Can lameness by psycoligical?

B

Bens_Mum

Well-Known Member
Joined
30 September 2008
Messages
1,118
Visit site
Do you believe that a horse can be bridle lame or have a psycoligical issue that after an injury makes them lame when they are no longer in pain?
There is a horse on the yard which had an operation on a tendon lesion and completed all rehab and laser treatment. He has had physio and the dentist to check all avenues are covered. The horse initially was sound when not ridden in a contact but would immediately become lame if a contact was taken. Now after being ridden regulalrly is sound in the contact if relaxed but the minute anything caused stress or anxiety it becomes 'Lame' like its learned behavior.
Does anyone have any experience of this and if so how did you overcome it? If not maybe we need to go back to the vets again...?
 
I dont think that it is necessarily psychological but if an action is repeated often enough, then neural pathways are formed in the brain, much like a human who can drive a car without much thinking. Anyone who has broken a leg may still have a limp weeks after the cast has been removed. It will take patience and retraining but will disappear providing there are no other underlying problems.
 
Bens_Mum said:
Do you believe that a horse can be bridle lame or have a psycoligical issue that after an injury makes them lame when they are no longer in pain?
There is a horse on the yard which had an operation on a tendon lesion and completed all rehab and laser treatment. He has had physio and the dentist to check all avenues are covered. The horse initially was sound when not ridden in a contact but would immediately become lame if a contact was taken. Now after being ridden regulalrly is sound in the contact if relaxed but the minute anything caused stress or anxiety it becomes 'Lame' like its learned behavior.
Does anyone have any experience of this and if so how did you overcome it? If not maybe we need to go back to the vets again...?
Click to expand...

No I don't believe a horse can be psychologically lame. It is more likely that he becomes stressed when the pain starts rather than the other way around. However, they can be mechanically lame in the absence of pain.
 
"Muscle memory" does exist in humans, so probably does in horses too. If it is the case here I would try spending some time just hacking in walk, on a loose rein, let the horse tell you when he is ready to go up a gear and when he wants to slow down again and if possible let him tackle inclines and undulating ground so he has to use himself fully at a slow pace. This should help psychologically and also physically if he has any slight adhesions or tension in his body from compensating from the injury. A good physio/massage therapist could also pinpoint and treat any tight areas in his body. Sometimes humans and horses take longer to recover from traumas than the experts think they should. We 'look' healed but we do not 'feel' it (personal experience talking here!)
 
Who knows and who can even begin to judge with seeing such a horse however if the tendon is showing no sign of pain when squeezed by the vet my next port of call would be working up with a equine physio the lameness is not necessarily coming from that tendon it may well be muscular or even from the spine or neck these things can appallingly difficult to tease out do I think the horse thinks it hurts no I don't, something hurts its just a question of what.
 
I suppose its possible, even though I'd firstly have to be 100% sure it wasn't physical. And even then I think it would be a learned behavior. I know a pony who years ago had a bad laminitis attack. Whilst on the mend, he went in a small bare paddock, reached by a short gravelled path, with a strip of grass in the centre. Of course, he was always walked on the grass, & at that time was still short striding. Years later, although fine anywhere else, that particular stretch he will only walk on the grass, & doesn't move forward like anywhere else. I would guess its a learned behavior, same as any other habits we teach our horses, like if you always trot in the same place etc.
 
There is more evidence to suggest that horses hide pain and lameness until it becomes too much.

In the wild, showing pain and lameness is to mark you out as food to a predator.

It certainly makes sense how horses can carry on with minor injuries unknown, until they become a catastrophic failure somewhere.

I would suggest that the horse is in pain - and the professionals haven't got to the bottom of it properly.

Sadly that is more likely than the horse is faking it :(.
 
one of mine got a nail in his foot that caused abscessing and infection to spread up the leg. It was treated and after a long time the vet insisted he should be sound although as always he trotted up lame.
Next time we trotted him up in hand he was lame. Then a group of cattle went past him. His greatest love in life was driving cattle, sheep and ponies. He took one look at the cattle and he was off. Different horse.
I grabbed some tack and followed the cows. We drove them all over the common and the horse went over everything. Extremely happy and sound.
He really worked. He just could not have done it if he had been lame.
I expected him to be hopping the next morning. Not a bit of it.
I didn't analyse it but something, for him the cattle, broke the spell and we were back to normal.
I don't think he was faking being lame just that he had got into that mindset and needed something to get him out of it.

OP, why don't they just forget the contact, take the horse out and let him have some gentle fun and see how he gets on. I'm sure it will be pretty obvious if he still has a problem. (provided the vet agrees of course)
 
Oberon said:
There is more evidence to suggest that horses hide pain and lameness until it becomes too much.

In the wild, showing pain and lameness is to mark you out as food to a predator.

It certainly makes sense how horses can carry on with minor injuries unknown, until they become a catastrophic failure somewhere.

I would suggest that the horse is in pain - and the professionals haven't got to the bottom of it properly.

Sadly that is more likely than the horse is faking it :(.
Click to expand...

Agree with this. A horse is far less likely to show pain in stressful situations than they are in relaxed situations, so I think that the fact that the limp comes on when the horse is stressed could not possibly be because he is faking it. In addition, it is well known that horses in pain often become more spooky. The spookiness often resolves itself when the pain is addressed.
 
Thanks all. Today took him out for a lovely hack walked sound for three miles ears forwards walked up and down hills perfectly. Went in school after walked fine in circles in a contact! Last week couldn't walk consistently sound anywhere so something is improving. He saw the physio last week who was happy with him. Will just keep walking he's enjoying it even if we don't get any further ....
 
It can take a long time. My mare took three years to come sound from a shoulder tendon injury. I had actually retired her, and never expected to ever sit on her again. But she had other ideas. The vets were shocked. They had said she may never even be field sound.
 
Thanks for that! Its cheered me up a bit. He's only ten and lovely so its a real shame he's had hoof packs fitted last week so maybe they are helping now. I don't have great ambitions for him ao wl give it time
 
Not relevant to the OP, but as a general observation and as I am obsessed - I see all kinds of hooves, some in remedial shoes, that professionals state are fine....but which I can only describe as hideously deformed and sick.

I wonder at how on earth anyone could look at such hooves and not consider they could be the problem :confused:.
 
No, lameness can't be psychological. Bridle lameness isn't technically lameness, its a horse evading working through from behind into the contact. A lame horse will be lame with or without contact.

I don't believe in remembered pain either. Sometimes horses, like people need to get muscles going again and will need to push through the discomfort in order to improve, but the discomfort is genuine and not imaginary.

They simply aren't cunning enough to fake lameness.
 
I don't believe that a horse can "fake" pain, but I do think they remember when something has caused pain. ie a horse who has a bad back from a poorly fitting saddle for example, may remember this even when they have a good fitting saddle put on, and may still react in the same way until they realise the pain isn't actually there. I think if they're used to something being wrong they sort of expect it to carry on being wrong. So if they carry themselves differently for a long period to time in order to avoid the pain, I think it's possible that they may continue carrying themselves the same way even after the issue has been resolved until they realise that it doesn't hurt.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top