Horses that don't roll

[annas]

Would you be worried if your horse did not roll?

I have had Red over 2 years but he has never really rolled, i think in that time i could count on one hand the number of times he has come in muddy. He lies down and gets up in the stable no problem. Also when he was out at night during the summer he would lie in the field. However i have never seen him roll. Even if i put him in his stable or field after a bath he doesn't roll.

Rolling i assume is quite normal behaviour to have a good scratch or get rid of the flies etc, so this does seem quite odd.

Has anyone else experienced this? Should i think it is a sign of something being wrong? Maybe uncomfortable when he twists in a roll? Or should i just count myself lucky that is comes in clean each day?


Reason i am asking this is because everytime i start work with him (after significant time off due to different reasons) he gets tight spots in his back. So it is an intensive course of physio and exercise to get his strength back again. This has happened about 4 times now but once he does get his strength back the physio sessions are less frequent and he seems much better. We have no idea why this happens, he has been assessed by vets and they found nothing wrong. So maybe he is just weak and tense when he starts work and improves with fitness. I am at a loss to be honest and fed up with having to start again (yet again!). I am also now trying to go down the different type of saddle route to see if that is related to the problem.

[ladyndibs]

My three do all roll but my smaller mare even though I've seen her roll a lot of the time she has no mud on her

[wills]

I have had my mare nearly a year and never once seen her roll or come in looking like she has rolled, maybe we are both lucky and we have "clean" horses ;D

[big e]

My cob rarely rolls he's far to lazy

[shan]

Mine does, but I've never seen her have a mutual groom with another horse. I wonder if that's odd?

[KoLaTo]

One of my friends TB's never rolls, never has done and she has had him since a baby, he also will not touch mud and positively hates going thru the gateway if it is muddy, he tiptoes through......

[portiabuzz]

Suppose some dont feel the urge to roll? My boy rolls all the time and always seems to pick the wettest muddiest spots possible lol ;-)

[donnalex]

I have heard it said in the past that a pony is worth another fifty guineas if it rolls right over instead of having to get up to get down again to roll on other side. I assume this is because old horsemen used to realise how free in the back they were if they relished having a good roll. I must admit I do like to seel them get down to roll and flip easily over to the other side. And I like to see them ping back on their feet easily too

[Deleted]

I would have sworn that Henry never laid down but the other liveries at my yard have told me he does lie down every afternoon, it's just he does it when I'm not there, when he's expecting me he's up ready and waiting in case I bring food

He must only like to lie in clean spots as Talin often has mud on one side where he's been lying down but Henry never does.