Catching pasterns when schooling
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One lady
29 Aug 2010 19:33
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Hi, My horse keeps catching herself on the inside of her back legs, just above her pasterns and below her fetlocks when schooling. I use pastern wraps which help but why does she do it and what exercises can I do to help stop her doing it?
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billysidseager
29 Aug 2010 20:31
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Hi there, my friends horse does the same. our osteopath advises its a shoeing issue but our farrier advises its conformation and he will grow out of it as he builds up. be interested if anyone has advice on schooling tips for this.
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One lady
01 Sep 2010 13:15
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Hi, it's good to know my horse isn't the only one who does this. My farrier said he could set her shoes slightly to the outside or to make them thinner on the inside (I think) to help prevent injury but he said it was a schooling or conformational issue in that she has a very close gait. It happens most often in trot, particularly on a bend, however she leg yields easily on the straight or on a circle without a problem. Maybe I'm letting her fall in on the corners. Let's see if anyone else has any ideas...
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Horse Hero Guru
01 Sep 2010 22:13
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When a horse hits one hind leg with the other there can be more than one cause. You need to look critically at your horse and to stand behind him and watch him move. Often, as the hoof hits the ground the hock will move outwards, which shows that there is weakness in that leg.
The most common causes can be considered as temporary as they can be solved by time or simple actions:
• The horse is young and uncoordinated
• The horse is tired
• The horse is unfit
• The horse is working in a deep surface which makes clean movement difficult
• The horse has been poorly shod – quite often due to the shoes being too small which reduces the ground surface area so makes the feet more likely to move
More difficult to sort out, but still able to be treated by a good farrier are conformational faults, particularly if the horse’s hind legs are too close together (does he stand with his hooves together?) Even so, good farriery should help to change the path of the foot if there are conformational problems.
Exercises that will help sort out the problem are the usual ones which help the horse to move in a more balanced way and, by so doing, to build up the strength in his legs – steady work with lots of transitions, turns and lateral work. Trotting poles carefully placed will also help to encourage him to use himself better. And of course, it goes without saying that he should be ridden in a balanced manner and not allowed to trot as fast as possible over deep or uneven ground.
Whilst all these exercises are improving his way of going, make sure that you use good boots so that he does not cause himself any damage.
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One lady
02 Sep 2010 13:41
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Thanks HHG that makes complete sense. I will ask my instructor to have a closer look at my horse and what she's doing in the school. She certainly does it more when the school is deep (especially in the corners) and when she's tired (or more often being lazy). I always use exercise boots at the back and have created some homemade pastern wraps which seem to give her much more protection than the standard ones you can buy.
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