Front feet resistance.

[Pippa Stw]

Good afternoon all.
My young stallion, 5years, has a reluctance to lift his front feet.
We bought him with a clean bill of health and only on picking out his feet for the first time did I notice he had this .
It's got much better and 2 FEI vets have told me he will grow out of the reaction to the discomfort.
It's not his back and it has been suggested to me that it may be his lymphatic system and kidneys so I have put him on a supplement to help this and it is helping..however is there anything else I can do to help this reaction? I don't believe he's on pain but it's not normal for a horse to resist so much?
I look forward to your comments and any suggestions are greatly received.
Regards, P.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

We have a mare who panics if the farrier starts a trim with her front feet. If he starts with a back foot, he is fine and then he can move onto her front feet with no problem. Would this approach help you?

 

[Pippa Stw]

He's perfect with his back feet.. he only resists when you try to lift a front..doesn't matter where you start. Thank you .

 

[Arzada]

What is your process when trying to lift a front foot?

 

[Pippa Stw]

What you mean? The way I have been lifting a horse's leg for 40 years . ?

 

[ycbm]

Have you tried him with pain relief to see if it makes a difference? That sounds like a pain reaction to me in a well handled five year old.

The commonest source would probably be early laminitis, have the vets had sole testers on him?

If not, I would be very cautious about spring grass until you've got to the bottom if the issue.

.

 

[Pippa Stw]

Thanks ycbm... I've had 2 FEI vets here to look at him.. neither mentioned laminitis.. surely this would only be apparent in older horses? If it were laminitis would he not be lame.. he's not lame or shows any signs of it but I will mention the sole testers to my vet.. many thanks.

 

[Arzada]

What you mean? The way I have been lifting a horse's leg for 40 years . ?

It was a genuinely intentioned question. I don't know how you have being lifting feet at all let alone for 40 years. AFAIK there is not one textbook way of lifting a foot. I thought that if you explained how you lift a foot then people could make suggestions of ways that they use. I could make some suggestions but if you're already doing it in a way I might suggest then it wouldn't be useful to you or to me.

 

[ycbm]

Thanks ycbm... I've had 2 FEI vets here to look at him.. neither mentioned laminitis.. surely this would only be apparent in older horses? If it were laminitis would he not be lame.. he's not lame or shows any signs of it but I will mention the sole testers to my vet.. many thanks.

I have found that vets often miss laminitis until a horse is lame. If you keep ridden barefoot horses you quickly realise that the first sign is being unhappy on surfaces they were happy on last week. Taking the foot away quickly if they tread on a stone, for example.

Picking up one front foot puts a heck of a load onto the other. I would want to test your horse with a few days bute, and if it helps then explore the possibility of very early stage laminitis first and pain somewhere else if that is ruled out.

I'm confused why you think laminitis can't happen in a 5 year old? Unless they have Cushings, laminitis doesn't discriminate by age as far as I know. I've known several horses of 5 or under get it.
.

 

[paddy555]

is he shod? presumably not if he won't pick his fronts up.
I would suggest standing his front feet on a very padded surface. Say a couple of layers of soft matting or something similar. Then try. If he is in pain you may find he will give you a foot if the other is on a soft surface and not in pain.

It is difficult to tell if you have a stallion who is dictating the issue (and I have had one but there were problems picking up any foot) or a horse in pain and if so that pain I would suggest could well be low grade laminitis.
You said he came with a clean bill of health. Was he vetted and if so how did the vet get along picking the fronts up?

You could test the laminitis theory by keeping him off grass for a few days and then trying to pick a foot up. By then he should be out of pain and it should be easier.

If you twist the chestnut on the leg you want picked up he will probably pick the foot up. However you would need to take into account pain in the other standing foot. If you did this you may be able to see him flinch and become very uncomfortable if he was in pain. Alternatively he may just give in if he is not in pain.

 

[Pippa Stw]

I have found that vets often miss laminitis until a horse is lame. If you keep ridden barefoot horses you quickly realise that the first sign is being unhappy on surfaces they were happy on last week. Taking the foot away quickly if they tread on a stone, for example.

Picking up one front foot puts a heck of a load onto the other. I would want to test your horse with a few days bute, and if it helps then explore the possibility of very early stage laminitis first and pain somewhere else if that is ruled out.

I'm confused why you think laminitis can't happen in a 5 year old? Unless they have Cushings, laminitis doesn't discriminate by age as far as I know. I've known several horses of 5 or under get it.
.

Is laminitis not a result of bad management when it comes to food and or grazing?

 

[Pippa Stw]

is he shod? presumably not if he won't pick his fronts up.
I would suggest standing his front feet on a very padded surface. Say a couple of layers of soft matting or something similar. Then try. If he is in pain you may find he will give you a foot if the other is on a soft surface and not in pain.

It is difficult to tell if you have a stallion who is dictating the issue (and I have had one but there were problems picking up any foot) or a horse in pain and if so that pain I would suggest could well be low grade laminitis.
You said he came with a clean bill of health. Was he vetted and if so how did the vet get along picking the fronts up?

You could test the laminitis theory by keeping him off grass for a few days and then trying to pick a foot up. By then he should be out of pain and it should be easier.

If you twist the chestnut on the leg you want picked up he will probably pick the foot up. However you would need to take into account pain in the other standing foot. If you did this you may be able to see him flinch and become very uncomfortable if he was in pain. Alternatively he may just give in if he is not in pain.

Yes he's shod... He will pick up his feet for us but it's just a resistance ..he's completely relaxed behind and becomes relaxed sometimes in front.