Hind Limb problems...what's the symptoms?

M

MrsMagoo

Well-Known Member
Joined
13 July 2005
Messages
5,152
Location
Harrietsham, Kent
Visit site
As it say's really - people who's horses have had tendon/suspensory problems, what was the symptoms you noticed etc?

Just trying to figure out what is wrong with my girly at the moment, she's very odd. Have my back lady coming out Sat to check her over but just thinking of other things...

Thanks
 
Grace's hind suspensory problem was first noticed by a strange movement she did with that leg, she just didn't want to step through properly. Also, she was quite heavy in the left hand when usually she was so very light!
 
Hmm Star just is very tense at the moment, not wanting to work forward etc. Firstly i thought she was just fresh and full of her self but if it was that she should be settling down now...I cant put my finger on it but somthing is not right - also gone sooo moody with rugs etc...
 
Grace wouldn't go forwards as she usually does, but hers was so subtle it was hard to see (hence why one vet didn't see it)... it was even harder to feel
smile.gif
 
With my horse's problem (hind limb suspensory desmitis in both)

the angle of his pastern was low - although no obvious lameness - he held tension in his back just before the croup which a back lady said related to hock problems - the ligament was damaged around the hock....

He passed a stage 5 vetting with this though so it's not easy to spot - although I can spot it a mile off now

You will find that hill work is difficult for them
 
It is just that something was not quite right rather then glaringly lame.

Back lady spotted mine, she thought it was beginings of a hock spavin, she was nearly right as PSD and spavins look very similar.

Mine found it hard going down hills.
 
Hmmmm, well have the back lady coming on Sat to check her over and then vet the following week for Jabs but will get him to check her over at the same time...

Lunged her tonight and she was really moody and when asked to trot she agressively went for me :shock:...whats that all about???
 
Symptoms can vary enormously from being just not quite right to quite lame.

Often though as others have said it's very subtle from just not wanting to work with the same degree of engagement as usual or hollowing on a canter transition. Not wanting to go forward and a tendancy to break into canter instead of trotting forwards is common.

Often there is associated back pain and people can have repeated treatments by 'back' people who never quite seem to realise that they are treating the symptoms not the cause.

If in any doubt get her checked by a vet who specialises in lameness. Many vets (even horse ones) won't see a subtle, low grade hind limb lameness.
 
My daughter's horse has just had loads of test to find out where a hind leg lameness was coming from. He got very tense in the school and bucked in canter, turns out problem in his stifle.
He wasnt very lame at all and the problem was not where it was expecte dto be
 
We noticed a strange flight path of the hind limb ; loss of special swing to trot, occasional hesitancy into parallell fences ; dropping of hip excessively in trot ; disunited in canter at times.....first vet said nothing serious and was expecting a problem high up.......second opinion at Newmarket on initial inspection would have passed him as sound had it been an inspection for purchase but after lunging on a hard surface in canter began to see something ........sent away for box rest etc - a winter of discontent!.......still not happy so third opinion at Newmarket, at our concerned request, said lame almost immediately. Took about £3,000 for the diagnosis - he had 2 trips through the nuclear scanner but the most revealing tests were simple nerve blocks. We found it quite useful to record his movement on video so we could play it back in slow motion and assess progress.
The AHT also used marker tape on the quarters to help assess the movement.
 
Mine just didn't feel quite right rather than being obviously lame.
Wasn't quite taking the contact forwards as he had been, and was struggling in his lateral movements and started bucking and changing in counter canter
 
My horse never went lame as such, he just wasn't tracking up with the affected hind. He also starting plaiting with his hind legs, and was unwilling to go forward. My vet initially suspected a back problem but nerve blocks revealed he'd strained his suspensory ligament.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top