sore/cantering

[Maya]

Hi! The pony i lease was lame for about 2 weeks..i have no idea why or how because her owner said she would call the vet and have him look at her...but he never came. then I went on vacation, so she was out of work for 3 weeks. I have been getting her back into shape and i just jumped for the first time in about a month and a half 3 days ago...probably more than i should have, but my friend who used to lease her was giving me a sort of jumping lesson and said she was fine to jump. Ok, now for my problem. I was cantering yesterday (i jumped the day before) and maya cow-kicked while i was cantering. Could this be because she is still sore from being out of work combined with being sore from not jumping in while? If so, should i continue to canter her and build up the amount of time that i canter her, or should i stick to trotting until she gets a little stronger and then canter and THEN jump? (she always canters when she jumps) Because ive heard that she wont get better unless i keep cantering and ive heard that i should stick to trotting for now...what do you think?

[maverick927]

If she kicks herself you should maybe see about getting protctive boots. I don't think that cantering all the time will help her to recover, not unless you're on a really soft surface. It is better to rest them and then go for long walks to build up fitness as there is least pressure on the joints when a pony walks.

[Maya]

thanks! She's never kicked before this and im pretty sure she kicked out...like a cow kick. But this isnt a normal thing for her.

[rocketman]

You said 'she' so I assume the pony is a mare. If she was lame, it would show at the trot more than anything else. It sounds to me like she's being a bit of a diva. Typical mare. I have one like that. She swishes her tail, doesn't want to move forward, and kicks out at any leg on her. Until she jumps! All these 'symptoms' then disappear. Numerous people have told me that they think she's sore somewhere. It doesn't prevent her from jumping around 4'3" courses like the prima donna that she is. This may be just temperament. Does she only do it on the flat or does this behavior persist over fences?

[Maya]

she has NEVER done this before...shes usuallly very nice about cantering for me...but yesterday and recently since shes been lame, shes been a little resistant about cantering....and she kicked out for the first time yesterday...thats why i think that its a result of her being sore.

[EzLou]

its always possible she just got bitten by an insect -.

do you carry a schooling whip? sometimes if you flick it in the wrong place accidentally they kick out against it.

I wouldn't worry too much unless she starts doing it regularly - if that happens you need to look for a cause but a one off is nothing to worry about. My reaction would be that she was most likely bitten by something.