horse is lame and cant find cause.

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bronthomasxx

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hi all,
my horse is 9 and since being diagnosed with arthritis, has been on and off lame. in September last year, i had my back lady out who told me to get a vet as my horse had very early signs of arthritis. vet came out and agreed and injected his right hind hock with steroids. on the x-ray, the vet also found a hairline fracture, after looking at it, he decided it wasn't causing any discomfort and to leave it. i then brought my horse back into work and for a few weeks he was sound but refusing to jump (he's temperamental anyway so i put it down to that). then in December, he began to hold is head off the bit and out to the right on his right rein. again i thought he was just being temperamental. if i asked him to bring it around and for him to accept contact but he would buck and break into trot. in January the bucking became worse and happened every time he was asked to go forward into canter. towards the end of January/start of February, i asked my instructor for a lesson so she could watch from the ground and he was a saint. no bucking at any point, just reluctant to move forward and holding his head out to the side. i then began to ride him without my instructor and again the bucking became worse the more work we did, and he was consistently looking stiff. i decided enough was enough and called out the vet. he carried out a numerous amount of flexion tests. My horse seemed sound so the vet started him of on a two week course of bute. My horse became sound and an absolute star the whole two weeks, we went from refusing jumps to doing courses around the school. after being taken off the bute it was obvious that my horse was in pain as all the old symptoms came back, including the bucking stiffness/lameness and reluctance. The vet then returned and re-did the flexion tests and found he was sore on his back, his initial reaction was kissing spine. He went away and came back the following week to do an x-ray. X-rays were taken and his back was all clear. He then re-x-rayed the right hind leg and there was no change. He then did another flexion test and my horse showed up lame. He then put local anesthetic into the hock and he showed a significant improvement. So he went away and came back again the following week and joint blocked the hock. The vet thought that the soreness in his back was because he was walking awkwardly due to the pain in his leg. I was given a weeks bute to help with his back and told to get back on after a week. After a week i got back on and he still had the dosage of bute (2 a day) in his system but was lame in walk and trot, so i got off. I've kept him on the bute and today, 2 days later, i tried to ride again ( thinking he may of needed more time for the bute to work) and he was lame in walk, stiff in the trot and his canter was appalling, 100x's worse than before. His leg is dragging and turning in in trot, and i cant get more than two strides of canter before he bucks and breaks into trot. i'm out of ideas of what could be wrong and i'm turning to you guys in here to help. has anyone had any problems similar to this and found a solution. tia to everyone who reads this or helps me, it is appreciated.
 
my navicular horse did exactly that and also started off stuffy and short in stride but level. lame near fore and head carried nose up and left when cantering on both reins. refused to canter or cantered for a couple of strides and then bucked out or trotted. I would have his front feet checked. Mine flexed sound on all four and did not respond to hoof testers, but came sound when nerve blocked in front. he bucked a lot when loose in the field too. Once his feet were comofortable he stopped all the behaviour.
 
Didn't want to read and run, just say I hope you find a cause. It sounds like you are following all advice and trying your best. I hope he comes right. Take care x
 
Thank you all, the vets had initially tested for a bond spavin but ruled it out, this was back when he was diagnosed with arthritis. I forgot to add that lol
 
Sorry can't help with any other diagnosis however I wouldn't be jumping a horse with arthritis in his hock at all. My lad got retired from jumping when he got arthritis in his hock as it wasn't fair on him.
 
The xrays need to be sent to a specialist. 9 is very young for a horse with arthritis, so in my opinion there is more going on than just that.
 
I'd be looking at the feet, fronts in particular. I'm not saying that there aren't other arthritic issues going on etc, however I'd want the front feet x-rayed asap if it were my horse.

Wishing you all the very best.
 
I agree with Henry. I would have the horse to a Equine specialist, and they will generally ant the horse for 4 days to block the leg, one leg a day, from bottom to top. Xrays can then be targeted to any areas that are a problem.

Either that or turn away for 6 months. Rest and Dr Green can work wonders.

Is your horse insured?
 
Henry02 said:
Full lameness work up rather than the vet coming and doing bits and pieces every time?
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This exactly. The hock lameness could be causing a sacro illiac problem or vice versa. There could be a foot problem. I certainly wouldn't be jumping this horse.
As the horse has some known changes I would also put him on the turmeric, black pepper and micronised linseed regime, which works wonders for my horses with arthritis.
 
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My horse will not go near tumeric haha, he hates the taste. I've been jumping him as the vet said it was mild and advised me to that he was ok to jump. Jumping was also his favourite before he became lame which to me says a lot. I also jumped him on the bute to see a change as he was so upset by it before. I was thinking of going down the fracture route and seeing if that was causing the discomfort or that was what triggered the arthritis so early and is now causing other problems. I will also look into the foot side of things too. Giving him time off is hard as he becomes impossible to handle. He is a very problemed pony anyway. Hea easily upset and it can then take days for him to calm down. He also has separation problems and he cannot be left on his own as he reared and may damage his leg further, he's not an easy horse x
 
Agree with this. Current vet is fixated on the hock/back - there maybe another reason and a fresh pair of eyes (or more)/experiences might see more and find the root cause. He is only 9. Clearly the bucking is telling you he is in pain.
 
Definitely needs to see an equine specialist with the facilities to investigate thoroughly. A friend's horse was recently intermittently lame on different legs. After investigation - x rays, bone scans, nerve blocks etc - it turned out to be poor foot balance. It had always been there, she seemingly would have come out of the womb like that, but it often takes till they are 9 - 12 for it to show as they compensate so well, this horse is actually 17 so has coped well passing vettings, eventing etc. Her's originated in her shoulder so wasn't as obvious to look at as those that come from the knee or fetlock. Her feet weren't actually sore but the imbalance caused varying soft tissue pain in different parts of her legs and back. The shoulder obviously can't be altered and so remedial shoeing has made the world of difference immediately. She will undergo a slow build up in work to adjust but the vets and farrier see no reason why she can't return to full work.
 
YasandCrystal said:
As the horse has some known changes I would also put him on the turmeric, black pepper and micronised linseed regime, which works wonders for my horses with arthritis.
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I'm interested to hear more about the turmeric? My 9yr old ISH was recently diagnosed with coffin bone arthritis, very mild and we seem to be helping him a lot with some remedial farrier and he's had steroid injections in his joints. However, I would like to do anything else I can to make him more comfortable. I've read about turmeric and was aware that you combine it with black pepper, but that's about as far as my knowledge goes.

How much turmeric and black pepper do I use? What kind of oil do I use to make it into a paste (I think I've read that you should do this, but please advise) and where does the linseed come into it?

Thanks a lot.

OP, unfortunately no ideas about your horse, but I can imagine how rubbish you're feeling. I was gutted about my lad, having only had him since August and buying him with my savings that he's now essentially no good for what I got him for. But hey ho, such is life.
 
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