Rein lameness

You get old photos for this post

So I mentioned in my previous post that Hampton is struggling with some rein-lameness within the lateral work.

It is most pronounced in half pass (especially left); shoulder-in (especially right); and haunches in (pretty much both ways but worse to the left). He is 100% sound going in straight lines, circles, tight circles, on the lunge, on trails, open fields and free out in his pasture. Sand or pavement.

So my little project now is figuring out exactly what is causing this issue, and how to fix it.

I've always tried to be honest on this blog, and I want people to know that we are not perfect. This is a real problem that has most likely been brought about by incorrect riding and likely pressuring Hampton beyond his ability. He is a sensitive fellow, and very emotional. But before I go blaming myself, let's discuss what causes rein-lameness (sometimes caused bridle lame).

May 2014

What is it?
Rein lameness typically indicates the lack of symmetrical movement.

Possible causes

• Crooked
• Horse forced or "trapped" into a "frame"
• Use of draw reins (see above)
• Too much riding front to back (pulling on reins too much)
• Too severe bit
• Braced or heavy in the bridle
• A defensive behavior as a result of anxiety (protecting one side)
• Being pushed beyond ability or balance
• Over reactive to rider's leg, so rider does not use the leg to properly align the horse
• Rider does not have independent seat/bumps horse in the mouth each stride

Hampton is unique in that most rein lame horses can be "ridden sound" by straightening them through lateral work. Hampton is sound otherwise, but goes lame in the lateral work.

Of course he would be the special one.

Where to start
I am starting to address this problem from head to toe. First, I need to make sure there isn't any true physical pain going on. So, Hampton has an appointment with an equine dentist AND the farrier on Monday. We will see how those go, and if need be our regular vet will come out for a lameness evaluation to see if he can see something I don't. I also may try the bute test and give him bute the morning of a ride and see if the problem improves. If it does, then it's probably real pain somewhere and not a balance or tension issue.

Solutions
Once physical pain has been ruled out, then it's probably safe to say this is a mechanical problem. It's probably a learned behavior and/or habit, and may or may not be fixable. By nature, Hampton has a rigid neck and tight shoulders. Plus he gets anxious about hard work sometimes, and had a tendency to brace. That right there is a recipe for rein lameness. Throw in a rider who has no clue what she is doing in dressage land ... well, we were doomed already.

Other notes

•  I have had two other "professionals" ride Hampton and he was rein lame in lateral work with both of them as well.
• He currently has 4 shoes on 
• Saddle has recently been reflocked and fitted by a master saddler
• At dressage camp he was mildly rein lame on Friday (they day he was a nutjob), but was perfectly sound the other two days and we did many half passes and shoulder in
• The rein lameness only appears at the trot
• He lives outdoors 24/7
• He gets Theraplate treatment almost daily
• He is on Lubrysin

This horse! Always teaching me something. Sheesh.

Donuts in the sandbox

First show of the season is in the books!

I wish we had had the chance to get out to a schooling show first, but it just did not work out that way. Hampton was a LUNATIC the week leading up to the show. I thought about scratching because I just could not control his behavior. But I decided to suck it up and see what happened.

Turns out, he magically turned back into quiet, normal Hampton at the show. When we schooled on Friday he was a bit hot and squirrely, but not bad. By Saturday he was calm and collected.

A good boy!

Our first test was Third 1. I am just going to give up on this test because we ALWAYS bomb it. He was actually well behaved, but there was some rooting and tension. The judge was generous to give us a 59. 

Unfortunately, Hampton is quite rein-lame in all the lateral work (shoulder-in and half pass).

This can come and go at home, but all weekend it was very pronounced. It pretty much slaughtered our tests. I have no doubt we can pull a 65% at Third if we can just fix this "unevenness." He is totally sound going straight. I believe it is an issue with locked shoulders and a locked neck, and lack of engagement behind.

A tad above the bit, but that's OK when it's Hampton. I will take it!

Early morning graze

Our next test was Third 3, far more difficult. It went pretty well and we scored a 62% - giving us a qualifying score for regionals. He was more ridable in this test, but still not very supple. And still rein lame. But many good moments.

Left half pass in where he is most rein lame (on the left front)

Please excuse my show clothes. They are HUGE on me and I look sloppy.

