Q&A

Q: I have realised that I really cannot see lameness and it makes me worry that I don’t see issues with my own pony. How can I learn to get better at this so that I don’t miss something important?

A: To spot lameness you’ll need to watch carefully and have someone else walk and trot the pony away from and towards you, ideally on a flat and hard surface. When your pony is led away from you, look for the hindquarters dipping an uneven amount on each side as he moves or whether one hindleg swings out to the side, is snatched up or if he’s dragging his toes. When he’s led towards you, you might spot him nodding his head. It’s also worth looking to see how evenly he picks up his front feet. Some vets ask for the pony to be trotted past them side-on as well, which can help them to see any shortness in the strides.

Another good way to spot lameness, can be to watch your pony walk and trot on a circle, as this can make it clear where the problem is. Make sure to circle on both sides and to ensure that your pony is calm when moving. If you are struggling to spot the issue, it can also help to close your eyes and listen to the rhythm of him moving – it can sometimes be easier to hear unevenness in the rhythm than to see it.

Finally, don’t be too hard on yourself about this. Lameness detection is something that you get better at with practice, and even the most well-trained observers can sometimes miss something. Try and learn what you can by listening to other knowledgeable people and by observing as many ponies as you can, but if you have any concerns about your own ponies, just call you vet – nobody will laugh at you and it is always better to be safe than sorry!

NOTE: It goes without saying that if your pony is lame you should always call your vet for an examination to get to the bottom of what is causing the lameness. If you do call your vet out for lameness, ask them to explain what they are seeing. Most vets will be more than happy to help you learn more!

Q: My pony has become very aggressive suddenly with others in his paddock. The yard owner wants to separate him, but he was fine until recently. What could be the cause of this?

A: Becoming suddenly aggressive towards other ponies can have a range of causes, although the most common tend to be pain, feeling unsafe and competition over food.

It’s best to get your pony thoroughly checked by your vet. Aggression can be caused by anything from pain from arthritis to gastric ulcers and your vet will be best placed to work out what is going on. Often in these instances, once the pain has been resolved the pony will return to ‘normal’.

Similarly, a change in the amount of grazing or food can lead to aggression between members of a herd. Alternatively, if your pony’s food has been cut he may now be in greater competition for grass intake in the paddock to make up for this and this too could make him more aggressive. In this case, if his food is increased or he is given greater access to grazing or forage the behaviour is likely to disappear.

Other changes in the environment can also have a big impact and these should be considered. Are there new ponies in the group in his paddock? Are there particular ponies that seem to trigger the aggression? Are the ponies all male or are there mares in the area that might have come into season? Is he in the same paddock with the same amount of space as before or has something changed? Has the amount of work he is doing changed? If you are unaware of any changes, it is also worth chatting to your yard manager as she may have insight into other changes in management that are not immediately obvious. Some ponies are very sensitive to change and any small disruption can cause an increase in their stress levels, making the triggering of aggressive responses more likely. Again, once these issues have been dealt with, and your pony is made to feel more comfortable again, he is likely to return to his normal behaviours.

If, after thorough investigation, none of the above factors seem to be at play, your vet is likely to want to do more investigations into the sudden change in behaviour. There are some rare conditions that can cause rapidonset aggression, but these are very uncommon.

Finally, if all health and environmental issues are ruled out, you should consider calling an animal behaviourist to help you to tackle the issue.