Advice: Horse with bad back legs

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Elkos2002

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Ok so i have a 16.3 tbx gelding 12 year old. He has always been brilliant in the stable, on the ground and under saddle. He has been slightly stiff in his right hind leg for a while however this has recently got alot worse. Both his back legs now have a limited range of motion. When walking, trotting and cantering his back legs hardly bend.

Recently when we have been picking his feet out he has started grabbing them off you and also bucking and kicking when people try to stretch him out. I have noticed a small muscle in his hind leg which is slighty inflamed however it goes down once he has been stretched and also he can move alot more freely once stretched.

I need advice on what to do as i don't want to call a vet out if i don't need to. Can any suggest any therapy, supplements or anything else that may help?

Thank you,
:)
 
You need to have him checked out by a vet asap, I wouldn't be riding or exercising him, you need to get him checked out as swiftly as possible. Hope all goes ok with the vet. x
 
Sorry to say I can not understand why you dont want to get a vet when your horse is clearly struggling ,getting worse, please call the vet I know some times it may be down to the cost and if thats the reason ask the vet if you can pay by instalments .
 
You need to get the vet out ASAP, something is really wrong. I'd call now or tomorrow, it could be (and unfortunately probably is) something really serious.

Hope he'll be OK, and it's not too serious x
 
We have had a similar problem with our 17 yr old gelding. We had the vet out, he put the horse on a bite trial and we discussed hock injections. At the follow up visit he was much improved and have decided to stick with the bute.
You need the vet to examine him and to take the advice given.
 
Please get the vet. Worst case he'll be diagnosed with something definitive and you can start treatment (so he feels better), best case nothing is seriously wrong and you can stop worrying.
 
i have no problem with the cost of the vet however i spoke to some people on the yard who said it will just be the cold and there is no need to be worried, however i am getting the vet out as he has not improved. He hasn't been exercised for a while now as i am not comfortable with it. Thank you for the help.
 
Elkos2002 said:
i have no problem with the cost of the vet however i spoke to some people on the yard who said it will just be the cold and there is no need to be worried, however i am getting the vet out as he has not improved. He hasn't been exercised for a while now as i am not comfortable with it. Thank you for the help.
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Hope all goes well with the vet. It's unlikely to be the cold.
Please keep us updated x
 
I have to say I am suprised (or maybe not) by the comments from some of the posters on here who are clearly irate at this OP. Can you not tell the poster is a young person (possibly 12 years of age judging by their siggy), and are unsure of what to do? He/She has come on here seeking advice and are obviously not getting the advice they need from their peers at their yard. Lets have some patience with these youngsters!!!

Elkos 2002 - your horse has probably got a touch of spavin or something. His joints might just need a steroid injection and change of surface to ride on, or further down the line he may need further treatment (if it is bone spavin) with remedial shoeing, a decent joint supplement with MSM and/or bute or maybe even Tildren/fusion.

I doubt it will have anything to do with the cold. Yes horses may be a little stiffer with the cold but those are normally horses that already show signs of arthritis or have some other predisposing problem.

See what the vet says- he may want to arrange for a lameness workup which will be an in depth lunge and trot up on a hard surface session to see what he initially thinks before deciding whether to take x-rays to confirm his diagnosis.

Try not to worry too much, but its best to get a diagnosis if you can because then you can treat it properly and cost effectively. x
 
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applecart14 said:
I have to say I am suprised (or maybe not) by the comments from some of the posters on here who are clearly irate at this OP. Can you not tell the poster is a young person (possibly 12 years of age judging by their siggy), and are unsure of what to do? He/She has come on here seeking advice and are obviously not getting the advice they need from their peers at their yard. Lets have some patience with these youngsters!!!

Elkos 2002 - your horse has probably got a touch of spavin or something. His joints might just need a steroid injection and change of surface to ride on, or further down the line he may need further treatment (if it is bone spavin) with remedial shoeing, a decent joint supplement with MSM and/or bute or maybe even Tildren/fusion.

I doubt it will have anything to do with the cold. Yes horses may be a little stiffer with the cold but those are normally horses that already show signs of arthritis or have some other predisposing problem.

See what the vet says- he may want to arrange for a lameness workup which will be an in depth lunge and trot up on a hard surface session to see what he initially thinks before deciding whether to take x-rays to confirm his diagnosis.

Try not to worry too much, but its best to get a diagnosis if you can because then you can treat it properly and cost effectively. x
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This sort of post annoys me. Why go into detail about steroid injections etc when you are not a vet? You haven't diagnosed this horse and if the poster IS a child, then it will only probably put the fear of God into them thinking it's going to cost their parents a fortune. The sensible advice would simply be - get a vet and see what they say.
 
Moomin1 said:
This sort of post annoys me. Why go into detail about steroid injections etc when you are not a vet? You haven't diagnosed this horse and if the poster IS a child, then it will only probably put the fear of God into them thinking it's going to cost their parents a fortune. The sensible advice would simply be - get a vet and see what they say.
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Deep breath......I didn't say I was a vet and have never proclaimed to be one, and start a lot of my posts with the words "I'm not a vet but". However speaking from experience I've had a horse with similiar symptoms which proved to be spavin. It could be 101 other things but it sounds to me like spavin. It is only my suggestion. If you read my reply I DID suggest to get the vet and do a lameness workup. I also said don't worry to much. I emphasied your horse PROBABLY has a TOUCH of spavin or SOMETHING.

