Is This Pony in Pain? What an Equine Vet Found…

That's like the number one issue. She'll go off in the hind, and then she just kind of gives up. So if we could kind of get to the bottom of it, that would be amazing. I hope this was helpful and gave you some ideas and stuff to work on, but I think you guys are really on the right track. I can't thank you enough. Hi, I'm Jenna, and I'm here today at the Caledon Equestrian Park. I was called by one of my trainer clients to look at one of her horses that is a pony ridden by a young girl, and they are worried that the pony might be sore because she is having some difficulty with her hind and canterlings, and she's acting maybe a little bit cranky at times. So the trainer asked if I could come have a look at her and figure out what might be going on. It's super nice to meet you. Thank you. I can't thank you enough. Yeah, I bought this pony because she's this pony. I didn't vet her. She was six grand. I didn't care. Yeah, originally, Mina had like zero desire to show. My name is Jackie Mummery. This is Betty. We bought her two years ago, and I bought her as a nice, quiet little pony for my 10-year-old daughter. I bought you a cow pony. Here we go. But Isabel really likes her, and I think she's worth it because she's so wonderful. That's awesome. Yeah, so if we could kind of get to the bottom of it, that would be amazing. So the first year and a half, pretty much, I should have gone to Isabel sooner. The trainer that we worked with, it was never about striding. So she originally thought the change was because I didn't know how to ask for it rather than an actual implication of what's going on. And then everything was really condensed. Like when we first started working with Isabel, she's like, that was like 10 strides in a seven. I mean, she's never, she's never been... She's had a very, like, short stride. Yeah, a hundred percent. And it was never encouraged to go larger. Yeah, definitely. And again, in her cow world, like, there was no reason to, right? But in our world, there definitely is, right? So yeah, up until like literally six weeks ago, I think we've been with Isabel? Eight weeks now. She's never been asked to elongate and actually be a pony stride. Yeah. Like, we're not asking you for a horse stride. We just want a pony stride. Yeah. So yeah, that's cool. So how old is Betty? She's turning seven. OK, cool. Because she's just a lamb pony. He's a good girl. Yeah, he's a good girl. Yeah. Is she a little quarter horse then? Yeah, she's registered. And what was she doing when we bought her? Like, what was her job at that point? The girl got her so that she was owned by an old lady, like as a baby baby. And then the girl bought her, wanting to turn her into like a cow sorter. OK, yep. She's not a cow sorter, right? So she just didn't have that, like, drive. And I think she really loves this job. Good. Yeah. That's awesome. Yeah, she's really never said no, ever, ever, ever through any of her training. That's awesome. Yeah. That's very good. Yeah. So she kind of went from cow pony to little hunter. Yes. Yeah. And did you have any concerns before yourself? Isabel started helping you? Or it's more like since Isabel's been helping me, you're looking for the more fun? I'm looking for the more fun. I knew that there was something missing in our old training. Like, I was like, I know how to ask for a change. I know that, like, you know what I mean? I knew that wasn't all new to me. And so we got Isabel involved working on that. Yeah. Yes. So never really before. OK. But again, she was never really asked for. Yeah. Yeah, sure. Yeah, absolutely. That makes sense. You're a good girl. And so you and your daughter both ride her? Yeah, I want to kind of transition more. So I kind of did the bulk of, like, the training. And then kind of once she was really going really, really well, that's when kind of Lena started riding. And now I'm trying to transition my way out of it. Yeah, that makes sense. So she's more for Lena. Yeah. You just kind of help with, like, tune ups. Yeah, exactly. You got it. Yeah. We're like a flat. And she just doesn't have the energy to go to the barn or something like that. And I love riding her. She's hopefully it's not my fat ass that's going on or that's. I don't think so. Made anything. No, I don't think so. OK. No. There's some good research that shows that if so, there's like the percentage versus percentage, like body weight of the horse. There's rules like that. But what actually has more of an impact is the rider's balance. So like a quote unquote heavier rider that rides. Like, yes. Portion to the horse that rides in balance is actually much more easy on the horse's back than a tiny rider who sits like a sack of potatoes, basically. OK. Oh, good. That's good to know that. OK, that is good to know. Yeah. Let's just make that I'm balanced. Well, we're going to go with you are. OK. What's your riding background then? Uh, like I was I rode all through like being a kid and all that kind of stuff. You know, they had babies. And then about I guess it would apparently be about six years ago, seven years ago now. I just I missed horses so much. And then I kind of went from like my family not being able to afford any of this lifestyle. Yeah. To kind of being like, I'm going to give it a try. Yeah. And and I've always really enjoyed even as a teenager, like I don't want to say fixing them, but like it. Yeah. Not being afraid. Like they didn't they didn't have to be. My family couldn't afford a perfect. Yeah. But I kind of always had to work with imperfect. Was it? Well, yeah, you