From: Marty
Dear Jessica, I am a long-time HORSE SENSE reader so I already know that we should always look for a physical cause first when there's a problem with a horse. But I really think that my new horse may have an attitude problem not a physical problem, so I hope you can give me some advice for attitude problems.
This is how I reached my conclusion about Devon. He is five years old and very muscular. He did not do much for the last year or two, he was in a pasture because his owner was sick. It's a long story, but now I have the horse. Now he is in a stall with a big turnout (12x36) attached to it so he can move around, and he gets at least four hours of time in the pasture every day. He can't have more time than that because there are five horses here and they go out at different times.
The reason I think he has an attitude problem is because of how he behaves when we lunge him and ride him. The barn owner is very careful to always check about saddle fit and I have had the vet out twice to check Devon's teeth and they are fine. Also he accepts his bit and doesn't open his mouth or pull or anything like that. That's why I am pretty sure he doesn't have a problem with his saddle or bit.
I am a pretty good rider. You would probably call me an intermediate rider, my balance is good and I know I don't get in Devon's way a lot. The problem is that he will be very cooperative and calm and nice for the first twenty minutes or so of the ride. I have tried lunging him before the ride and not lunging him before the ride. I have also tried riding him just after he comes in from his pasture time and at other times. It doesn't seem to make any difference how warmed up he is, so I think we are looking at an attitude problem. My friend Kellie does horse massage and she has checked him out three times and says he is not sore anywhere. It doesn't seem to matter what I do or don't do, he goes for about twenty minutes and then it's like his body starts to get stiff, he will twist his neck and the barn owner says he is locking his jaw. His back feels all stiff too when he does that.
Here are the other things that convinced me Devon's problem is attitude. I had Kellie ride him just exactly how I do, and he did the exact same thing, after about twenty minutes he started making his body stiff. Also, we lunged him with side reins, not too tight, just to keep him in a good frame the way I do with the reins when I ride, no different. He did the exact same thing with his neck, and it looked like he was making his back stiff too. So if Devon is fine with the saddle and bit and with my riding, and he does this with me and Kellie and also when he is lunged, AND he only starts to do this after the first twenty minutes, wouldn't that make it an attitude problem? I know some older horses can be stiff before they are warmed up, but Devon is only five and he acts the same if he is warmed up or not. Now here is the last thing that convinced me. We go on trail rides every Sunday if the weather is good. Sometimes Devon is warmed up and sometimes he isn't warmed up, but he is always fine on the trail, and we are usually out for about four or five hours. He doesn't twist his neck or lock his jaw or get stiff on the trail. If it was a physical problem I would think he would get stiff after twenty minutes the same as he does in the arena and when we lunge him, so I think getting stiff is something he does on purpose but not on the trail because we are just mostly goofing around on a loose rein and talking, not working. I think that he is making his body stiff when he doesn't want to work. I think I have considered everything, and like I said I am a long-time HORSE SENSE reader so I have tried to follow all your suggestions. What can I do about it if it is attitude, and do you have any other ideas?
Thank you, Marty
However, I still don't think that you're dealing with an attitude problem. ;-)
There's one more thing you should consider, and that is simple fatigue. It's not that you're working Devon so hard that he becomes exhausted after twenty minutes, it's just that most often, when this sort of stiffness appears after the horse has been ridden or worked for a little while, the problem is simply that his muscles are tired.
I believe that Devon is probably a lovely, well-muscled young horse, and I'm sure that he is very strong. But the kind of strength that will let a horse carry himself and a rider easily, all day long, on the trails, which Devon obviously CAN do, is not the same kind of strength that will let a horse work IN A FRAME for fifteen or twenty minutes at a time WITHOUT A BREAK.
Devon is carrying you comfortably down those trails without becoming stiff because he's comfortable - this is something he can do. The stiffness he shows after twenty minutes of working in a frame under the rider or on the longe line is a REACTION to tired muscles. On the trail, you're asking him to do something that's easy for him. In the arena and on the longe, you're asking him to do more than he can do.
All you need to do is back off a little when you're working. It's okay to ask him to carry himself in a frame for a few minutes, provided that the frame is appropriate to his level of training and fitness, AND provided that after a few minutes, you give him a break and allow him to stretch. You'll find more about this in the HORSE-SENSE archives.
Over time, Devon will develop the muscular strength that he needs to carry himself the way you want him to, but you will always have to be attentive to his comfort level and his need to stretch and relax his muscles. Even a brief stretch will enable him to go back to work - only this time, he'll be physically and mentally comfortable.