I think I gave good advice given the information we were given, and I didn't say what one poster said which was "You need to get the vet out ASAP, something is really wrong. I'd call now or tomorrow, it could be (and unfortunately probably is) something really serious."

Funny how you haven't jumped on them like you have me! I am only trying to help the OP. Get your claws in.

I am guessing she is only young Equi Equestrian 556 because of the way her post is worded and because of her siggy stating the year 2002, but then her horse is 12 so that might be why. Like my house number is 14, which is why I am Applecart 14. But whether she is 12, or 16 or even twice that age, she is asking a question and deserves to be treated with a little respect like the rest of us on here.

why the hell do I have to justify myself all the time to the minority anyway?????

Thank you.
 
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applecart14 said:
Deep breath......I didn't say I was a vet and have never proclaimed to be one, and start a lot of my posts with the words "I'm not a vet but". However speaking from experience I've had a horse with similiar symptoms which proved to be spavin. It could be 101 other things but it sounds to me like spavin. It is only my suggestion. If you read my reply I DID suggest to get the vet and do a lameness workup. I also said don't worry to much. I emphasied your horse PROBABLY has a TOUCH of spavin or SOMETHING.

I think I gave good advice given the information we were given, and I didn't say what one poster said which was "You need to get the vet out ASAP, something is really wrong. I'd call now or tomorrow, it could be (and unfortunately probably is) something really serious."

Funny how you haven't jumped on them like you have me! I am only trying to help the OP. Get your claws in.

I am guessing she is only young Equi Equestrian 556 because of the way her post is worded and because of her siggy stating the year 2002, but then her horse is 12 so that might be why. Like my house number is 14, which is why I am Applecart 14. But whether she is 12, or 16 or even twice that age, she is asking a question and deserves to be treated with a little respect like the rest of us on here.

why the hell do I have to justify myself all the time to the minority anyway?????

Thank you.
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I wasn't trying to be nasty in the least, just stating my opinion re the OP's age :) I think what you have said was very good advice :)

I did treat the OP with respect, and I'm sorry if it didn't sound that way OP, as I never intended for it to sound 'scary' or nasty x
 
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MileAMinute said:
By that logic, that means you were born in 2014... :D
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No MileAMinute. Like I explained in my post, my house number is 14...... :) Never mind :)

EquiEquestrian556, sorry I think my reply has misled somewhat.... I wasn't referring you you not treating the OP with respect it was the one that said "get the vet for goodness sake" or words to that effect, along with the others who said much the same thing. Although I do think I was a little gentler in my reply to her than you :) which is why I am a little perplexed by Moomin's response to my reply in the first place, but never mind.


Just feel sorry for the OP who is asking a question because she wants help and just gets lambasted. Lets just hang draw and quarter her instead! :(
 
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applecart14 said:
No MileAMinute. Like I explained in my post, my house number is 14...... :) Never mind :)

EquiEquestrian556, sorry I think my reply has misled somewhat.... I wasn't referring you you not treating the OP with respect it was the one that said "get the vet for goodness sake" or words to that effect, along with the others who said much the same thing. Although I do think I was a little gentler in my reply to her than you :) which is why I am a little perplexed by Moomin's response to my reply in the first place.

But then there's none so queer as folk....
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It's not just your response Applecart, I said 'posts like this', meaning in general (so yes, that includes the ones who say that it's probably something serious). I just read yours and responded to yours. I'm not saying for one second your advice is wrong - you may well be completely right, but there's absolutely no point in suggesting what treatment may or may not be needed for a horse which hasn't even been diagnosed as yet. That is what I meant. It's a bug bear of mine because it does tend to put preconceived ideas in people's heads if they happen to google symptoms, and then you get people trying to tell the vet their own job. But then I get seriously irked by posts which ask what could be wrong with someone's horse without a vet having seen them yet anyway, so that's just me. :)
 
applecart14 said:
No MileAMinute. Like I explained in my post, my house number is 14...... :) Never mind :)
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Apologies, clearly didn't see that bit, although could have sworn it wasn't there when I replied...strange. Anyway, the crux of the matter is, the OP asked what would help. The majority replied with the vet. I don't see the issue. Fail to see any hang, draw and quartering, either. I must be blind tonight!
 
I'm afraid I would have been calling the vet as soon as went stiff in the first place - if you had known what was going on then, you would have a better idea of how it would progress, what to expect and the likely timescale. Now you are likely to have a much bigger bill and your horse has been living in pain for no good reason.
 
Elkos2002 said:
When walking, trotting and cantering his back legs hardly bend.
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This means horse needs to see a vet, cold or not, at the very least so you have an idea of what is going on, if exercise will help or not etc etc. I am not convinced on the observation of inflammation in a small muscle either OP, I think you might be seeing something else.

I agree Moomin, although the OP did ask for therapy/supplement ideas I think it unwise to start going into the multitude of treatments available for a horse which has not seen a vet yet let alone had a diagnosis which could be any of number of things at this point. If the OP wants any experience of various treatments suggested by the vet then it would be better for that to occur after diagnosis :) whether that be physical or medical therapy.

I note this was posted on the 16th so hopefully OP has called the vet now anyway :).
 
Lets be honest - no 12 year old girl should be in sole charge of any horse anyway!
Surely there will be an adult about somewhere keeping an eye on them??

I'm sure the Forum has an age limit doesn't it? if it doesn't then why not!!
 
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