Grace is still lame

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_jetset_

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I went down this morning, walked her out and could see she was still lame even in walk. I asked her for a few strides of trot (just to analyse whether there was any difference to yesterday) and she was no better and no worse. So I am beginning to feel very negative about what it could be.

For those who did not read my post yesterday, I worked Grace in the school for around 50 minutes and she went better than she has ever gone! I was positively beaming, and was that impressed with her canter that I even phoned my husband because I needed to tell someone.

Then walked her out of the school (in hand) and she was striding out. Suddenly she stumbled, and then went really lame
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I spoke to the vet this morning and she said to keep her in on box rest and see how she is tomorrow. But from how lame she was this morning I do not think there will be much change tomorrow.

What on earth could she have done when she tripped???

There is no heat in her foot, her legs don't feel warmer than usual (she always has quite warm legs) and there is a small squidgy lump near her tendon but there is no heat to it and it could have always been there (could be a vein) and I have just never noticed it!

I feel completely fed up about it all... I don't think there has been two consecutive months that I have not had to get the vet out to Grace. In the past three months she has been out of work with her abscess, stitches in her shoulder and now this! I don't seem able to really get her going without something breaking her training! I am beginning to wonder whether I have bought a horse that is never going to reach her potential through injury
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I'm beginning to wonder whether I should just give her some time off competing and not put as much pressure on her... start thinking about competing and schooling again at the beginning of next year.
 
TBH Becki, it doesn't sound as if it's her work or competing that has made her lame. You know how easily a human can put their back out, try rolling over on a sofa
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I'd have her checked by an osteopath/physio as it doesn't sound like her legs.

What's she like turning in circles. Can you stand behind her and make sure everything is straight/Symmetrical?
 
You could always try giving her a month off to let her be a horse. She has come such a long way in the past year, maybe she just needs time to strengthen up, shes a big horse and they usually take longer to mature.

Dont beat yourself up, shes only young and has her whole life ahead of her. Gin's 11 and is in her prime. She has taken 5 years to grow into her brain.
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Becki, she couldve seriously bruised her foot and that could be why shes like she is.
Whens your farrier coming out next? Ask him to see if he can put those gel pads in her fronts see if that helps
 
She has only recently had her back etc checked and all was fine. She looks straight from behind, and she turns on a circle normally without the lame steps. It definitely looks like something in her near fore leg because of the way she is walking on it. It doesn't look as high up as her shoulder, but then I could be wrong
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Touch her feet and compare all round are they hot or is one hotter than the others? I know loads of horses this year have had pussy feet or corns due to weather.
 
I was really reluctant to give her time off because she has only been in work since November/December last year and has had time off in between for injury (including 3 weeks off with an abscess). She does not do well with no work and all that muscle I have worked so hard to get on her will just fall off. She is 6, so really she should be physically mature enough to do the work I am asking of her. Mentally, she is a bit behind, but she has never once showed me that she was not dealing it with very well.

I just don't know what to do!
 
The farrier is due on Tuesady morning... To be honest, she has gone 6 weeks as she always does, but they looked ready to do last week and this week just look a real mess!

How much extra are the gel pads?
 
£75 comes to mind when we had our lammi pony had them, either that or you could get him to put leather pads under her shoes, they can work out cheaper and do the same job.
 
At least she was sound when it mattered at the Areas!! It's so frustrating when this happens isnt it. This happened with one of my horses, turned out to be an abcess. Hope the vet can throw some light on things on Monday.
 
I wanted the vets to focus on something else though, which is so frustrating. It looks as though they will have to focus on the front lameness rather than the hind which I have been concerned about
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But I don't think it would be very accurate with the lameness in the front...

I just feel incredibly fed up because we were really getting some stunning work out of her this past few weeks and she is half qualified for the regionals so had some really big hopes for her over the next few weeks.
 
suppose so, but at least they can have a check over her whilst theyre there. fingers crossed that shes just got a minor thing wrong like a bruised foot, you can get something to help her eg gel or leather pads and that with time it will vanish then you will be able to get her going and competing again.
Come over and ride my big bird for me! youll love her! you can try and qualify her for the regionals.
 
