Really, I'd get another vet to check him out.


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## edgecomb48 (Jul 13, 2016)

Saranda said:


> Arabs are not naturally gaited, though.
> 
> If you are 100% sure it is not pain related, it still looks like tension and any tension can eventually lead to pain. First thing I would be doing is relaxing, stretchy groundwork to establish good, supple transitions and straightness throughout the body. Look into Straightness training for this, it has loads of excellent exercises that can be transitioned from the ground up in the saddle.
> 
> Still, I persist. Tension and erratic movement only on one side + mostly in the roundpen/small turns + with or without rider = seems to me that something is being missed and it is very likely the horse is in pain. Really, I'd get another vet to check him out.


We do a lot of ground exercises to stretch and relax his body before I ride him, I will look into the straightness training! I am 100% sure it isn't painful for him or he wouldn't do it. He's nit picky when he is feeling any kind of pain. I will get a second opinion from a different vet. Also, his previous owners told us his sire was some type of gaited horse but we are not 100% sure on their information as they had no proof of who they thought the sire was.


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## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

what I see is a horse that is using the fling of his neck to be able to canter. i think he has some shoulder or leg pain, possibly front right, that makes it hard for him to push off the ground, thus he uses the big fling of his neck to lift him up.
gaited horses often struggle with the canter, and do a lot more head flinging to generate the lift, but if he does it one sides only, then it may be a physical issue. 

more/better video might change that evaluation entirely. video longer, going to right, too. trot/gait .
show all.


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## Saranda (Apr 14, 2011)

_it isn't painful for him or he wouldn't do it

_First, I want to stress that I am not nitpicking at you specifically. However, this phrase is a myth. Horses do and will do things that are painful for them for a myriad of reasons, for example, a state of learned helplessness, fear, insecurity, extreme compliance, and even in a state of compiling many stress factors into one huge heap of stress before a breaking point/crisis is reached.

I do hope your horse is not in pain and am eager to see a longer, lighter video.  It's great you're doing groundwork before riding, everyone should be doing it with a more relaxed, supple horse in mind! And I'm happy to read you'll get another vet out. Good luck, fingers crossed it's nothing serious!


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## edgecomb48 (Jul 13, 2016)

tinyliny said:


> what I see is a horse that is using the fling of his neck to be able to canter. i think he has some shoulder or leg pain, possibly front right, that makes it hard for him to push off the ground, thus he uses the big fling of his neck to lift him up.
> gaited horses often struggle with the canter, and do a lot more head flinging to generate the lift, but if he does it one sides only, then it may be a physical issue.
> 
> more/better video might change that evaluation entirely. video longer, going to right, too. trot/gait .
> show all.


He does it on his right side too, but nothing like the left. I was reading into gaited horses as I don't have much knowledge on them and I read that they will favor a side which is what I'm thinking he's doing.. I will upload another video today when I go see him!



Saranda said:


> _it isn't painful for him or he wouldn't do it
> 
> _First, I want to stress that I am not nitpicking at you specifically. However, this phrase is a myth. Horses do and will do things that are painful for them for a myriad of reasons, for example, a state of learned helplessness, fear, insecurity, extreme compliance, and even in a state of compiling many stress factors into one huge heap of stress before a breaking point/crisis is reached.
> 
> I do hope your horse is not in pain and am eager to see a longer, lighter video.  It's great you're doing groundwork before riding, everyone should be doing it with a more relaxed, supple horse in mind! And I'm happy to read you'll get another vet out. Good luck, fingers crossed it's nothing serious!


ok! No worries, I just honestly don't think he's hurting at all. He's really so expressive. But I will be looking for another vet to come check him out as well as uploading a better video later today.


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## Wallaby (Jul 13, 2008)

Saranda said:


> Arabs are not naturally gaited, though.


I completely agree with you on all points, except this. There are certain bloodlines of Arabians that do gait, naturally. It's frowned upon breeding-wise these days, but gaited Arabs do occasionally still crop up.

For instance, my mare Lacey was mildly gaited [she would flat-walk, and I even got her to rack once or twice] and her great-grandfather [on her father's side, her mother as unregistered] Bazleyd was double registered as an Arabian first, then, later, as a TWH due to the "purity" of his gaits.

From Google: 










It's rare, but it does happen. 

I don't necessarily think this particular horse is a gaited Arabian, [or that, if he were, his gait would only show up on one side], but it's technically possible!


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## 3Horses2DogsandaCat (Apr 19, 2016)

I'm interested in this thread because my green horse does something similar. He just occasionally takes one hop when he goes into the trot. I don't notice him doing it in the pasture, only when he is being worked, both in the round pen and under saddle. My trainer and I thought it was because he was weak/lazy and needed a little boost to get into the trot. I sometimes suspect something is hurting him too, but I'm not sure what. I had a chiropractor work on him, but it didn't make much difference. Please keep us updated.


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## BreezylBeezyl (Mar 25, 2014)

This horse looks severely lame, but the video is too short to be able to make any sort of diagnostic on what side or possibly where. I'd have your vet out for sure, and perhaps your farrier too if it's about that time.

EDIT: Sorry, this horse is a mix, partly a gaited breed? What other breed? I have a Saddlebred who sometimes does the rack, but she never looks like that.... If what your horse is doing is natural to him and there is no pain involved, looks like he'll be easy to collect later on in training, lol! :lol:


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## updownrider (Mar 31, 2009)

I do not know how anyone is diagnosing a previously unknown horse from a 5 second poor quality video. Even the most experienced vet in the world could not and would not do that. But kudos to all of you.


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## Saranda (Apr 14, 2011)

Thank you, Wallaby, I really didn't know. The more you learn!


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## edgecomb48 (Jul 13, 2016)

UPDATE:
Had another vet out for a second opinion, all is well he thinks it's a gate issue. 
The hopping is slowly getting better and I was unable to get a good video because he is barely doing it now. 
We're assuming it was a temporary thing.. Either way I will be keeping a close eye on him!


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## Yogiwick (Sep 30, 2013)

Post edited due to OPs update.


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