Grace is lame :(

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I have been a bit suspicious of Grace the past few days... (there is a post in veterinary about it)

I lunged her in her Maxwell halter on Wednesday and she just didn't seem to be stepping through with her left leg as much as her right. Our surface is woodchip so it does become slippery when lunging because they start leaning in, being silly etc etc and it simply gives way. Because of this she has fallen a few times, so I do think a bit of what I am seeing is because she is not confident on the surface.

Anyway, lunged her again last night and because I got her moving forwards from the very beginning, there were a few unlevel steps but the people who were watching suspected the same, that it had something to do with the surface.

However, when I have had lessons with Spencer, on one occasion he said he could see some tension in the left hand side when she did a turn. But it only happened twice in the whole hour and he said not to worry (hmmm, easier said than done) but to keep my eye on it. Because this lunging issue is the same leg, I decided to book her at the vets on Monday morning, more for peace of mind than anything else really.

So... I rode her this morning and was super sensitive to what was going on underneath me. I did over 40 mins of long and low and she was really swinging through her back, stepping under and for the last 10 mins I picked her up and she gave me the best ride I have ever experienced on her. Her shoulder just came straight up, she was really light in the contact, and her outline was absolutely outstanding!

Then, coming out of the school (it is a hard core track) she stumbled twice, only small ones, and then went really lame on the leg she stumbled on
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Does anyone have any suggestions for me as to what she could have done? She was completely sound in the school
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QR Is the leg she is lame on the left hind? Are you sure that the abcess has completely gone now ? At least you have booked the vet for monday,so can have some peace of mind...sorry, not much help but i have to say, my horse has fallen on that same arena too. good luck!
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You don't say which leg she stumbled on - same leg as has been causing problems? If not, perhaps bruised sole? The stumble could have been caused by stepping on something sharp. abscess?

Lack of stepping through evenly behind can be many things. Hock or stifle problems spring to mind, or maybe sacro-iliac issues. Or back/pelvis problems. Or simple straightness and strength issues which are so common with younger horses starting dressage. You've booked the vet for Monday so they will do a complete work-up and I'm sure you will get to the bottom of it.

Good luck!
 
sorry to read this hun
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At least you have the vet booked for monday. Is it the left hind that she stumbled on? Bloss was always weaker on her left hind than anyother and would often stumble on it.

Did you get off her and check she hadnt trodden on anything? And did you take off her saddle and then trot her up? Was she lame then? x
 
Sorry... no, it is the front left she stumbled on and is now lame on. The back one was completely fine last night and this morning... I think it was more a case of looking too hard, she wasn't moving forwards enough because of the surface and that caused a more laboured appearance. I would still like to have it checked just in case, but after the way she was stepping under this morning, I now very much doubt that there is anything there. She has been flexioned last month (because of the abscess) on all legs and nothing showed up.

It just came on all of a sudden this morning. She walked out of the school fine, stumbled and then was lame straight away
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Abscess has completely gone... farrier and vet were 100% happy with it and since she has not had any issues.
 
Hi hun!

I was walking her in hand when it happened. I walked her out of the school, she was fine. We turned around to close the gate, and she was still fine. Walked towards the drive along a hard core path and she was really striding out, then all of sudden she just stumbled twice in a row and walked out lame after that
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It is her front left she is lame on.

It was her left hind I was concerned about yesterday but I had a trainer who was teaching someone else and my friend (she is very keen on lameness) both laugh at me and wonder what the hell I was worried about! I am still going to have it looked at, just to make sure, but like I say i think that was more because she was not trotting forwards and therefore looked a little unlevel.
 
I might be (and hope I am) well off the mark here but my horse's navicular problems started in a very similar way - tripping and going lame. Then being fine for weeks, then unlevel, not quite lame. Then lame again etc.
Really sorry to hear about this but hopefully it won't be anything too bad - fingers crossed for the vet finding the cause quickly.
 
Oh no... please please don't let it be navicular!!! She is only 6 and has such a big career in front of her. Feel like crying now
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It is the first time she has ever been lame on this foot (only other lameness was caused by an abscess)...
 
She looked to be walking out much better when I just nipped up to look at her in the field...

Can standing on something sharp have that much of a reaction?
 
Becki,
Im so sorry to hear this. Have you thought about the gel pads in her front shoes? Its expensive but you could try it? Speak to your farrier. It helped my lammi pony out when she was shod with them. She was stumbling alot and it helped her loads.
 
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It might as well be something very different. By the way, my experience with navicular in early stages is that it is a very managable problem and mustn't mean end of her career at all (even if she has some changes).
try not too worry - she may have just tweaked something when she tripped and earlier unlevel steps on other leg could have been muscular...?
Does she have a strong digital pulse on the leg affected? If so, it could mean some white line bruising? Is she consistently lame now in every step (navicular gives weird sort of lameness sometimes - few good steps, then a lame one etc).
 
