Ask Dr. Kaia

for Sept. 10, 2003

 

 

Q: I have noticed some changes in my horse lately. He is hard to catch and has been not working well . He is doing a lot of chewing the bit and fidgeting. He doesn't want to enter the arena and his times on the barrels are slower than usual. I wonder if there is something wrong with him?

A: What you are noticing is behavior changes that are the result of your training. It is easy to forget that each time you ride your horse, you are training your horse. After taking the history on this horse, I determined that this horse was not being conditioned properly, but just being taken on the weekend of the race and asked to run full out. I found out that he was being put away wet without being cooled down properly. I could see by examination of the legs on this horse; that he had been ridden hard all his life. No one had noticed the changes in him until he quit perfoming.

Always remember that your horse is a sensitive creature and a kind horse will tolerate a lot of abuse before he finally refuses ro participate in your activity. Your training regimen has to include exercises that develop and strengthen both the body and the mind of your horse. You have to treat your horse like any athlete; proper warm ups and cool downs, regular examination of the horse's legs and vigilance regarding the horse's attitude.

There are lots of medications that may help mentally and physically. Some changes in your training regimen may be neccessary to change your horse's attitude. Remember that retraining takes a lot longer than doing it right the first time. Don't let the problem become a habit before you look for help.

Many times, there will be a behavioral change that shows up before a lameness becomes obvious. Whenever a perfomance horse is not working the way he used to, you should consult a veterinarian that has experience with sports medicine in performance horses. There is a field known as sports medicine that deals with performance problems in equine athletes. The problems you experience can sometimes be detected by an experienced practioner who will watch you ride, examine your horse, and talk to you about your training program. There is no substitute for experience, so find someone who has a lot of it that you can work with. I obtained my experience by working at racetracks over the last 19 years, looking at hundreds of horses a day, and riding and training a lot of horses myself!