Parking Out?

[Rhiannonjk]

I have an oldenburg gelding that seems to naturally always "Park out" while standing around. There are no saddleseat breeds in his pedigree, and being close to several of his siblings, I haven't noticed them doing the same thing.

Does anybody know of this being a sign of some inner problem that should be addressed, or do I just have a quirky warmblood?

[Amwrider]

Back pain? Kidney pain? Ulcers?

I have seen horses that are gassy try to park out to stretch their tummies.

[Rhiannonjk]

He is unbroken - so I am ruling out back pain for now.

He is young and hasn't done much, so I'm hoping that there wouldn't already be ulcers.

Can a vet palpate kidneys?

[dbts]

This may be a symptom of SI joint problems.

[akor]

:)

I have 1/2 ASBs, so I understand that's in the breeding, but mine have never been trained to park out, and both will, the one started doing it in the hunter U/S line ups and YIKES! Mine do it when I am grooming and they are REALLY really relaxed. People have given me the oh they are lame deal and I ignore it, not just becuase of the breeding, but because to me, it's a sign they are relaxed. And, the one mare has been checked out extensively and is sound as can be.

I also got my TB to do it, just not so much, she wasn't quite built for it, but a good belly scratch or inner flank itch would get her to park out a bit, for a TB.

Now, if I saw a horse doing it in the pasture, I'd be a bit concerned, I admit, even if they were part ASB.

[Rhiannonjk]

He only very recently saw a horse that is one quarter saddlebred - but this started before then :)

He does it in the pasture while at rest, as well as in the cross-ties. It is a very subtle park, most of the time. Generally, it looks like he is getting ready to pee, and doesn't.

Which just made me realize that I haven't, recently, WATCHED him pee. hm...

[TrakGeorge]

I have a habit of watching how my horses stand before and after I ride. I notice that when I first start working horses and getting them to round thier backs and work from behind they tend to want to stand parked out after I ride them. Once I get the tack off and move them, they stand more normally. I find that after a few rides (they are getting stronger muscles) they tend not to park out as much. My older horses will also do it after some hard rides.

I never can find anything sore on thier backs, so I figure its just because of sore muscles. I do keep an eye on them, since I don't want it to become a habit or if it really is that something is really wrong with them.

[Petstorejunkie]

He is unbroken - so I am ruling out back pain for now.

Why? Back pain isnt only caused by ill fitted saddle or bad riding! They can be a total goober in the pasture and subluxate something, or drive a muscle into spasm. It could be a birth deformity, or even subluxation from BIRTH.

[jaimebaker]

Why? Back pain isnt only caused by ill fitted saddle or bad riding! They can be a total goober in the pasture and subluxate something, or drive a muscle into spasm. It could be a birth deformity, or even subluxation from BIRTH.

Yep. I have a horse that's never been ridden and is 8 that suffers from back pain.

[Rhiannonjk]

After posting about the back pain, I realized that it shouldn't be ruled out. You guys are totally right about that.

[Fantastic]

As someone stated, that can be one of many signs of ulcers. If you can, don't rule that out. Foals can get them when weaned, horses that travel in trailers or on planes can get them, horses kept in stalls can get them; heck, horses kept in fields can get ulcers! Even horses that we think would have no reason to get ulcers, get ulcers. I could be back pain, which could also be caused by ulcers. Or back pain caused by?

[Laurierace]

My mare did this years ago and it turned out to be pleuritis. When we got to New Bolton they put her chances of survival at 50/50.
I am sure there is a more likely explanation but thought I should pass it along just in case.

[Endoftheroad Farm]

Hello, I have an Oldenburg that does the the same thing. I know that he has arthritis in his neck that i think is causing the stance. He has had xrays from Dr Allen to confirm this and has been injected and is much better now. I hope this is of some help to you.

[Dan]

It could just be that his feet hurt. Are you riding over hard ground? If so, maybe you want to try plastic shoes to absorb the impact.

Dan

[Mare mom]

My horse has been doing that recently. I am starting to treat him for ulcers.
I had a horse in the past who did it and he suffered from PSSM. The parking out was him tying up.

[Rhiannonjk]

ok. Thanks for all the ideas - I'm going to keep them all in mind and talk with my vet...

I'll hope it is one of the less severe examples given!

[Seven-up]

Have you cleaned his sheath lately? Sometimes they will park out like they're going to pee, sometimes they drop, sometimes not, and they might groan or make noises. The plumbing could have a partial clog. If you haven't seen him pee lately, and he's not normally shy, this could be a possibility.

[EqTrainer]

I don't think I would ignore it. Some of the reasons horses do this, IME, are:

-sheath needs to be cleaned
-mild shivers (very common for them to do this, apparently)
-foot pain, particularly toe pain. FWIW Killian never rocked back, he parked out, when mildly laminitic. I have seen that more than once.
-back pain
-one clients horse had kidney stones - he parked out only then

I'd be hoping for a dirty sheath

[shakeytails]

There are no saddleseat breeds in his pedigree...

Huh?? Saddlebreds, Morgans, TWHs are TRAINED to park out. It not like they're born knowing how. Head up, tail flagging, lots of knee action....now that's genetic!

[IrishWillow]

I had a gelding that did that once. I mentioned it to my vet and he wanted to xray the hocks.. turns out he was started arthritis in his hocks. We started treatment, and he stopped doing it. I can tell when the injections wear off bc he starts it again.

[Rhiannonjk]

Thanks everybody - it turned out to be a bladder issue, and he is getting better. We also got radiographs of his stifles, just in case, and everything is looking good there.