The following list of horse problems is exerpted from Where Does My Horse Hurt? These are all symptoms or behaviors that horse owners face. Each “complaint” in the book is fully addressed with probable causes, plans of attack, and easy-to-follow solutions.
Atlas, recurrent subluxations of
Back, “cold-backed”
Back, muscles sore
Back, muscles tight
Bit, avoids contact with
Body, reluctance to bend, one or both directions
Body, stiff, may warm up to perform acceptably
Breath, shortness of
Brushing, hypersensitive to
Bucking/Crow-hopping/Kicking out, wants to, especially when ridden
Cantering/Loping, difficulty picking up, maintaining, or changing
(see also Leads)
Chewing food, difficulty on one or both sides of the mouth
Circles only, short-stride in front, one direction or both
Collection, difficulty with
Dental problems, history of
Direction, obviously prefers on over the other
Downhill, reluctant to go
Ears, ear-shy
Ewe-neck, has
Facial Expression, often indicates “I have a headache. Don’t bother me.”
Farrier, difficulty holding up front feet for
Farrier, difficulty holding up hind feet for
Fetlock, decreased flexion
Focus and Concentrate, inability to
Foot, “clubby”
Foot, “high heel – low heel” syndrome
Foot, “tender-footed”, especially if no obvious conformational cause
Foot, hoof wall medial-lateral imbalance
Foot, landing toe first
Foot, tendency to grow excess heel
Front end, lack of extension
Front end, reluctance to stretch legs
Gait transitions, difficulty with
Haltering/Bridling, uncomfortable with
Head, head-shy
Hind End, difficulty with tracking up straight
Hind end, uneven takeoff when jumping
Hocks, sore or other problems
Impulsion, difficulty with
Interfering, front end
Jumping, reluctance to
Knee, “bobbing” or “buckling over”
Knee, decreased flexion
Lameness, “phantom”, front end
(see also strides, short in front)
Lameness, “phantom”, hind end
Lateral work, difficulty with front end
Lateral work, difficulty with hind end
Leads, counter-canters or cross-canters behind
Leads, swaps out behind
Leads, difficulty picking up, maintaining, or changing
Leads, has an obvious favorite
Leg, “hits the ground heavy”
Lumbar hump, has
Lumbar, recurrent subluxations
Mouth, inability to open wide
Mouth, reluctance to chew on both sides
Mouth, reluctance to open for bit
Neck, difficulty bending
Neck, stiff
Nose, tips to one side
Poll, difficulty flexing
Poll, tight muscles around
Reins, braces on, especially one sided
Ribs, recurrent subluxations of
Rider, feels like “horse stepped in a hole”
Rider, feels like hind end “dropped out from underneath”
Rolling, excessive
Saddle, difficulties with fit
Saddle, rider feels crooked in
Saddle, slips to one side
Saddle, uncomfortable with girth or cinch tightening
Saddle, uncomfortable with saddle placement
Shoulder area, muscles sore
Shoulder Blade, decreased range of motion
Shoulder Blade, high on one side
Shoulder, anything weird with
Shoulder, decreased range of motion
Shoulder, difficult to stretch
Shoulder, tightness in movement
Spooky, frequently
Standing, consistently resting one hind leg (either the same leg or alternating)
Standing, one hind leg turns out to side
Standing, reluctance to stand still, especially when being mounted
Standoffish/Non-affectionate, frequently
Stiff, front end
Stiff, hind end
Stifle, sore or other problems
Stirrups, rider feels one is short, but they’re even
Stocking up, in hind end
Strides, “off” in front, one foot or both
Strides, “off” in rear, one foot or both
Strides, short in front, one foot or both
Strides, short in rear, one foot or both
Tail, clamping
Tail, held to one side, either moving or at rest
Topline muscles, difficulty developing
Topline muscles, difficulty using
Tripping, regularly trips in front end, one foot or both
Tripping, regularly trips in hind end, one foot or both
Trot, prefers to over other gaits
Turns only, short-strided in front, one direction or both
(see also strides)
Turns, difficulty with
(see also body bending)
Turns, drops shoulder, one direction or both
Turns, goes wide, one direction or both
Turns, holds shoulder out
Turns, trips frequently
Work, “long & low” difficulty
Work, inability to (“exercise intolerance”)
If your horse’s problem is not listed in the above “Comprehensive Complaint List”, please search this website for additional information. In addition, please submit your problem on the homepage and I will get back to you with some help. Also consider purchasing Where Does My Horse Hurt? as there is quite a bit more information in the book than this list includes.
For more information on what the book “Where does My Horse Hurt?” contains, please click on the above title link or the below book button.
Thank you for your time.