She is consistently lame on it (well she was when I walked her out straight after she tripped) and remained that way while I turned her out in the field. But just popped up now and she looks, dare I say it, much better.
 
From everything I have ever read about Grace, she seems to be an incredibly sensitive person. She could have trodden on a protruding sharp piece of hardcore - twice - and severely bruised her foot! Easily done!! I wouldn't start worrying yourself about navicular!!!!!!
 
Can do, I have one that has a tendancy to have thin soles, god help him if he treads on a bit of too hard mud! he's then on three legs! some react differently to others, remember it only has to catch them in a particularly sensitive spot and yes they will show a severe reaction. Especially if they have bruised it, then if they tread on something again in the same spot the Ouch reaction kicks in. Fingers crossed it is only a bruised sole.
 
if my mare stumbles wrong or stands on a rock she goes lame instantly - you'd honestly think her foot was falling off!

if its not hot or anything i tend to give her 24h to 'get over it' and a couple of light days and *touch wood* its always been fine.

some horses are more sensitive to small tweaks/pulls/stones than others
 
not beeing rude... but is it down to her confromation and beening senstive????????? do you feel and reading your other posting??? or am i way off line - I don't want to be rude as she is sweetie and you're doing so well-just an idea?????
 
I don't think so, although it did cross my mind (hence the post).

She has never been lame on it before and I have owned her for almost a year now. Surely if it was because of this, there would have been some indication before now?
 
errr i only ask cos if she very sensitive and you've worked on hardish ground or surface, or near new shoes time, it could have and effect on balence and then you just need a little thing to push over edge????
just some tlc for rider, then gg - i hope she gets better quick
 
I don't know... maybe I am being an idiot thinking a £2,500 horse could ever get to where I dream she could do. The saying is you get what you pay for
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She does need her feet doing, and is due on tuesday (6 weeks) but I am considering dropping it to 5 weeks because they have really grown this time and looked ready to do at the beginning of this week.

I have never had any problems with her front legs, and the only one I have had issues with was her back one with the abscess. Other than that she has always been sound... It was just strange how she walked out really forwards and normal and then just suddenly stumbled and went lame after it
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er..................

don't be DAFT!!! horses can do very nicely and go far with small about of dishing, it's just finding correct management, and learning curve, DON'T BEAT yourself up about it

i would suggest that you've hit nail on head about shoeing, i would have chat to farrier and seek his opionion

Just go buy some more cotton wool and i'm sure that folks on here would rip their right arm to have your horse
 
DO NOT PANIC!!!

Remember a few weeks ago I found P hopping lame on her foreleg after a new gelding was turned out in her field? Well, I really thought she had done something wickedly bad, but after 24hrs (and 4 loads of cold hosing) she was much better and we put it down to her tweaking something - have had no probs since, so PLEASE do not worry, I would think she has a) stood on something or b) tweaked something - reserve judgement at least until tomorrow honey xxx
 
Yep, my lad is a complete wuss and once or twice has gon ehopping hame for a few strides after stepping on something sharp, always seems to sort itself out by the time i have got off a led him home though! (Hmm maybe he just can't be arsed to carry me any more!)
 
[ QUOTE ]
I don't know... maybe I am being an idiot thinking a £2,500 horse could ever get to where I dream she could do. The saying is you get what you pay for
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[/ QUOTE ]

Becki, that could be the stupidest thing I've ever heard you say!
Horses are horses... whether you pay £200, £2000 or £20,000 for them they are still easily broken, and know horse is worth a fortune immediately. Breeding aside, its the level of training/success that puts a large price tag on the expensive horses - they were just like Grace once upon a time. You paid a 'small' amount of money for Grace because of the work she needed... not because she's got a limit on her potential. She's now worth much more than what you paid for her, so why do you keep getting hung up on her original price?

Anyway... hope it's nothing sinister.
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Try not to worry too much, it could be something very minor. My mare stood on a stone on a hack and was hopping lame all the way home but was fine the next day
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I think with the weather gone so dry after being wet for so long their feet are drying out and becoming quite sensitive and they're feeling the hard ground a lot more. My older boy got gel pads on him when the ground was hard in the spring and they made a huge difference to him. See how she is tomorrow and get the farrier or vet out if she's still sore.
 
Becki,
STOP panicking, like many others have said that she probably has just tweaked something and will no doubt be sound tomorrow.

As for her back leg it could just be the surface, especially as no one else has noticed it and you have been getting some great results.
Out arena at the yard is horrid, it has got so deep with all the flooding and the surface has moved all over the shop. The result being Honey going so badly in there I just don't go in there anymore. She goes all short and choppy.

Trot her up tonight and see what she is like.
 
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