Have you tried doing any foot test on her - pair of pincers just to test the sole of her foot? Sounds like it may be a bruise or maybe a knock to the heel?? I would try and hose down both the foot and the leg just incase, it may help ease a little of the pain she is feeling

Normally if its tendon/ligament you will get heat, swelling etc and she obviously doesnt have any of that. It will be useful to see if where she is on box rest that if there is any other swelling this evening/tomorrow morning
 
I don't have any pincers to do the test with, otherwise it would have been one of the first things I would have done due to the nature of how she went lame. I was planning on hosing it tonight when I went back (thought I would leave it til then to see whether there is any heat tonight).

There was some swelling on both front legs but that could have been because her and another mare were looning around the field yesterday (I was uimming and ahhing about whether to put her out yesterday morning, now I wish I had kept her in
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) so will be interesting to see what they are like tonight as usually they would have both gone down just being in her stable walking around as she has a 16ft stable.

I couldn't feel any heat on one leg more than another... she does have quite warm legs, they are never freezing cold, but there was no difference between the one she is lame on and her back one for example.

Can they tweak a tendon through a stumble in walk?

I have never come across tendon injuries and such, so I am very much learning as I go when it comes to things like this.
 
Give it a go with your fingers if you dont have pincers, if she is sore even with your fingers you may feel her pull away from you a little if she is feeling it

Any tendon injuries I have seen/dealt with have all given out swelling/heat very quickly, and the day after the incident been pretty hopping lame - both were done on XC events

I'd be very suprised if she has managed to do it in walk, give it a cold hose tonight and then keep your fingers crossed for tomorrow/monday
 
Thanks machannah... She is not 'hopping' lame. She is putting weight on it, but there is a subtle nod in walk (perhaps because I know her walk more than others I spotted it immediately) and a very obvious nod in trot. But she will put weight on it when I ask to pick up her off fore and like I said there was no difference in heat between her front leg and her back one.

However, there looked to be a small swelling near to the tendon, but this could always have been there and be nothing more than a vein. It's only when you start really looking for something that you spot little marks isn't it, you become almost paranoid! You even start to feel heat where there isn't any
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Ahhh the imaginary heat, which seems to appear after you have touched the leg about 10 times....funny how we forget that our hands are hot and maybe we have made it feel warm!
 
I'd wait to see what the vet says but my mare (Lottie) kept on going lame, then coming sound, then going lame, etc last year. Had vet out and he said it might be an absess. Polticed her and it wasn't. She got a little better so he said to get farrier out and for him to take a look. Got farrier out and he put leather pads on her front feet (cost £5 extra). And she came sound
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shes been sound up until 3 weeks ago when she went very unsound. Turns out that her leather pads had set like concrete due to the wet and then dry weather
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Had them changed and shes sound again, so they do work and got my mare sound when the vet didn't know what was wrong with her.
 
Thanks _Claire_... there is no change tonight at all.

I have cold hosed it for 10 minutes, washed all her foot out with antibacterial wash and there was a darker area which could be a bit of bruising, however it could not be anything at all.
 
I would be very suprised if it was a tendon injury or something to do with the leg.

Just remembered about Yo's horse. Hes a sensitive soul, goes hopping lame if he loses a shoe. Well last year he suddenly went lame. Vet tested for an absess, checked feet and legs and couldnt find anything wrong. They couldnt understand what was wrong. YO took him for x-rays and they said he had the cleanest x-rays vet had ever seen for a horse of his age. (about 16) He was on bute everyday to keep him sound. As soon as the ground softened up he was sound. Turned out hes got very sensitive souls and had a bruised sole caused by the hard ground.
The ground is hard at the mo. I guess what im trying to say is dont panic. It could be the smallest thing made out to be something huge.

I really hope the vet can find the cause of the problem.
 
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