Re: what does crabbing mean

[Lynne Glazer <lglazer@cyberg8t.com>]

>> Am far more apt to think
it is a lazy side in a green horse, whereas in a well-started horse who has
always travelled straight and then begins to crab, I am much more apt to think
there is injury or discomfort somewhere.

Some here have probably wondered why I haven't commented on the crabbing
discussion, since I've made no secret over the last 24 months or so of my
horse's crabbing problem.

It started because of an ill-fitting saddle, and it has been a long road
since to correct it.  I stopped using the saddle ( a beloved Ortho-flex
endurance cutback), finally deciding that though it fit 40 other horses,
for some reason, it didn't fit THIS horse.  This horse is nearly 15.3hh,
1000 lbs, 78 blanket, fairly long-backed daisy cutter--a purebred Arab mare.

Her method of crabbing was to rope-walk with her right hind, in other
words, instead of tracking up straight, she stepped way inward.

We went through exten$ive chiropractic work, layup time, evaluation by a
fellow rider with a better handle on correctness of gaits than I have (Kat
Swigart) which resulted in going back to a snaffle bit and using dressage
techniques to "pick up" her left shoulder.  I didn't want it to become a
permanent condition.  Of course I had some help evaluating whether I was
riding imbalanced, too.  I'm pretty careful about changing diagnonals, and
would ride her right diagonal more while picking up her left shoulder.  It
was hard gymnastic work for a trail rider!  I left out the leg effort
required.

I rode her for a year in a Passier all purpose, which generated its own set
of problems since my mare's back changed substantially in that time,
despite getting it restuffed 4 times.

Observers now riding behind us say that she no longer crabs.  As the
"ultimate" judge, I say that she still does occasionally, mostly when she
objects to our chosen course during training or is tired.  When she is
"mission-oriented", however, she seems to trot straight and true.

She's had a lot of time off since June due to a non-related front sesamoid
injury and then reinjury, and is finally finished growing at 7.  She's in a
Sports Saddle now which seems to fit (at her current competition-unready
body condition, which she seems to like and I can tolerate.  She's still in
the snaffle, which actually is a french link bradoon which she likes better
than a conventional snaffle.  I would prefer going back to a hackamore once
I'm sure she's traveling correctly-permanently.

I might invest some money in having a dressage trainer school her, because
she could stand to use her rear end more effectively.  She has a short neck
without a nice break at the poll, and while she's supple enough to snag a
carrot from my hand held at her glut while mounted, it would be nice to
have her more bridle-wise, and left-right balanced.

Lynne
and Rem-member Me
and Celesteele, the dream kid