Ears back over jumps

From: Don

Dear Jessica, my daughter's horse didn't do as well at the shows last year as we had hoped. He is a Quarter Horse, sixteen-two hands. She shows him in hunter shows and he has done very well in the past. He is twelve years old and we have owned him for five years. He has always been very cooperative and he was a good jumper when we bought him, and until last year, but he is developing an "attitude". Last year he began to do two very annoyng things. First, he began to swing his head around at my daughter when she saddled him. I started to saddle him for her because this made her worried. Then he began to put his ears back over fences. Obviously there is nothing I can do about that! But it is hurting their scores because at hunter shows (you probably already know this) the horses are supposed to look a certain way, with their ears forward and their legs pulled up. Another problem which may be related is that at the end of last season he had started to rush his jumps, which also hurts scores at hunter shows, because the horses are supposed to go around the course smoothly and always at the same pace. I don't understand why he puts his ears back when he is so eager to get at the jumps. It seems inconsistent.

What can I and my daughter do about this problem? I know you will ask about our trainer. Don

Everyone on your team needs to know what everyone else is thinking. Ask your trainer why she thinks you should buy Stacey a new horse! You may find that she has a very sensible answer for you. Ask your veterinarian to take a good look at the horse, to check his mouth, his back, and his saddle fit, and, if possible, to watch Stacey take the horse over jumps. You'll need advice from both professionals before you make any big decisions.

Here's my take on the situation. Horses can become "soured" on any activity if they are uncomfortable doing it. Mouth pain and back pain are two possible reasons for a horse learning to dislike saddling and jumping. A horse that has stood calmly for saddling for five years, and then begins to resent the process at age twelve, is telling you that something has changed. Either saddling hurts, the saddle hurts, or -- and this is what I think may be going on -- the horse is unhappy about being saddled because it anticipates that its under-saddle activity will be unpleasant or painful.

Let's assume -- and your trainer and vet can verify this (or not) -- that your horse is in good condition, well-trimmed and shod, that his teeth are in good shape and his bit fits well, and that his back is in good shape and his saddle fits well. Let's also assume that your daughter is a good rider. Where does that leave us?

We are left with a horse that is unhappy about being saddled, and that has begun to put his ears back (a sign of unhappiness, pain, or of the anticipation of pain) over jumps. You mention that he has also begun to rush his jumps -- this is not at all inconsistent. Horses don't rush jumps because they love to jump and can't wait to get to the jumps -- they rush jumps because they are fearful or because they anticipate pain, and they want to get it over with as quickly as possible. Rushing is NOT a function of pleasurable anticipation. It's entirely consistent with putting the ears back over the jumps.

Your daughter has been jumping this horse for five years, and he had already been trained to jump when you bought him. It's only in the last year that he's shown these behaviour changes -- so let's look at what may have changed for him in the last year. He's a Quarter Horse, he's large and tall, and he's entering his teens -- and he's been jumping for at least six or seven years, and possibly for eight or nine years. Lately, he's shown signs of pain while jumping -- rushing his fences, putting his ears back. All of this, to me, would suggest that he is sore, and the information you've given me would suggest that it might be a very good idea to ask your veterinarian to check the horse's legs and feet, manually and via x-rays and possibly ultrasound if he feels that soft tissues may be involved. There are many problems that can develop in a horse's legs and feet, all of which would make jumping painful, and all of which would thus make the horse less eager and eventually less willing to perform. With this behaviour appearing in a large Quarter Horse of this age, I would always worry about the possibility of navicular disease. Don't panic, but DO bring your veterinarian into the picture, and get a good professional medical diagnosis.

Whatever the problem is, it isn't going to go away by itself. It may be something that can be fixed or managed; it may be something that will require a change in the horse's activities (i.e, a career that doesn't involve jumping). In any case, whatever happens will involve you, your daughter, your trainer, and your veterinarian, so start working as a team NOW.

As for the question of your trainer's motives -- why not ask? Being straightforward yourself is a great way to elicit similar honesty from others. Your trainer may have put two and two together, and figured out that your horse is no longer comfortable over fences. If this is the case, and if your daughter wants to continue showing over fences, it would make sense for a new horse to enter the picture, and since you would want your trainer's advice on any such purchase, it makes perfect sense for her to be thinking ahead and keeping an eye out for possible new mounts. It's not in the least immoral or unethical, it's professional and practical. ;-) What WOULD be immoral and unethical would be for her to suggest that the horse be drugged or "nerved" so that it wouldn't be aware of its pain. There are people who do such things, and they cause great damage to the horses and great risk to the riders. Be glad that your trainer isn't one of these!

Jessica

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