Excercising a lame horse

T

TwoStroke

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Long story short, my TB is turned away currently due to a hock problem (x ray was clean, so a soft tissue problem). In the past his left stifle has been a bit stiff and sticky, sometimes collapsing. This hasn't been a problem for over a year now, but over the last few weeks it has started again, probably due to no work and a flat field.

I'm considering walking him out in hand, to try and build some strength back up around the stifle. Would you do this with a lame horse? He's about 2/10ths lame when trotted on the hard, not noticably lame in walk. I don't believe it would make the lameness any worse, and it would also help his feet, which are possibly the cause of some of his numerous other issues.

I have reservations about walking out a lame horse, however.
 
Was the soft tissue problem not investigated? Was it scanned?

TBH if he is turned out, I can't see that walking out in hand would be any worse than that, but I'd want a diagnosis if its a year on and nothing has got better :)
 
The hock was not scanned. The problem emerged at the end of 3 months of box rest and shockwave for PSD (which seems to have worked). The horse came sound for a week before going lame again with this. Further box rest was not an option, so given a clean x ray I opted to turn away, and a scan at that point would have made no difference to that decision. It was a few months ago, so still some of the turn out left to go.

My vet is happy for this to be a judgement call, as there are arguments to support both courses of action, and he doesn't think walking out will make the horse worse. Should I choose to walk out, the horse's soundness will be closely monitored.
 
amymay said:
Go for it then. Quiet ambling would be fine, I'd have thought. Horse will soon tell you if it's not.
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Yes, seems obvious now I've written it all down :o. Guess I'm just worried that it will make him worse. But nothing ventured, and all that.
 
You should speak to your vet. Bute might be the answer. My vet is realistic if nothing else. My horse is 15 and has for the past 8 years being taking me jumping every weekend as well as eventing, and lots of hacking on the roads and fun rides. He has bone spavin, a suspensory ligament injury and coffin joint disease as well as some slight kissing spine damage. He is fine at the moment as he is learning to stretch, has had the coffin joints medicated and his hocks fused. But every now and then he does have periods of 'shortness' or slight lameness which the vet has said to treat with bute until he's over it.
I don't see any problem with this, I myself live on co-codamol and other things, there is no reason why my horse doesn't have this. I give him bute prior to competing him on surfaces where I know he might struggle but he does not always require this, my last ten outings with him I've buted him only four times.
My vet is sensible, reasonable and says I have two choices. I can either retire him or work him, and give him bute as and when he requires it. I know which one I would prefer and I know which one my horse would prefer too.
 
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