Turning Circle of an Irish Cob?

[domane]

Just wondered all of you out there with irish or h/w cobs....

How agile are they? Raggydoll's recent events with Bim have set me thinking....

With nothing to base my knowledge on other than Cherry it's difficult to know if she is "normal" or not. Reasons for asking is that if she does a sharp turn, she tends to totter a little and I'm not sure if this is because of her sheer bulk and size, being unsupple (but we're working on that) or whether she may have the dreaded arthritis coming. She is approximately 15 after all, so it may just be age related. I obviously realise that she will never have the grace of a ballet dancer, so I'm not expecting miracles!! She never seems stiff when she comes out of her stable, but then she does tend to amble to the mounting block :rolleyes: so it's hard to tell whether this is because she is feeling a bit achey or just being lazy :D Once I am mounted she is always keen to get going though. She has been on 5*Superflex since January although I am advised by a certain vet-in-training around here somewhere that I wasted my money!!! ;)

I am planning to have a physio or back person out to assess her very soon but in the meantime... can anyone enlighten me?

[bexj]

My Molly (a hw cob!) is always quite stiff at first, she is very short coupled - has a short neck and short back, so finds bending quite difficult. She does loosen up over time, but will never have the graceful bend that a longer horse might have - too many ribs in a short distance to bend!

[Guest]

Bry isn't very supple in that she doesn't bend as such but she is quite agile when it comes to cantering circles.
As for the mounting block Bry is the same as Cherry.

[domane]

Thanks for the tips RD! Apparently it is cheaper to buy Cortaflex from the USA and pay the shipping... try contacting SarahB with TC... I'm sure that's what she does and I think she saved £££s!!! Perhaps we should all club together and do a bulk order!!!

I know Pink's Lady swears by Cortaflex, being "in the know" and all... can't remember if the powder is as good as the liquid, or if it's the other way round.... I'll have to ask!!!

Having my first ever lesson this morning, I will ask my RI if she knows a good physio....

Thanks again :) Better to be safe than sorry, eh?

[Little Dolphins]

HQ had a stiff bum (?!) (you know what I mean) on right side and didn't like right bends. Turned out it was Teeth making her jaw out of true, making her neck stiff, and so on and so forth all the way along. Could there be a toothypeg prob?

Hope you can find the answer to help La Chez-Pie, Domane

[raggydoll]

I believe liquids are generally absorbed faster but with cortaflex its very refined so theres little difference between the powder or liquid form :)

[Pink's lady]

Not wasting you're money Domane - but it's not quite as good ;) Liquid stuffs WAY more exepensive (typically :rolleyes: ) Raggydolls spot on. Cortaflex would be worth buying in bulk - I'm about to buy Pink and Kim it as well as Brodie, and am going to get the huge 3kg tube, which works out at £10 a month. Owers are paying for their lot though, thank gods.

Definintly worth doing at her age - it can only help.

But it sound more like she's lacking balance and motor biking round the corners. Pink does it too. When she's being nice and supple and actually getting her ass in gear, she can turn on a six-pence, like a ballet dancer. When she's being a pain (i.e most of the time :rolleyes: ) she just leans sideways and falls round the corner :rolleyes: Tia (5yr old cob, so no arthritis) does it too.

It's about balance and suppleness. So schooling and using you're legs to support her and turn her will help.

[Big Ears]

Rosie cob was as stiff as a plank when I got her, but then she was hugely over weight, and looked like a salami on legs - just a tube with a leg at each corner. She still doesn't flex that much though she is much lighter.

With her short neck/back, she works on a contact but couldn't come on the bit and bend to the same way a more elegant long necked backed horse could, but she is certainly more flexible, though she does still tend to be a bit super tanker in her direction changes. She often bangs herself on doorways as she doesn't quite get the right angle.

Rather than messing with supplements etc and spending lots of money, you could try basic stretching exercises with carrots to stretch neck back to girth area and head between front legs to get her a bit looser, and also massage quarters, quads and stretch out back legs to improve her physical movements. then buy all the products if necessary, but she may just be stiff through lack of use of herself rather than an underlying problem. Rosie is certainly a lot lighter on her feet due to her weight loss, plus she is now quite fit and can hack out for up to 4 hours without feeling that the world has ended. rosie is 16 now and hadn't worked for 3 years when I got her, so she had seized up, but she is now much more moveable.

Also if you can encourage working from behind then again it will assist in getting them more under you and more responsive. A lot of cobs don't have much schooling (including Rosie) so they've never learnt to carry themselves and also if they are carrying a crested neck, which a lot do, then again it makes it harder for them to flex/move more immediately.

Molly the other cob is as flexible as an eel but she was lighter, and also she is a more nervy character - she can disappear from under you in a blink, you find yourself sitting in thin air, so her movements are very electric. Even now Rosie doesn't tend to do things so rapidly....thankfully.

[domane]

Thank you for your comments. I have just had my first ever lesson on Cherry, with our yard's official instructor who is a lovely knowledgeable girl. She told me many things, which are echoed in your comments above but she is delighted to have been sneaking peeks at Chez's schooling over the past few weeks and to see the transformation starting. She was very encouraging and there were references to "supporting with the inside leg", working from the rear rather than pulling herself along and she really is starting to do this for me in short snatches. Cherry associates the leg with "go faster" rather than being pushed onto the bit so she needs to desensitise to "leg-on". RI also told me that Chez is a bit weak in her off-hind which is why she finds the right rein more difficult. This happens to be the leg in which she did her tendon so I had a bit of a lightbulb moment - it's obvious when someone points it out, isn't it?

So whilst I will probably still get Cherry checked over for my own peace of mind, deep down I feel (and hope!) that her turning is just due to not having been schooled for a few years and being stiff and unbalanced. Because I find it such hard work too I feel it will be so much more of an achievement when she is light in hand and beautifully rounded.

To say thanks after the lessons, Chez then got a full bath - mane, tail, body and feathers (not sure she appreciated it much but she stood like a rock the whole time, bless) and is now munching happily on her haynet in her stable until she gets turned out at dusk (too hot, can you believe it??)

[CrazyMare]

My hw irish cob used to find bending and stretching difficult but since he has been doing carrot stretches twice a day he has improved no end! its brilliant to get them supple in their backs, necks, etc and its a great little trick to show off to poeple when you are sat on top and say 'stretch' and down he goes!!:rolleyes: :D