Picking up the wrong lead... on the lunge?

From what I can tell in the pictures, I'm not thinking it's anything conformational. And by that, I mean that I've seen horses with worse conformations have no problems. He's not a bad build, really, so I'm thinking that might not be the problem.

My initial thoughts on this are that he has pain somewhere, possibly in the shoulders, back, or even neck. If that's the case, than a chiropractor or even an acupuncturist would probably be your safest bet for fixing this problem. Horses, as far as I've seen, begin bucking at the canter (or lope) when they find it uncomfortable for one reason or another, so I definitely wouldn't consider this a behavioral fluke or misbehavior. Also, even though you haven't changed the tack, it might be that the tack has just now caused him enough pain to where he won't deal with it anymore. A horse can go for quite a while with uncomfortable tack before making it known that he can't take it, so it's possible that's what's going on here. Have you had the saddle checked for odd lumps or wear and tear that might be putting pressure in places? I'm assuming there aren't any saddle rubs, or that would be obvious.

To sum it up, my main advice is to get the chiropractor, massage therapist, or acupuncturist out there and see if they can't help you out. I hope this is helpful! And good luck!

I think an equine chiropractor is needed here. There's also the possibility that he's never had to pick up any other lead than the left and asking anything else leads to unbalance and bucking. I trained a mare that was extremely unbalanced to the right. The minute you tried to turn her that way, she would buck. I had to do small doses of cantering/loping and gradually worked into a curve around a corner. She just had to learn to use herself to that direction. She also had an imbalance in her back due to being tripped in a Mexican rodeo and subsequently breaking her jaw and twisting her spine. The chiropractor chose not to "fix" her since she had healed that way so long ago. I rode her in a treeless saddle that would not bother her back if it sat a little crooked. She went on to make an awesome riding horse that was able to lope in both directions easily. She just had to learn how.

Well, you say it is not your horse but the owner really should get the saddle checked - horses change shape during the different seasons and fitness etc, but saddles do not change shape or size. Saddles need to be checked every 6 months or so and what fitted 6 months ago might not fit now.

He might also have a bit of a spinal problem which means that he might need manipulating by a chiropractor. Horses are, like humans, quite capable of tweaking something in the spine just by being worked and messing about in the field (not that humans mess about in fields, but you know what I mean). He could have a pinched nerve somewhere and that could cause pain when only asked to do certain things.

The flexing of the neck is okay, but you need to ask him to follow through with his hindquarters. Make sure that your aids are correct - I have not got time to type it all out, but ask your instructor to check that you are actually asking him correctly.

It could also be that because he has been a trail horse all his life he is unlikely to be schooled in the finer points of things, he has had inexperienced riders forever kicking him and hauling at his mouth.

Also get his teeth checked for rough edges etc.

First, you're right-they aren't conformation shots!!

The first thing I noticed is that he needs corrective shoeing on the front right. That hoof is flayed out and not straight a few months of corrective shoeing may sort this out or he may require to be permanently shod up front. This could be why he is having an issue with the right lead.

He also toes out at the back.

This is only going from the photos-he's nice colour by the way.

He slopes to the front. I thought it was because he was on a hill but I don't think so. This shouldn't affect the way he picks up a lead though-it is just conformation.

I don't think he's ugly at all. Next time the farrier is out ask about a corrective shoe on the right front-it may make a world of difference.

Does the saddle fit?

Is your riding restricting him and making him feel restricted enough to buck?

Is he balanced enough to be cantering on the lunge line? Is the lunging circle too small?

Does his back require a chiropractor appointment? keep in mind that massaging will not help a horse whose vertebrae are out of alignment, because the muscles tense up to compensate for the pain of the misalignment.

You're making it sound like he's the bad guy, but keep in mind that most issues under saddle are caused by rider error. For this reason, I do suggest you look at your own position or consider how he used to be ridden.

I suggest that you do basic dressage work with him to straighten him out, such as shoulder ins, haunches ins, leg yielding, figure 8s, etc, at walk and eventually trot.

Did you ask him to go back to trot then back up to canter when he picked up the wrong lead on the lunge line? If not, it could just be a fluke. if he repeatedly picked up the wrong lead and wouldn't switch, that's when it could be a problem.

Get someone to hold him while you take pictures then, not standing still for a confo.shot is an easy thing to fix...

Also, make sure in the trot-canter transition that the horse is relaxed and willing, not being forced into the canter with strong leg aids.

Is he having trouble turning his neck from side to side? Turning in direction at the walk trot ect? If so pain somewhere where you can't see it or feel it might be the cause of this. Or he could be having an audited and just not wanting to work. I would try and get the chiropractor out there to see how he is. You could call the chiro and just explain what was happening. I have called mine a few times explained things signs symptoms, I have even showed her a video once or twice. One of those times she did come out because my mare had something wrong in her lower neck region. But I would try and get the chiro out to at least just see him over. If he/she finds something you made the right call. If they don't, you still we're just being a safe horse owner.

Like I said he could be having a moment, or he could be in pain.

I don't think that picking up the wrong lead could suggest anything really as an issue with her body. It just doesn't seem like the case. Plus, if this is the only sign your getting, it's probably not. It's more likely you'll find cues like limping and signs of pain then simply picking up the wrong lead. I think you may be over-reacting to this a bit, asking over yahoo answers over a one-time thing.

A few more notes. First, if you want her to pick up the right lead then you need to train her muscles. Allot of the time, horses won't pick up the other lead because they're worked too much on one side and not the other so they don't have the muscles to canter on the lead with the worse-off muscles. This principle is really obvious in race-horses. Allot of people commonly mistake an ex. race-horse as being improperly trained or just "used" to picking up the other lead because of racing when in reality, it's just an uneveness in muscle training. If she won't pick up the right lead, work her on her right more to better develop those muscles and left side for left lead.

Next, she's probably bucking because you're confusing her, I see no other reason why. If you're being eccessively aggressive, asking with allot of aids at once and/or asking allot of the time, she may be bucking because she doesn't like that and resisting. Try and make your directions to her clear and consistant and ask as few times as you can.

Finnally, I recommend not braiding your horse's tail while out in pasture. When horse's have braided tails and they swish at flies, they end up whipping themselves on the side with their braided tail and it hurts them.

we had a welsh pony at our barn who wouldn't pick up the right (as opposed to left) lead, and would often buck in the transitions. since the chiropractor was already coming up for another horse we had him look at the pony just to see. as it turned out, he had an over extended knee which was preventing him from taking the right lead. the chiropractor was able to correct it and he was better after then. i would suggest a chiropractor they really do help. good luck!