Hi >> How can you tell if your horse is sore? If you know how to do a body check evaluation - just a simple back check by running a pen top down the bladder meridian - it will give you an idea that the back is sore, just not really where because of the delay in the reflex action. As most people know on this list Icelandics tend to be rather stoic so a little tightening during a body check in an Icelandic is the same as a big one for other breeds.
Besides doing a body check I would say that if your horse has a change of behavior, things like getting difficult to catch if they have been easy; not standing for grooming or mounting; rushing off after mounting; moving around when the saddle approaches or when the girth is done up - watch for subtle signs not just the big ones; resisting bitting; not gaiting or only gaiting; obviously the big ones like bolting, bucking or baulking. I'll say it again, horses try and tell us when things are wrong - they generally try to be polite but after a while if no one listens to their whispers, then they are forced to shout - and then people often say "he gave me no warning". My daughter recently taught a clinic with a bolting Icelandic and when they changed the saddle there was an immediate change. I have seen the same type of thing on many many occassions. Icelandic Horse Farm Robyn Hood & Phil Pretty Vernon BC Canada www.icefarm.com >