I had a weird breakdown in February in which I lost 20 pounds and did not eat for DAYS. Obviously I can't afford brand new show clothes so I am hoping these will fit again soon.

Sunday morning was again Third 1. It actually went ok. No major bobbles except one late change.

This judge gave us a hilarious 54%. The rein lameness destroyed us. Also, I think that I am going to have to accept that some judges just are not going to like us. Hampton has a "unique" way of going, and sometimes looks like a stiff QH. Some judges just are not going to score him well.

Extended walk looking pretty good

Pretty uphill for Hamps!

Can we talk about the dapples on his butt?! :)

Sunday afternoon we did one more Third-3 and it rode quite well. My coach said we were still very crooked, and I felt like Hampton was not very supple. We got dinged again for rein lameness, but had many 7.5's. We ended up pulling out a 62%+ and also reserve high point AA Third Level for the day. (The judges were scoring very low all weekend).

So we are all qualified for regionals!

Good effort from Hampton, but we still have occasional moments where he dives down.
Once he can maintain the balance, his mediums are going to SMOKE the ring.

So overall, a good show. The scores don't really reflect that. I had my moments where I thought maybe Hampton has topped out.

If this rein lameness cannot be fixed, he can't move up. It would be a shame because he has talent with changes, and the 3 Ps. But we are just going to keep working at it and see what happens. I suspect he is just going to need much more strength and suppleness due to his conformation.

If anyone has suggestions on how to fix rein lameness within the lateral work, I am all ears.

His uphill balanced has improved, but still isn't 100% consistent in the ring (see above photo). He is still searching to find in balance a lot of times, too. Sometimes I forget that he doesn't even turn 8 until the end of June. He is still young, and big, and still has awkward moments. And it's ok. 

In other news: I got really drunk with Austen from Guiness on Tap, and also hung out with Jen from A Cob Jockey. These two gals are AWESOME. 

Austen had really great rides as well, and is in general a total badass. Guiness is such a nice horse and they are going to do great things. I was bummed I missed her rides but they were smokin' from what little I saw in the warm up rings. I am really going to miss her around the show circuit. 

And Jen is about the nicest person ever. Because I was white-girl wasted (well, for a 35 year old. haha), she let me crash on her couch. She and her hubby also cooked dinner which was probably the reason I wasn't as hungover as I should have been on Sunday morning. I was amazed I was able to sit the trot without yakking.

Than you ladies for such a fun evening! I felt like I was in my late 20s again. Until I drank too much wine and quickly waved the white flag.

So ... what's our plan now? More lessons, and more schooling shows. I need to be able to really ride him in the ring. Sometimes we both "walk on eggshells" in the ring and it just results in tension.

It will probably be a couple of months before another rated show, so hopefully we can improve our scores. :)

Porkchop update. Pre-show activities.

Our first show of the season is next weekend.

I've been polishing things, but mostly focusing on forward forward forward and pretty much living within transitions.

We've also been doing a lot of this:

Spotted LLAMAs, deer and a possum on this ride.
No problem keeping Hampton's pole up! ha!
So much snorting going on here.

The trails here are so awesome. Hampton is QUITE fit. We were out on the trails for over an hour the other day and by the time we returned home he was still prancing and wanting to play and buck a little bit. He has recently discovered the joy of leaping up banks out of creeks and bucking after. I laugh at him, but perhaps I should put a stop to that. I just love his enthusiasm!

So no more slacking off! Time to get into show horse mode.

Lady's story part 4: Slow and steady

Sweet Lady is doing quite well!

I have been grooming her every other day or so. She is now living outdoors 24/7 and loves it. She can be a little shy to catch at first. Her interactions with humans have probably not been the most pleasant in the past. But I have been giving her a treat every time I catch her and she is coming around. I will turn her into a treat whore in no time! :)


She is shedding out (finally!) and is still very perky with a good appetite.

She is still skinny, as you can see. But I do think she is gaining weight especially in her mid-section. The topline will be the last thing to fill in, but I think she is looking better!

I have had several people ask if they can help lady. If you would like to contribute to her care, below is a link to her GoFund Me account. Any little bit helps.

Camp Day 3: We did some learnin'

After a fabulous Saturday at camp, we were up bright and early for one more day of lessons on Sunday.