If you're in the arena, watch the clock. If watching the clock doesn't work, get someone to help - the barn owner, perhaps, or your friend Kellie. You need to make a habit of allowing - better still, ASKING - Devon to stretch whenever he's been working in a frame for a few minutes. Have your friend time you and remind you to stretch every three minutes for the first week, then make it every five minutes. This doesn't mean that you'll drop the reins and let Devon collapse into a slouch, it just means that you'll ask for and allow a stretch. You won't even need to change gait or direction. If you're working at the walk, do a free walk across the long diagonal. If you're working at the trot, do a "stretchy chewy circle". If you're working at canter, stay on your circle or keep going around the arena - whatever you were already doing - but let him take the reins down until he's cantering with his nose on the ground. He'll just need a minute - then you can begin to bring him back into his working frame.
If you make it a habit to do this all the time, Devon won't ever get so uncomfortable that he HAS to twist and stiffen just to relieve the cramps in his muscles. And over time, he'll get stronger and stronger. Never ask him to go for twenty minutes without a stretch, though. Five minutes is quite a long time to hold some very large muscles (like those of the neck!) in one position.
While you're thinking about giving your horse regular breaks, consider this as well: Working the same muscles every day, in the same way, will cause your horse to become tired and bored, and will fatigue those muscles, but won't help the horse develop those muscles. Workouts for horses are like workouts for humans - any good personal trainer would tell you NOT to work the same muscle groups every day. Muscles build and strengthen by first being torn down, and then rebuilding. If you're working your leg muscles and your back and chest muscles, say, you don't want to do the same leg-back-chest routine every day. You'll get sore, but you won't get stronger. Instead, your personal trainer would tell you to work the leg muscles on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and work your back and chest on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. Your muscles would respond much better to the every-other-day workout, and you would begin to build strength and size.
It's the same for your horse, only a little bit better, perhaps, because your horse has something you probably don't - the personal trainer! YOU are your horse's personal trainer. YOU make the decisions about the schedule on which your horse's muscle groups are being worked and built up. Don't do the same thing every day. Vary the work, focus on different muscle groups so that you aren't spending consecutive days working the same muscle groups over and over. And don't forget those trail rides - the rest of your work-week may be more deliberate and more focused, more "work", than the trail rides, but do everything in your power to make "work" days as pleasant and enjoyable for your horse as those trail rides. And ALWAYS remember to ask the horse to stretch and then allow him to do it.
Here's an exercise you can try OFF the horse that will help remind you of why those stretch breaks are so important. While you're sitting at the computer, straighten one of your arms and swing it back as far as you can, keeping it at shoulder level. Then - just HOLD IT THERE. Look at the clock, and try to keep your arm in that same place for five minutes. If you're like most people, you'll begin to get tired and uncomfortable in less than a minute, and if you last for two minutes, your arm and shoulder will become painful. Soon, you won't be able to think about anything else - and if you force yourself to keep the arm up and back, you'll begin twisting and stiffening your own neck and back to try to relieve the pain. (Does this sound familiar?)
If anyone tries to tell you anything or teach you anything, or if you try to remember anything you've read whilst you're doing this arm exercise, you'll quickly find that the "learning" part of your mind seems to shut down when you're trying to cope with extreme physical discomfort. You're unhappy, you're distracted, you can't think about anything but getting rid of the discomfort. It's the same for our horses.
Yes, a horse can develop an "attitude" about something, but if the cause of the "attitude" is pain, then the attitude, like the stiffness, is just a reaction to and a consequence of the problem. It's not the problem itself - for that, look all the way back to the physical cause. If I asked you to try the arm exercise again right now, you would automatically stiffen and twist your back and shoulder - and your "attitude" would not be good. If I made you do it anyway, and said "Oh, Marty's fine, she's not uncomfortable, she just has an ATTITUDE", you would be quite unhappy, and you would probably find some way of letting me know that you were unhappy. And - I couldn't possibly blame you for reacting that way, because your "attitude" would be based on something real: Your knowledge that what I'm asking you to do is going to HURT.
Devon sounds like a very nice horse, and he clearly has a thoughtful rider - you were very close to figuring out the answer for yourself. I think that you and Devon will do very well together. Just remember to let him stretch every few minutes, and always remember that whenever a horse is stiff or becomes stiff, the probability of the stiffness being caused by some kind of PHYSICAL discomfort is very, very high. Think in terms of 99.999%, and you'll be there. And if you're ever absolutely certain that the horse you're riding is the .0001% case... just give him the benefit of the doubt anyway. ;-)
Jessica
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