Horse swerves for no reason?

Question

This problem with my haflinger has been occuring recently:

When i bring him up into a lope he goes straight to the rail, which is fine. But halfway down the rail he does a sudden step to the side and comes off the rail. I ride the lope fine so its not my seat and its not my hands because my trainer has watched me and he said i am doing nothing wrong. He also does it when i go straight down the middle of the arena. Its like he steps sideways and it puts me off balance. Or in a barrel run. When we come off the last barrel at a lope he does another side step and i of course get off balance. Ive checked the whole entire olympic sized arena for anything that could possibly spook him and have founds nothing. He doesnt do it at a walk or trot, just a lope. It bugs me because it puts me off balance and im worried something is wrong with him!!!

-any ideas as to what is wrong or what i can do is greatly appreciated

Answer 1

Sounds like he's trying to get you off because he's sick of what he's doing. I bet he's successfully gotten people off like that in the past. Just ignore it and ride him through it. Also, don't anticipate it. If you start anticipating that he'll do it, he will! Just pretend he never did it and ride on and I bet you'll see him stop doing it. Be strong!

Answer 2

If your horse is trained to perform between your hands, feet, seat and legs, then one of those aids are changing, allowing him to "fall out" just like a true driving horse will if not supported equally on both sides.  If your horse knows how to ride between your legs and respects that, he isn't going to run through them, so you must be letting off of one of them and/or not supporting that side of his mouth as well...next time you practice, be aware of where all of your aids are and are they of equal pressure....you may need to go back to helping to refresh him on those aids....even if something jumps up unexpectedly, your horse should feel the security and guidance of your legs and not veer.  Does he jump or hop over or just veer over?  If he is veering over, I would guess that it's the combination of letting off of one of your legs and a failure to maintain equal pressure on both reins.

Answer 3

well you say a lot that it is putting you off balance. maybe thats what he is trying to do. he might not like the work you do. if thats the case then i would try switching up what you do. if you are always running barrels and poles then try laying some caveletti on the ground and things like that. change it up a bit. things get boring for him and he may not want to do it anymore. so by adding some different things in there, your discipline wont be as overwhelming to him.

it could be pain while he is loping. get the vet to look at him while he is standing and in all his gaits. even though it is one gait where he swerves, that gait could give him the most pain.

what you should do if neither of these are the problem (which those are only two suggestions to what could be wrong) is give your horse a break and do some horsemanship. your horse will get exersize and you will bond with him. its an overall great thing to do and have.

good luck!!

Answer 4

I don't know, check his legs and body and see if anything is rubbing him wrong. Are you using a backgirth, sometimes if you have it too tight it can irritate them. Check your legs and see if maybe when your gaining your balance you are nudging him in the wrong direction and giving him mixed signals. Just when you feel him going to sidestep nudge him with your legs, guide him with your reins and look towards the rail, your head and eyes can guide them, they can feel the weight of your head moving towards the rail so it pressures them to go where you wan them to go. Also take a giant breath before you ride and calm down. Do not focus on anything but the horse. When he does something wrong try to correct him but when he does something right reward him with a pat or just say good boy. Be confident and focused during your ride, try not to worry or get stressed, they can feel it and will react to your worry and misbehave and will seem even worse if your stressed.

Answer 5

Get a veterinarian  to do a soundness test. He will have you jog your horse on a lead line,stand behind and in front of him as you do this on a hard level surface.He has a trained eye and maybe see the horse is off and determine if he needs an x-ray.The vet may watch you on the horse as well. Sometimes problem's are so subtle it can be missed. Don't be alarmed if something is wrong because if you catch it in time something can be done.Rest, medications etc.Horses are honest creatures and he's telling you something listen to the horse.It may be something as simple as the wrong shoes,your vet is the best bet to evaluate him.At least you can eliminate leg problems. Also a clue is if this is something new or he's always done it. For now until a vet checks him feel his legs knees.ankles and feet Before you take him out  and after you are finished with his routine,you would be looking for any sign of heat or swelling.

Answer 6

Most times if your off balance your horse tries to move up underneath you.  When you are moving look where you are going and use leg pressure to keep him in a straight line.

Answer 7

Back in 1980 I had a 17 yr old TB mare who was a broke to death class A conformation hunter who'd been shown all over the place several years before.  I got her several years later down the road and a lot less of TLC.  She would work great for younger riders and never pulled that, however, she'd do it to my intermediate adult riders.  Perhaps you've out grown this horse size wise and the weight is bothering him?

I ended up keeping young kids 6 through 12 on her and she did great, even winning classes again.