I rode Hamps early in the morning, and he came out ready to work. This was probably our best lesson. Our flying changes were clean, HUGE and off the aids. I was able to see them in the mirror and got goosebumps a few times. The changes have been SUCH a struggle for us, and finally it is coming together.

We worked maybe 30 minutes and called it a day. He did everything he was asked to do.

Not from camp. Actually a Derby Day photo. :)

After our lesson, he got another chiro adjustment. He had a few other areas to deal with, but nothing major. One rib was out, and he has some adhesions on his right glute. Possible left over from a kick he sustained a couple of years ago. He has tight hamstrings (which I knew). But otherwise, no signs of soreness from the saddle and nothing serious. This made me feel better, as I was worried something was causing him pain on Friday.

After Hampton was all put back, I had the opportunity to ride my coach's Grand Prix stallion. This horse is amazing and ranks in the top 5 most cool horses I have EVER sat on. We played for just a little bit on piaffe, passage and some canter pirouettes. It is so cool to have a horse like this teach me the aids and feel for these movements. We had some good moments but he is so much cooler with a rider who knows him and knows what they are doing. But he was a good sport and offered me some good things. :)

Testing a canter pirouette

Piaffing it

... and with that dressage camp was over. I did not want to leave! I was exhausted but loved every moment of it. I learned a lot, and we made a lot of progress in just 3 days. I'm not upset about Hampton's "issue" on Friday. It was actually a good thing because I had a teacher who could help me through those moments and give me tools to keep myself safe.

Our first show of the season is in just a few weeks.

I feel prepared for it. I like that feeling!


In other news, Lady updates coming soon! :)

Camp Day 2: Ride - ability

CAMP DAY 1 (Friday)

... as a sidenote, Friday evening Hampton had a chiropractor adjust his hyoid bone. I think I will write a separate post about this, but he got adjusted and put to bed Friday evening.

____

Saturday morning rolled around and already I was off the bandwagon and drinking Coke and taking Tylenol. I was hoping that Hampton was not as sore as I was! I was also curious to see if his adjustment would affect his attitude. I threw the snaffle bridle on.

You'll notice I put a running martingale on him as well. This was for my safety and peace of mind. :)
Thankfully I didn't need it!

I gave him a light lunge for our morning lesson just to see how he was. He did not look sore, and was really calm and willing to work. When I got on, I felt much of the same. Big sigh of relief from me - I had my horse back! Had the adjustment made a difference? The bute? Maybe he was stressed from having his routine so disrupted? Was something pinching him the day before?

I'll probably never know.

My coach was equally as happy and we cautiously proceeded to go to work. Thankfully, Hampton was a super star. My parents came up to watch and I'm glad they got to see us go to work instead of watching their daughter hang on for dear life.

Happy! Big old Hampton next to my good friend's American Sport Pony.
What a crew.

Hamps tried so hard for me and we did some major work on cleaning up our changes and making him WAIT for my aids. We tackled some canter pirouette work and also focused a little on our half passes. I have some great new homework on cleaning up the changes. That deserves a separate post as well. My coach said we "could easily do 4-3 with the exception of our one sometimes-late change." This was a major compliment to me as I have been really wishy-washy about even attempting 4-1 just yet. Also, major improvement from the day before when we would have barely scored a 40% at a Training Level test. Thanks, horse. They are always humbling you!

Our afternoon lesson went just as well. Hampton showed no signs of being tired. All of my worries about his fitness went out the window. He handled the work wonderfully. Our second lesson was more cleaning up the changes and really focusing on lifting his shoulders and getting his hind end under him. Many big trot-to-think passage transitions, making him adjustable and bringing his booty under him.

We also had lunge lessons on school horses. It's been ... WAY too long since I've had a proper lunge lesson. I loved every second! After the lunge lesson I took some Ibuprofen as I was sore almost immediately. hahaha. errrrr.

At the end of the day Hamps got some paddock and grazing time, a good rub down and put to bed. We had some dinner and drinks and collapsed into bed at an embarrassingly early time.

Evening grazing session. It was cold and raining all day Saturday.
I was pretty happy I decided to skip Rolex and instead
ride in an indoor arena.

I did a major blogger fail and really did not get many photos. It seemed like me and my friends were riding at the same time everyday, so no time to take many photos. I am sorry blog land!

We had one more camp day to go. I was hoping Good Hampton would be back the next day!