Comment

Comment by John Freeman on May 28, 2010 at 7:34pm

Gee, you guys, I'd never thought about the sound. Thank you.
After Ward's suggestion of a nose extension to the fly mask, I started using SWAT on his nose and it made a big difference this morning. So, until I can get the nose extension figured, I'll keep applying the SWAT.
I seem destined to have ultra sensitive animals. Our beautiful dog, who just died in January, had all kinds of allergies and was unbelievably spooky.

Comment by Geoffrey Pannell on May 28, 2010 at 5:25pm

Gee, I'm glad we don't have bugs like that here, they sound like F-111's

Comment by Jackie Cochran on May 28, 2010 at 4:32pm

John, maybe he spooks at the SOUND of your local bugs.
There are horse ear plugs available.

Comment by Ward Edwards on May 27, 2010 at 7:34am

She spooked, ran, came to a fence and did a sudden left turn and I did a sudden right, came off and skidded about 10 feet. I got a couple of good bruises, but other than that I am fine (other than my nerves). Nikki seems to have nerves of jello, as she will spook at almost anything (sweat scraper, chipmunks, the woodshed, don't even think about clippers). We are going to start her on a program of bombproofing and try to get her a little more brave. She is ususally pretty good if we are working. It is only when we are cooling out or relaxing that her imagination starts to get the better of her.

For Zuckie, have you tried putting an extension on the fly mask so that it covers his nose as well. It may be that the bugs are getting up his nose or biting him on the muzzle.

Comment by John Freeman on May 26, 2010 at 4:26pm

He shakes every which way, Jackie. I'm using a Quiet Ride mask that has ears.
I'm pretty sure it isn't anything to do with contact. He has always been pretty happy with that. I ride with a very loose rein most of the time and only pick up the contact more when we pick up speed. It may be what he became used to in race training. I believe it's the same with thoroughbreds - contact means speed up.
Now, since he's well trained, he's also accustomed to more contact when we do ring work. Then it's pretty consistent, but on trails I try to get as relaxed a horse as possible, which works for me, too. He can get surprisingly hot when he's having fun. I say surprisingly as he can also be a complete sloth all on the same ride.
He was also doing the head toss with the bitless bridle we borrowed and it was even worse with that as he wanted to hang his head almost down to the ground, which was a totally new experience for me. As soon as I stopped using the bitless, that stopped as well. What a relief!

Comment by Jackie Cochran on May 26, 2010 at 2:44pm

Does Zuckie shake his head up and down or from side to side?
I do not know if your fly mask covers the ears. Mine only covers the ears, and when a gnat sneaks in there is sudden vehement shaking of the head, sort of like the head shake after a good roll. Down here gnats in the ears are a prime cause of head shaking.
If Zuckie's ears are covered and no insects get in, there is also the possibility of something in the outer ear canal. Do vets have those neat little instruments our doctors use to look into our ears? Yes, I'm fixated on ears, the horse does not care how good the contact is when those pesky insects start buzzing around its ears.
If the shaking is up and down, well that is what horses do to tell me that my contact is not steady enough. It can also be a sign of a browband that is not long enough side to side, a too tight (or too loose) placement of the bit in the mouth, along with probably a million other reasons horses can come up with to shake their heads.
About the contact. At one time I am pretty sure that the Standardbred race horses were signaled to go at speed by INCREASING the strength of the contact, with slow downs by lessening the strength of the contact. I imagine that this is fertile ground for miscommunication between riders and ex-harness racers. Zuckie may be asking you to make up your mind about what you want him to do.
May you figure this out quickly and go back to enjoying your rides.

Comment by John Freeman on May 26, 2010 at 2:39pm

Yes, I know that the sun is one of the possible causes, but with Zuckie it doesn't seem to make a difference. He's only calm when there are no bugs.
As for the pads, they were recommended by fellow boarders because of the rockiness of the Cataraque Trail, but I understand the thrush danger and I won't do anything rash.
That's great that you competed, Ward. You'll do better next time - it's a slow process and it so hard to get really high scores in dressage. You say you were dropped. You mean thrown? Ouch - not so good at our age!

Comment by Ward Edwards on May 26, 2010 at 12:42pm

Have you notice whether or not the head tossing is worse on bright sunny days? Some horses have a photic response, in which bright light causes an itching in thier nose. I can relate as bright light makes me sneeze.

Another thing to check is to make sure your contact is constant. I found with my mare that if my hands aren't steady she will start to head toss.

As for the shoeing, why are you going to pads? Unless a horse has really thin soles, I would not recommend them as you can have dirt and moisture getting under them and causing all sorts of problems (thrush, etc).

In other news, I rode in the Oak Hills Dressage show on the weekend. I didn't place very well due to stiff competiton and a bit of nervousness due to being dropped earlier in the week, but still managed a 61% in Walk/Trot Test B and 57% in Training Test 1

Comment by John Freeman on May 25, 2010 at 3:36pm

Head Toss
Hey guys,
So far I seem to be the only one benefiting from this group.
Just to follow up, Zuckie gets front shoes and pads next Monday, which was the earliest I could get Dan out there to do it. He's bringing a variety of pad options so he can assess the hooves and we can make a decision which to use.
Now, I have another issue. When I got Zuckie last August, I always rode very early in the morning to avoid the heat, but now it's not only just as hot, but very buggy as well. It seems he is totally bug phobic and even riding with a Quiet Ride fly mask and spray and swat under the eyes and on his nose, he head tosses so badly it's hard to be comfortable. Especially at a trot when I'm posting, I must look like the proverbial sack of potatoes because I am being tossed around so much. This was at 7:00 am today.

We've given up on the bitless experiment as he was walking along with his head inches from the ground. He'd raise it when we picked up the pace, but in the heat you have to slow down sometime, especially on the way home. We're now using a hinged eggbut snaffle from Happy Mouth, which seems a good compromise in that he no longer freaks out when I take the bit back out and drops it nicely.

So, my question is - have you experienced extreme head tossing before, and what did you do about it?

Comment by John Freeman on May 17, 2010 at 8:56am

He does have his head screwed on right. He's also a really nice guy and shows up on time, sometimes even early and helps bring the horses in.
his name is Dan Mallet. He and his wife, Lori, run Balanced Hoof Care out of Belleville, Ontario.

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