Dragging hind toes

[Jim Knopf]

Any tips on getting a young horse (6 months under saddle) to pick up her hind legs? She seems to drag her toes in walk and trot. She's not really lazy per se, goes nicely forward off my leg. Is this a conformation, strength, and/or gait issue? She even seems to drag a bit when just being led in from the pasture. Perhaps it is a bit of laziness?

[slc2]

Not necessarily. The horse could be sore in the hocks or weak in the hind legs. At 4, he could be loose or even sore in the stifles. Of course it's entirely possible that s/he simply is maturing slowly, and isn't going to be bending his hocks and carrying himself for a while. A lot of the bigger growthier horses do this and so do quite a few smaller more compact horses who take a long time to get stronger and develop back and hind quarter muscles.

One just moves along very, very carefully, just slowly conditioning them with brief, frequent rides, waiting for nature to take its course.

It's not always just a lack of maturity. It can be that either s/he isn't being ridden in a balanced posture up to the bit, with sufficient forward energy (fast is not forward) or s/he is not feeling right some place.

Of course, there is just the possibility that the horse simply isn't built so it flexes its hocks well, that's another possibility. Some horses simply don't have a quick hind leg and they drag their hind toes all the time, and aren't lame or hurting.

I'd suggest working with a vet and dressage trainer who has a good eye and can see if the horse is sore or uneven, and, once sure there isn't any physical pain or problem, have the trainer guide you in how to bring the horse a little together so s/he can be more balanced and lift his hind legs.

The ideal is that the trainer, the rider, the vet and the blacksmith work together and make sure these things are being handled correctly.

The horse doesn't bend his hocks 'just because' (unfortunately), he needs to be brought a little bit together, with a proper rein length and enough activity that he can bend his hocks and pick up his feet.

[goeslikestink]

Any tips on getting a young horse (6 months under saddle) to pick up her hind legs? She seems to drag her toes in walk and trot. She's not really lazy per se, goes nicely forward off my leg. Is this a conformation, strength, and/or gait issue? She even seems to drag a bit when just being led in from the pasture. Perhaps it is a bit of laziness?

get a vet in and have a gander at you horse, toe dragging from being brought in from the field means horse is lame somewhere so get it checked out and dont ride her until you have

[Trixie's mom]

my mare drags her right hind toe when her SI joint is out...

i second the vet option...

[Perfect Pony]

get a vet in and have a gander at you horse, toe dragging from being brought in from the field means horse is lame somewhere so get it checked out and dont ride her until you have

Or it could just be that the horse is young, a litle lazy, and lacking the strength! Geeze.

My mare was not only a toe dragger, but very uneven about it, dragging the right much more than the left. These boards turned me into a nervous wreck with matter-of-fact statments like this. I spent her entire 4 year old year worrying about it. Had local vets look at her, UC Davis, chiro, accupuncture, saddle fitting, you name it, I did it.

At the end of the day, I just rode her. To this day she starts out "lazy legged" on the right hind but moving evenly, then works out of it with flexion and straightess exercises. And to this day (as a 6year old) she will drag her hind feet if she's just being led around. No one has found a thing wrong with her.

By all means, go to a good clinic. But a young horse just starting out isn't going to have a lot of strength behind. And horses are individuals.

[merrygoround]

Perfectpony. Good thinking.

I almost threw a saddle fitter off the place when they insisted that a very draggy horse on the lead rope, was lame behind. Had the rider almost in tears. :(

This was a lazy horse, who didn't always go forward for a rider, but had remarkable hock action when ridden correctly.;)

[slc2]

It's quite true that dragging hind toes don't always mean lameness. They might, they might not. In a horse that is otherwise fine, shows no pain, especially if the entire temperament and behavior suggests a very calm horse, and the horse has done it for years and responds well when urged more, it's very, very unlikely connected with lameness. If all of a sudden my horse came in from the pasture dragging one hind foot, that's a very, very different picture.

[SuperSTB]

Or it could just be that the horse is young, a litle lazy, and lacking the strength! Geeze.

