Any ideas? RH lameness

[Moon Dancer]

My horse is lame on the right hind. 2/10ths.
It began about two weeks ago, he started leaning on my right hand which he has never done before, he wasnt lame to start with, last week I didnt ride much due to the weather, when I rode on sat he didn't feel level behind.
Have had the vet out today, she flexion tested both hinds and was still 2/10ths. On a circle to the left he wasnt stepping through with the right hind in walk but wasn't so bad in trot, barely noticeable. To the right he was obviously uncomfortable and not bringing the right hind through well at all. He has a very localised sore point on his back, it is behind the saddle but in front of the sacroiliac so an unusual place to injure.
I have got to give him 7 days of anti imflammatories to try and help the pain in his back. The vet then wants to re look at him end of next week along with a physio.
Basically she said it could be something in the leg which has caused the back injury or the other way round, she isn't sure which at the moment.

Just wondered if any one had any experience or ideas as to what it may be! Bit of a long shot!

 

[Scatterbrain]

Bone spavin often causes horses to have a sore back due to way they compensate through their backs to avoid pressure on the sore hock(s).

 

[Moon Dancer]

Ok thank you. The sore back has significantly reduced since starting the bute but he is still lame on the right hind. Would bute help with a bone spavin?

 

[Moon Dancer]

The vet did say she thought the hock would be the most common place for the pain to be coming from but think she was a little but stumped due to the flexion test. She has the leg quite high and wide which she said he was able to do quite easily and trotted away no worse than before flexion. Would bone spavins make a horse more lame in a flexion test?

 

[NZJenny]

Any sign of him dragging the toe? If so, it may be stifle which uses the same flexion test as hock.

 

[Scatterbrain]

Flexion tests are not always 100% reliable IMO. Has your vet suggested nerve blocks to try to pinpoint the source of the lameness? Bone spavin is a very common cause of hind leg lameness and back problems can be secondary to this issue. Could well be stifle as per NZ Jenny's reply. Your horse requires a proper lameness workup.

 

[Moon Dancer]

Yeah they are going to nerve block but wanted to try and get the back more comfortable first. He is on bute for a week then reassess with vet and physio next week and will then go for nerve blocks. He does seem to be dragging his toes a little bit on the lunge but then he always has and is very lazy on the lunge.

 

[old hand]

bute doesn't usually work very well for bone pain in my experience. another sign for bone spavin is that if you lift the back leg up backwards ( stand behind the other one) it then bounces up again. I think it is the horse moving past the painful point. Also seems to give a good indication as to when they have set, they stop doing it. With a stifle backing them for eight to ten steps will often improve the lameness, if it clicks they often go sound. With a bone spavin they often do not load the leg squarely and show a twist at either the fetlock or the hock, or both. you can see it in walk quite clearly, just get someone to lead up on a level surface and don't let them prop the head up with the lead rope. If the hock and fetlock are loading squarely then it is probably higher up. Godd luck and hope you find it.

 

[NZJenny]

It depends on what is going on with the stifle, you could back mine to town and back and it would make no difference.

OP, I have two (by the same stallion) with partially upward fixating patellas. Both present with low grade lameness in the affected limb, and they drag that toe slightly. I mentioned it becuase when the first horse presented, I went a bit nuts trying to get a diagnosis but when you know what you are looking at it becomes quite obvious.

The stifle flexion test is the same as the one for the hock, but when mine get sore you actually see that the stifle isn't moving as it should. Good luck.

 

[Moon Dancer]

Thank you everyone for the replies. Hoping the nerve blocks will help to find where the problem is. I tried the lifting the leg up backwards and was no bouncing up wards but thats if I was doing it right. :/ also couldn't see a twist in the fetlock but again I am not exactly sure what I am looking for so may have missed it.

 

[Moon Dancer]

Just thought I would do a quick update. My horse had his back injected after the physio didn't completely rid the pain. Once he had had that done he was pretty much sound though still not completely right. Vet came and watched me ride, 100% sound in walk and trot, jumped into canter and was very bouncy in the canter. Vet nerve blocked sacroiliac and saw an improvement in the canter. He had that medicated nearly four weeks ago and has been completely sound and back to normal since! The injection lasts six to eight weeks so have to try and re train the muscles in that time so he has been back in full work for over three weeks.
Am hopeful that the problem is now resolved!