What's wrong with the horse??

Question

A girl in my riding lesson was riding a horse who the instructor thought might be lame. She decided to let him go back up to the barn when he was moving his head in a weird way, and when I was cleaning up after the lesson she was talking to a groom She said "He was head bobbing" and the groom said "Oh no, not head bobbing." What's head bobbing, and why is it so bad? I want to know what it is in case my horse starts doing it

Answer 1

When a horse swings his head up and down with each stride, that is a sign of pain in the front legs. When they drop a hip, that is a sign of pain in the hind legs.

Answer 2

yes it is prob lameness

when the horse limps and wont put presher on one foot than you know its lame

and their is another possiblity is a abse could be growing =)

Answer 3

Head bobbing while trotting is a sign of lameness and pain.  Horses' heads move up and down naturally at the walk and canter, but should remain fairly even at the trot.  

Head bobbing is not an indication of WHERE the pain is coming from, only a sign that there is pain present at least during the activity.   Horses also limp, but this happens more often  when the lameness is more severe.

Usually when a horse shows mild head bobbing at the trot it will be examined to see if there are any obvious injuries and given a couple of days rest to see if the condition clears up on its own.  When the horse is trotted out a couple of days later, if the head bobbing has not improved or appears worse a vet should be called out to do a thorough lameness exam to determine the source of the pain and how to treat it, if possible.

Any signs of lameness are usually a genuine cause for concern and should not be ignored.  Horses spend the majority of their time on their feet and put huge forces of strain on their legs and hooves during activity.  As a result, many injuries and other sources of lameness are difficult to cure.  Most lame horses are taken out of their work and riding schedules, and cannot be used while they heal.

Hope the horse just had a little strain and is feeling better soon!

Good luck!

Answer 4

they move their head up and down usually when they trot. If it is really bad they will head bob at a walk. This usually means the horse is lame in a front leg and should be seen by a vet to do a lameness exam.

Answer 5

Usually when a horse is bobbing his head while walking he is lame. It really isnt the fact that he is bobbing his head just the fact that he is favoring a leg.

Answer 6

'Head Bobbing' means that there's pain in a foot. Horses aren't noticable when they limp (unlke humans) because they have four legs, but you do notice their head bob when the sore foot hits the ground.

Answer 7

Means he's in some kind of pain. Could be legs, teeth, anything. Sometimes they even do it [if they're cinchy] when you're cinching them up. And sometimes they just do it because they're being jerks, but the way you describe it it sounds like pain since your instructor thought the guy was lame.

I wish the best for your gelding, really. Seeing horses in pain is heart breaking.