horse lugging in

[tipster111]

hi there! i have a four year old pacer who when racing is lugging in badly (1/2 mile track). he wears a head pole with burr on the left side but is still badly on the right rein to the extent where the bit is pulling through his mouth! he appears sound and when jogging at home isnt as bad! any suggestions would be appreciated many thanks!!!

[Triple V]

hi there! i have a four year old pacer who when racing is lugging in badly (1/2 mile track). he wears a head pole with burr on the left side but is still badly on the right rein to the extent where the bit is pulling through his mouth! he appears sound and when jogging at home isnt as bad! any suggestions would be appreciated many thanks!!!

[VVV] When they hang that bad I reckon it's pain/discomfort that he's trying to get away from. I'm thinking maybe get a Dentist out to have a really good look at his mouth/teeth.
Good luck.

[tipster111]

hi thanks for the quick reply had the dentist out about 6 weeks ago and all ok but could be worth another look!!

[strong persuader]

Would also pay to get him checked out by a vet or someone who is good at analysing sore points, eg massage person or chiropractor, often hanging is a result of pain in the back, sacroiliac, hip, shoulder, or even knees, hocks or other joints.

[tipster111]

thanks for the reply if he turned out not to be sore anywhere and it was habit what driving bits would you recommend to help this?? or any other suggestions? once again many thanks!!

[HISGEN65]

does he wear blinkers?

[Danno]

G'day Mark,
I would agree with Phil's suggestion to look for musculo-skeletal soreness somewhere, another thing that will cause horses to hang severely is interference, in particular cross firing in pacers and scapling in trotters, both of these sometimes do not produce obvious signs of interference ie; marks on the horse or his geaer BUT they can both be quite painful for the horse, subsequently causing the horse to get on one rein quite heavily.

When you ask about bits etc. to overcome the hanging I would suggest overcoming the problem that is causing the hanging rather than masking it's affects with a correctional device will bring you better results overall.

If the horse is sore then this will need to be resolved before he can truly go forward, if he is hitting himself somewhere, correcting this through shoeing and/or gear adjustments will be a better outcome in allowing the horse to go forward.

Cheers,
Dan

[tipster111]

hi yes he wears full blinkers! cheers dan thanks for the advice much appreciated!!

[strong persuader]

Along with Dan, knee knocking can also make some horses hang. Once you have checked the horse out from the tip of his nose to the tip of his tail and ruled out any pain, then and only then should you think about what gear to use. As to bits, try something the opposite of what you are using now, if you have a jointed bit, then try a straight bit. If you have full blinkers, try block eyes, a murphy blind, or even an open bridle. I would suggest also working the horse the other way for a bit, just to change his thinking a little. This will also indicate if it is a pain issue, if the horse is hanging in on the turns now and hangs out in the straight going the reverse way, it is a definite pain/interference issue.

Training horses comes down to time and patience and how many tricks you have in your bag :)

[HISGEN65]

all good advice...I had a horse that hung in badly..I had dolly vardons on him & my driver said one day that he was convinced that the horse was trying to see around them...I put on some block eyes & added a hood over his deafeners & he went straight as a die next start..he was also a knee knocker so without spreaders he would hang in like a bugger..I also found with him the hasher the bit the more he hung..he was a mad puller so this was also a challenge..I found a happy medium with a James Mullen mouth bit

[Danno]

I found a happy medium with a James Mullen mouth bit

Funny you mention that bit, for a two horse trainer I'm not going too well, I have about six of these either on bridles or stored away...this is my absolute 1st go-to bit for horses that are leaning one way or another, and it's a relatively kind bit, horses will more often than not drive nicely up on the bit without getting out of hand.