What if your horse just can’t seem to do lead changes?
I’ve known many a horse owner who sincerely loved their horses. Yet, they were so frustrated because their horse was having difficulty with:
- picking up lead(s), maybe only one direction
- changing leads
- flying lead changes
- gait transitions
Very often, these dedicated owners had spent hours with trainers, or horse training videos and gone to many clinics. Theories about the cause of their horse’s difficulty varied:
- too stiff to bend (often worse on one side)
- likes to lean in too far
- likes to lead with the shoulder
- likes to tip nose to outside
- won’t flex around the rider’s leg
- won’t track straight (see also crooked horse)
- just doesn’t like lead changes
I actually love to hear about lead change problems because nine times out of ten, I can fix that very easily with a chiropractic adjustment. As a veterinarian certified in chiropractic and acupuncture, with over 16 years of experience, I can tell you that the majority of lead change problems are caused by chiropractic subluxations (a.k.a. misalignments).
Top Four causes of Lead Change difficulty
- Chiropractic subluxations
- Hock problems
- Saddle Fit
- Teeth issues
The Importance of Checking Every Body Part
I started working on Gabby, a seven-year-old Andalusian mare who was doing Second Level dressage work, when she had been stuck at that level for a few years because she couldn’t do flying changes.Gabby had previously been adjusted every month for a couple of years by another chiropractor who used the 10-minute “clicker” (activator) method I described on p. 000. When I started checking Gabby’s ribs, her owner asked what I was doing; she didn’t even realize that a horse’s ribs should be checked. It turned out that the majority of the mare’s ribs were subluxated. It was actually difficult to tell that they were subluxated because of the mare’s extremely high pain tolerance (common in Andalusians). But I noticed that she stopped breathing and “braced” her rib cage whenever I attempted to check that area. (Note:This may be the only sign shown by pain-tolerant horses.) After she was adjusted—including her ribs—she performed flying changes with ease.
*Excerpt from Where Does My Horse Hurt?
1. Chiropractic subluxations
Chiropractic subluxations cause nine out of ten problems with lead changes. A certified equine chiropractor can easily fix your horse’s subluxations and soon you will be without lead change difficulties! But how do you know if chiropractic subluxations are your horse’s problem?
Subluxated ribs are a common cause of lead change difficulty. You can check your horse’s ribs yourself by doing Body Checkups. They are very simple and easy to do. All the Body Checkups are available in Where Does My Horse Hurt? Easy-to-follow, step-by-step directions are accompanied by full color photographs and illustrations.
Click to try the FREE Rib Checkup to see if your horse’s ribs need some help. Feel free to print it out and share with other people whose horses also need help.
2. Hock problems
Proper hock movement is imperative at the canter or lope. If the hock cannot flex normally, canter difficulties can occur. How do you know if your horse’s hock is working ok and is pain free?
You can call your veterinarian for a hock flexion test and/or x-rays of the hocks. The results of the hock flexion test— negative flexion test is good; positive flexion test is bad—is always good information to have. If you know there are hock problems, you can then decide if joint supplements or hock injections may be helpful.
Hock x-rays will tell you if there is arthritis, OCD (osteochondritis dessicans), fractures, or perhaps joint mice (small pieces of bone floating in the joint). X-rays will not tell you if there are problems with tendons, ligaments, joint capsules, or muscles. Sometimes ultrasounds can help you with those. An MRI will tell you everything. :)
Another, more economical, approach would be to do the hock Body Checkup that is available in Where Does My Horse Hurt? It’s easy to do. And, once you get the hang of it, you’ll be able to tell if your horse’s hocks are an issue. Please check the FREE sample Body Checkups here.
3. Saddle Fit
How can saddle fit have anything to do with lead change difficulties? Well, it might. It’s not that common to have only saddle fit be the cause. However, very commonly, saddle fit combined with chiropractic subluxations is the culprit. You don’t want to be paying the chiropractor to adjust your horse when your saddle is going to throw him right back “out” again. Please check out the saddle fit information on this website, as well as Dr. Joyce Harmon’s saddle fitting books and DVDs.
4. Teeth issues
It’s surprising how important the horse’s teeth, and teeth floating, can be to horse performance. The TMJ (temporo-mandibular joint) is the joint with the most proprioceptive nerves in the entire body. Proprioception means knowing where your body is and what it’s doing.
Therefore, if the horse’s teeth are not floated properly and/or are somehow causing misalignment of the TMJ, your horse’s ability to perform is impaired. For more information on this topic, and also how to save money on teeth floating, please see teeth issues.
Your horse can do lead changes easily. Just keep looking. There’s always an answer.
Regards,
