I think I have enough anecdotal observations to even bring this up.
My horse can roll from right to left, even up a slight grade, but cannot roll back from left to right it seems.
Now he usually starts on his right so maybe that has some bearing?
Has anyone linked rolling direction with anything (not counting planetary alignment and such LOL)?
Rolling direction - what can be said?
Re: Rolling direction - what can be said?
Interesting. Bliss can roll quite handily from one side to the other, and back. He usually rolls completely over at least two or three times when he rolls. He starts out laying down on his right side, and his better direction is going to the left. I'm not sure if that's linked at all?
Re: Rolling direction - what can be said?
Rosie B wrote:Interesting. Bliss can roll quite handily from one side to the other, and back. He usually rolls completely over at least two or three times when he rolls. He starts out laying down on his right side, and his better direction is going to the left. I'm not sure if that's linked at all?
Thanks for this. I hope more people chime in.
My horse used to roll around like that. Not so much now that he is older.
I have started turning him out in a field while I put away my tack and noticed he almost always rolled. So now I make sure to put him in the field before putting him back in his paddock/stall because I think he likes that.
I just find it curious that he can actually get all the way over even up a slight slope in the one direction and then not at all from the other.
What do you mean his better direction is left? Do you mean better bend or better in the outside rein or?
Last edited by Tsavo on Sun Aug 13, 2017 12:03 am, edited 1 time in total.
Re: Rolling direction - what can be said?
He bends better to the left. If he were a banana, the inside of his curve would be his left side. He tends to be heavier/more accepting of the left rein than the right.
Re: Rolling direction - what can be said?
Okay thanks. That reminds me I wanted to ask about a note from the deKunffy clinic about hind leg stiffness.
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Re: Rolling direction - what can be said?
I find high withered horses often don't try to roll over. They do one side then the other.
I'm not sure it has anything to do with dexterity, more shape of back and neck but I could well be wrong
I'm not sure it has anything to do with dexterity, more shape of back and neck but I could well be wrong
Re: Rolling direction - what can be said?
I have very round horses for the most part and they can roll all the way over easily. In fact all of my horses on the farm can do so either direction, quite handily. Some do it more than others, some find the muddiest places to do so:)
Now I cared for a gelding, we think he was ASB/TB X with high neck and fairly good set of withered and he never rolled all the way over, ever. But he could still get mud/dirt caked on top of his head between his ears, quite talented.
Now I cared for a gelding, we think he was ASB/TB X with high neck and fairly good set of withered and he never rolled all the way over, ever. But he could still get mud/dirt caked on top of his head between his ears, quite talented.
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Re: Rolling direction - what can be said?
khall wrote:I have very round horses for the most part and they can roll all the way over easily. In fact all of my horses on the farm can do so either direction, quite handily. Some do it more than others, some find the muddiest places to do so:)
This is consistent with all of mine: the higher the withers the less likely they are to roll over. The one with the highest withers will get down and roll on one side and then get back up, and then get back down to do the other side.
Haven't noticed which side they start on, but will start looking at that.
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Re: Rolling direction - what can be said?
OK, I'll play. I have a dedicated roller (of course I do--she is a white grey). I would say that most of the time she does a thorough coating on one side and a light coating on the other side. She rolls all the way over most of the time--and she does have a pretty good wither. However, which side is filthier actually changes regularly! When I have chiro done on her, the practitioner notices that sometimes the right hip is high, sometimes the left. It switches.
Re: Rolling direction - what can be said?
Mine has no withers and is built like a marshmallow on legs..but can't roll over. Rolls on one side, gets partly up (sometimes only to her knees) then down on the other side. She made it over completely once and shocked herself. She's quite supple, so I don't worry about it, but have noticed it over the years.
Re: Rolling direction - what can be said?
Thanks to everyone for chiming in. I love the range of answers.
I watched my horse today. I think he is using his neck differently depending on which direction he is trying to go. It's like he can recruit his neck completely in going from right to left but he can't seem to coordinate the neck movement to facilitate rolling from left to right.
I sometimes "crack" my horse's neck like you would crack knuckles just to see how many pops there are but I can't detect any larger ROM after having done so. I may need to sue myself for practicing chiropractic without a license. He can take it or leave it. I would say he is slightly stiffer in the neck when bending to the right which might explain some of his difficulty organizing the neck motion to go left to right.
I watched my horse today. I think he is using his neck differently depending on which direction he is trying to go. It's like he can recruit his neck completely in going from right to left but he can't seem to coordinate the neck movement to facilitate rolling from left to right.
I sometimes "crack" my horse's neck like you would crack knuckles just to see how many pops there are but I can't detect any larger ROM after having done so. I may need to sue myself for practicing chiropractic without a license. He can take it or leave it. I would say he is slightly stiffer in the neck when bending to the right which might explain some of his difficulty organizing the neck motion to go left to right.
Re: Rolling direction - what can be said?
I have a horse with some of the highest withers you've ever seen and he can get all the way over. I think it's a matter of how much they can twist laterally and arch their back if they can get over or not. He is able to arch a lot so he can get all the weight on the top of his butt and withers at the same time he can twist and throw his legs over.
He always goes down to roll with the left side down first and usually goes over to the right and back to the left again before he gets up. If he sleeps in his stall, he sleeps on his right side.
He always goes down to roll with the left side down first and usually goes over to the right and back to the left again before he gets up. If he sleeps in his stall, he sleeps on his right side.
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Re: Rolling direction - what can be said?
tlkidding wrote:I have a horse with some of the highest withers you've ever seen and he can get all the way over.
I'm quite sure that my high withered horses could roll all the way over, but they're just much less likely to do it than the flat withered ones. I suspect it may be an anxiety thing with some of them; they just don't want to take any chances that it might not turn out well so would much rather get up and down twice and feel safer.
My donkey has no withers and is really laid back, and he seems to actually like being upside down so he can scratch the top of his back. He and the mules tend to want to roll on the hard gravel driveway, while the more sensitive horses prefer softer ground.
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