know. Yeah. I did my first show at 38 years old. Oh, wow. Good for you. Yeah. Awesome. That's very cool. And I and I did it for my kids. Like it was always the idea that I was going to get a pony ready. Yeah. So my daughter could hop on and have kind of a go ready pony. Yeah. Do you want me to make her straight, though? Or let's find out. You let me know what I can do. Great. She did have osteo on the sixth. Twenty six. Do you want me to double check the date? No, no, that's fine. OK. The osteo did have really good feedback. She said she was really accepting of the work. Good. Um, really allowing herself to open. And I believe that's a really happy thing. OK. Good kid. Good. Awesome. You're good. She feels great. So what I'm doing is running through your acne points. OK. And acupuncture she had on her. OK. And she feels fantastic. Like that side actually felt really good. OK. Even sarcophagally. Oh, also. Good kiddo. Great. And now we're parting down here over her shoulders. And then we'll move back. Good. And then we'll go back. This is kind of where I was expecting. Yeah. So there's a little bit of a reaction here. In the scheme of like what I see versus this is very mild. OK. So it looks like a very mild reaction here. Good. And then we'll move to the heels as well. Good. Same thing. Like a tiny bit of reaction right here. Yeah. So this is her sacroiliac right here. That's where the hind legs meet with the spine. OK. And it's a common area of soreness for jumping horses. Mostly, I would say more horses that jump like big jump. OK. Flexing and extending they have to leave through the back. OK. You do see it in all sorts of horses. OK. Portal horses, food, cow horses, and stuff. Yeah, her back actually feels really good. Oh, good. Yeah. Good kiddo. Because we did start like in the idea of like trying to get like her longer. Yeah. Like we did push her pretty hard because we're like, oh my gosh, we are so close to show season. Yeah. So we did a lot of like low bounces like 18, 12, 18 inch. Yeah, that's great. Three at a time. You're OK. Good. Very good. So now I'll have a feel of all the legs and stuff. Hey, miss. I can make her stop if you want. Oh, no, she's fine. Let me know. So I check all her joints. I'm checking all her joints. OK. Checking to make sure that there's not extra food in any of them. I check like their range of motion to make sure that they can bend as much as they're supposed to. OK. And then I feel all the tendons in the ligaments of the back of her leg to make sure that none of them are enlarged. OK. Or sore at all. And then this is, so here's her stiff joint. Yeah, it's great. Got a little bit sore, but I'm pretty sure I'm going to love it. I'm going to put a little bit of her penis here. When I put pressure on those joints, yeah, she's giving me a little bit of a like. OK, yes. Yeah, that's what that reaction is. Exactly, yeah. Yeah, a little bit on that one as well. Good. Good kiddo. So overall, she feels fantastic. OK. I'm going to grab my hoof testers and check her feet with them. Good kid. I might get you to help me actually. Yeah, I should. Show me what I can do. Yeah. I usually have my assistant to help with this, but she isn't off today. So I'll have you hold her leg just right here. If I'm hitting the table and let her hang down. Yep, that's great. Just like that. Have you seen this done before? Yeah, great. There was, we were a little worried about laminitis of the one foot. Oh, really? I've had that look at it like quite a few times and like we're not really that worried about it anymore. Good. With her? With her. OK. So she's giving me a bit of reaction on her heel area. OK. But her toe is perfect. OK. So if she was laminated, it would be more and she'd be still on the toe area. Yes. But instead, she's giving me a bit of reaction. OK. Mm-hmm. It was just, ouch, I don't like that. Hey, hey, hey, hey, no, yeah, yeah, no. Come here. I'm not being a very good assistant. No, no, it's not you. She's being fantastic, honestly. Most ponies would not, that I work on in horses, would not just stand there specifically like she is. Oh, I mean, thank you. I try really hard for well-behaved animals. She's great. Yeah. Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, you know. See, that wasn't her. OK. That was just her saying, can I sit down? Yeah. Yeah, good. OK. So she's a little bit sore on the heels, on both front feet. Yeah. So the feet is one thing that sticks out to me. And then she's a little bit sore when I push over her little hock joints. OK. So if you have time, I'd be interested to put her, to take her out, we could put her on the lunge line and just see sound. She looks pretty sound to me, like just in that little, in the round that your daughter did, in the little bit of trot that I saw. But on the lunge, I find it easier to watch them with them. Yeah, they're sharp. So why don't we take her out and watch? OK, awesome. OK, I'm going to have you lunge her. OK. And then I'll, if I can find a whip, I'll bring, oh, so, oh, I'll bring it. Bigger circle or is that OK? OK, just like that. Let's do it. Is this your dorks? She is, yeah. She's lovely. She's just quite good at the trot, Jack. Yeah, yeah, really, really good. Let's see if it can, you know. There you go. Oh, right back around that corner, eh? You can bring her back to trot. Overall, she looks very sound to me. Yeah, yeah, like I've never really worried about soundness, right? Yep. OK. Yep. So if they do that on the lunge, I don't get ticked off. They overlead under saddle pretty well, but they swap off on the lunge. It doesn't really