At the Reins
While working or running your horse, you need to be even more diligent in looking for little clues. Red flags, such as little refusals, hesitations, insecurities, and temper tantrums are cause for concern.
Does your horse become insecure when leaving the barn for a ride? As humans, if we are going to do something stressful, we generally feel better with other people around us. Your horse is the same. If he is normally confident, this show of insecurity will alert you to a problem.
Have you ever been trotting your horse near the arena entrance or where you'll start a run and feel him begin to slow down-maybe he even comes to a complete stop-before going on? Although this doesn't seem like a big deal, it actually gives you a fair warning that he's feeling unsure or worried.
He may need more slow work. He may be a little confused, a little sore. Start watching closely for clues as to why he wants to put off making a run. And remember, this is not a perfect science. We have to figure out what's going on the best we can.
But there's always a chance that, instead of having a horse who is hurting or anticipating, it may be that his work ethic is simply beginning to lag. We've been fooled before. We had a young horse who began slowing down or stopping on the fence before we would turn to make a run. We thought he must be in pain, so we didn't push him. He continued to get worse. When we asked for a lead departure, he'd swish his tail and refuse. So we had him vet-checked.
The vet was thorough and could find no soundness issues. The next time this horse acted cranky and reluctant to work, we popped him on the rear with the end of the split reins. He hasn't done it again since, and he's been working great. Fortunately, this young horse hadn't gotten to the point of no return. Once we ruled out the possibility of injury or pain, we could recognize his reluctant behavior for what it was-kind of like a teenage boy who's decided he doesn't want to take out the trash! He just needed a clear reminder that we had certain expectations of him.
Still, be aware that true pain might be the cause of hesitation, and be sure to check it out before you just try to push a horse past it.
Think soreness when a horse who never makes mistakes runs past a turn, o r when a horse who has always been competitive is a good bit off on his time with a mistake-free run. Ask your vet to check him out. Ulcers are not uncommon in horses and will make them not want to work. You'll usually see that type of horse look more drawn up in his belly, even though he's getting sufficient feed.
In the stirrups, as on the ground, continue to watch for attitude and performance changes. Does your normally happy horse go through his workout with his ears back? Does he work up a sweat that doesn't match the conditions under which he is working? Is he feeling less and less under control? Those are all signs that he might need some R&R, or further investigation to see if he has pain or needs a mental rehab-more slow work, less pressure.
Overall, being great partners to our timed-event horses is a big responsibility. But by paying attention and working to really know our horses, we can become true advocates for them. And the better we are to our horses, the better they will be for us.