My mare was not only a toe dragger, but very uneven about it, dragging the right much more than the left. These boards turned me into a nervous wreck with matter-of-fact statments like this. I spent her entire 4 year old year worrying about it. Had local vets look at her, UC Davis, chiro, accupuncture, saddle fitting, you name it, I did it.

At the end of the day, I just rode her. To this day she starts out "lazy legged" on the right hind but moving evenly, then works out of it with flexion and straightess exercises. And to this day (as a 6year old) she will drag her hind feet if she's just being led around. No one has found a thing wrong with her.

By all means, go to a good clinic. But a young horse just starting out isn't going to have a lot of strength behind. And horses are individuals.

I have/had one of those too. She was just lazy. I bought her as a 3yo and the previous owner had backed her but didn't do anything more than that and the horse wasn't touched for a couple months before she came to me. The vet didn't find any soundness issues, no medical reason except that she was a lazy horse and not in shape. Even in a large turnout.

Started conditioning her and less than 2 wks no toe dragging. She's 5 now.

[lstevenson]

Classic weak stifles. Take her out in the country and build up to an hour of hacking a day using hills. It may take 6 months to a year of that to make her really strong in her stifles, but you will be glad you made the effort. Everything that you ask of her in the ring will be so much easier for her, and she will stay sounder.

[MelantheLLC]

Not to say it's this, but another cause for toe-dragging is neurological damage. Have a vet look, and do the basic neurological reflex testing just to be sure. Those are simple tests that can be done in hand.

[hluing]

Toe dragging is a red flag for a neuro problem to me. I had a big, young WB that had this...first vet tried to pass it off as a "lazy, big WB thing" which it wasnt. I would have a vet do a neuro exam for sure!

[PonyHunterz]

I agree, I would have a neuro exam done. I would not chalk it up to laziness, as SLC suggested. I would want a vets opinion as to what's causing this.

[slc2]

RFC, i did not say that.

[J-Lu]

IMO, toe dragging can occur due to a number of reasons - including laziness and physical issues. The question becomes: what do you, as a horse owner want to do about it? How invested are you in this horse? Do you want to assume nothing is wrong and hope that you're right...or do you want to assume something is wrong and hope that you're wrong?

Personally, I tend to err on the side of having a good vet check things out when I have big questions. I'd also consider a good chiro or a good massage therapist. If they tell me there's nothing wrong, I have more peace of mind. But if they find something, then I can potentially treat it before it gets worse. Your horse is so young and her whole riding career is in front of her. If the vet rules out physical issues, I'd have more peace of mind and consider it a strength issue. You can strengthen her with hill work, poles/cavaletti, etc.

My two cents,
J.

[RubysMom]

Well, I have a 12 yo wb cross...I got him as a 6 yo. He's always been a bit "draggy" behind. As you can imagine I had full workups done on him, neuro exams, good farriery on a punctual 5 week schedule, chiro, acupuncture, massage, saddle fit, xrays...etc...etc...

When he's ridden properly he is not at all "draggy" behind, he's been shown successfully to 2nd level and is schooling 3rd/4th level work, hacks out on trail (with plenty of hills) at least once a week, if not more, and we occasionally hop over a few small fences.

I"ve come to the conclusion that it's just the way he is...he doesn't like to squander energy, and he's a bit on the lazy side, but once he's revved up and the hind end is engaged there is NO trace of toe dragging. He steps lively and active behind, and his gaits are pure and correct.

I too, worried endlessly over this and I still worry about it, but I still don't have any answers, so it may just be the way your horse is....I do highly recommend ruling out physical sources, especially since she's so young.

[Traum]

Having had a wobbler that as a youngster dragged his toes and appeared lazy, I heartily agree with the neuro check angle. My guy was a big, fast growing QH, who just seemed to be in that awkward stage when I got him at 3. When put to work in his four year old year, he got worse with the dragging and clumsiness, so I had him checked. Wobbles with some fairly significant damage :(

I'm a little over reactive when it comes to neuro-sounding symptoms because of that. So hopefully your guy is just fine. Let us know what you find out :)