bother me. OK. Some of them on the lunge, they're looking around, they're doing other things. They don't really pay as much attention. OK. Does she do that much when you're riding her or when your daughter's riding her? Yeah, that's like the number one issue. And I don't know if it's like a strength, so that's what we're trying to figure out. Like, is it a strength thing? Is it like Lina just kind of learning how, you know, to really navigate? So she has, and she'll always swap off the right. Yeah, I saw that. I saw, exactly. She was doing it much more to the right. To the left, she held the cantilever. Yes, yes. Better. Yes, yeah. So let's do, I'll have you, I'm going to have you jog her in a straight line. Yes. So you're in a straight line. OK. And we'll do some flush. Yes. OK. Stretch out, get free. Perfect, Jackie. Just like that. That's good. You can turn around and come back now. Oh, I'll just keep going at the end. You got it. She's such a good pony. Such a good pony. Yeah. So I'm going to hold her like for 30 seconds. Yes. And then I'll give you a five second break. OK. Then you can jog off. OK. And about the same distance. Yeah, that was perfect. Yep. And I'm finally warm. Oh, my gosh. This has been the coldest, worst weekend. Yeah. It's pretty windy here. Did you get the snow this morning? Yes. OK, five seconds. Go ahead, Jackie. Come back. Come back? There, that's perfect. It'll give you warmth. I stole my son's snow pants. I was like, I'm not playing around today. This is enough. That's a good idea. So have you come stand on this side. This side? And then when I give you the five second warning, you can swap back to that. Oh, yes. OK. Five is perfect. OK, perfect. At five, you swap back. And was that fast enough? Yeah, that was perfect. Absolutely perfect. OK. Yep. And so that one, she was. So what I'm watching when she's jogging is I watch her hip height and I compare. So like the hips should go up and down evenly both times. Yep. So after the left hip, after that left hip was going a little bit higher. OK. Which is a very loud bump. OK. So not a concern at all. But we'll just cut it back. OK. All right. OK, five seconds, Jackie. All right, you can go ahead. Yeah. One more set. Great, Jackie. Same thing with that one. OK. Like the tiniest bit. Like you can't see anything. OK. I mean, think about it. If we held up our leg like that for a while and then had to jog, you might like take a step like. Today, anyway, I don't think her hogs are bugging her. OK. Good. So these flexions were excellent. OK. Yeah, hand passing. Awesome. So I don't think there's any joint soreness that's contributing to the lead change issue at all. I think primarily what you're dealing with is a strength issue and like a training issue. OK. I think that you said it yourself, there's been a lot of changes with like burn, barrier, trainer, everything. And so there's a lot of like new. And you guys are like you're Betty's figuring it out. You're kind of getting used to Isabelle's way of riding and coaching. Yeah. And Lena's figuring it all out. And so I would be, I suspect in two months, you guys are going to be like way further ahead. OK. Yeah, I think you're heading in the right direction. And I think it's just going to take some time to get everything all together. I would keep an eye on her front feet. OK. The back is good and her flexions were good. I think it's mostly a strengthening thing. OK. So things you can work on when you guys are by yourself. Yes. Is there any hills at your farm that she can ride up and down? Right now, there is. Yeah. Good. OK, great. So walking and trotting up and down hills is really helpful to build hind end strength. That'll help her to keep the lean. Awesome. Working over chalk poles. And eventually, so start with just normal chalk poles. Yeah. Like kind of going all around. You can set up like a few in a row. Yeah. Or especially if Lena's riding and you're with her, that's helpful because then you can set them up. And because they usually, they usually knock them. Yeah, exactly. It's helpful to have a ground person. Yeah. If you're doing it yourself, it's going to be trickier. But you can set it up for Lena and make her trot. But that's really. So what that's what it does, the hills and the poles, it gets them to engage their quads. OK. What she's doing when she's swapping off and stuff, her quads are quite loose and weak. So we want to strengthen those quads. Strengthen the quads. Like on the kind of, you can't really see their quads because they're sort of like under the flank area. Oh, OK. But they often are very weak in horses. So the more you can do to strengthen those is going to help you. Thank you. Yeah. I hope this has helped and gave you some ideas and stuff to work on. But I think you guys are really on the right track. Oh, thank you guys so much. You're welcome. Thank you. I found that the pony overall is in great shape. I don't see any major areas of soreness at all or anything of concern. I think the pony is in a good training program. And her and her rider are just flirting and they need some more time to practice. And I think that they're on a great path and they'll be doing really well in the next few months. Thanks so much for watching Equine Vet Life. If you found this helpful, give the video a thumbs up and don't forget to subscribe. It really helps us keep making these episodes for you. Hit the notification bell so you never miss new videos. And most importantly, if you ever have concerns about your own horse, don't wait. Reach out to your veterinarian right away. We'll see you in the next one.