hind leg lameness .any thoughts

[debsflo]

horse has not been right on her off hind since a dressage lesson 2 weeks ago .seen by mctimony a few days after as i thought poss muscle strain .tight in lumbar region of back and off hind hamstring and 1/10 lame on a straight line . booked in for a lameness work up .today 1/10 lame on a straight line .positive to spavin test and very lame lunged on a circle so vet thought hocks . 4 xrays of hock all look fine .vet is convinced problem is hock or above poss stifle and has advised a further 2 weeks rest on bute and if no improvement to refer to rossdales for more detailed scans etc . she didnt think we needed to do nerve blocks and x ray machine at vets not detailed enough to do stifle . any thoughts .i just want to know what were dealing with really.

 

[K27]

A lot of hind leg problems cause them to compensate in their way of going which can make them feel tight in the back as they alter their way of going to compensate to make up for it.

My boy has mild spavin, and i first noticed it as he felt tight in his back.

Have they blocked his hocks out- when my boy had his spavin diagnosed (or in fact when mine have had any lameness sorted) the nerve blocks always come before doing xrays, as that way i guess it can be more specifically pin pointed down, before you end up spending money on xrays- but i guess different vets must work differently.

If it was a stifle prob that was not bone related they can also block that area out, and it can also be scanned too if it is a ligament prob- as one of my vets did that once for one of my horses (turned out not be stifle but most definitely hocks)

High suspensory problems/damage are also v common in dressage horses, and i suppose may also present similar to spavin -but I'm no vet so not 100% sure!

Also is the foot balance all ok as well?

edited to add:If it's hocks/stifles i think he would also resent going down hills and generally won't be straight when you are working him

Whatever it is I wish you luck in getting to the bottom of it soon so you can get it sorted!

 

[debsflo]

no she didnt nerve block as was convinced hock as she was so reactive to spavin test and now thinks i would be better off getting all angles looked at with a big practice. tbh im not sure at all .we have had her for 2 years and not a days lameness. could it still be hock even if x rays show no changes.

 

[K27]

no she didnt nerve block as was convinced hock as she was so reactive to spavin test and now thinks i would be better off getting all angles looked at with a big practice. tbh im not sure at all .we have had her for 2 years and not a days lameness. could it still be hock even if x rays show no changes.

Could be- cartilage damage doesn't always show up on an x ray i believe or show up full stop!- has a bone cyst been ruled out?- and also my vet told me once that you can have a horse with no changes that will present lame and vice versa, he said the xray isn't necessarily the be all, end all. The high suspensory is near the hock i think!

At least at a big practice like AHT they will have all the facilities to be able to delve deeper in to what is going on



Anyway, good luck!