Horse lame for over 6 weeks - help please!!

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Horseymad_123

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Hi all, just wanted to ask for your help and advice...

So my amazing horse has been lame for over 6 weeks now and I am getting very worried.. He was being ridden 5-6 times a week, doing hacking, schooling and some jumping. He was getting really fit and really enjoying all the work. No problems until December, when I was riding him, felt wobbly and he was definatly lame. Went on box rest and got farrier out, the farrier trotted him up could see he was lame, he had no problems with his shoes, no abscess etc. He was lame for about 4 weeks and was on box rest with occasional turn out. Went on walks in hand to stretch. After 4 weeks, seemed a lot better and only slightly lame, started hacking him and he seemed to be improving. Everything was looking up and seemed to be on the mend and was slowly bringing him back into work with gentle hacks. Put being lame down to winter, muscle strain, or pulling it in riding or when out in the field. There was no heat, swelling and he was not in pain and was his usual self. A few days ago, took him in the menage for the first time since being lame, trotted him and he seemed fine - thought I was through the worst of it. Turned him out for a few hours, the next day, so he could get stronger and some time out.

Today I took him into the arena again, just to do some very light walking and trotting and start getting him back into schooling. I expected him to be fine, as soon as I started trotting, he felt uneven and was lame again, head dipping etc. Was devastated as this has been going on for over 6 weeks now, miss riding him so much and feel so bad for him as he is so precious. He is not in pain, no swelling, heat etc. He is stuck in on box rest, and no end of this lameness seems in sight. A few days previous he was fine and it seemed to be nearly gone. Also forgot to say he is lame on his front right leg and he dips on it.

Any ideas what it could be?
Thank you :) xxx
 
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To be head bopping lame in an arena he must be pretty lame. I suspect as he wasn’t trotted up just walked out on hacks he probably didn’t ‘improve’ just wasn’t put in the situation he was obviously lame.

A vet needs to see the horse asap, no one on a forum can tell you what’s wrong with the horse.
 
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redapple

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I've got a lame one too Horseymad_123. Also no heat, also no swelling. I feel your pain, very frustrating and I too want to be riding and have a happy horse :)

So obviously as above, you need a vet at this point as its not just pulled muscle. So #1) Get a vet out. #2) It's not really box rest if he's having the 'occasional turn-out'. Its not nice feeling like we are keeping then cooped up but if the advice from vet is box rest just be aware for it to work it really does need to be total box rest (some vets will say in-hand walking ok but check). #3) Pain in horses is notoriously difficult to figure out. If he's lame he is in pain. Mine is still happy to canter when asked, doesn't object to transitions, is super forward and ears forward like usual etc but she's lame so she's definitely in pain.

I hope you can get it sorted soon, its not fun when they are not quite right.
 
claret09

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I agree. you really do need to get the vet to have a look. i understand why you haven't but i definitely would recommend that you do now. six weeks is a long time to not see much improvement. i know it is expensive but you need to know what you are dealing with
 
Red-1

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Box rest is not a healthy thing and should only be used when the issue has been identified or on the direction from a vet.

Box rest with occasional turnout tends to make them explosive when they are out, so soft tissue injuries can be made worse by that.

You need the vet. I would arrange to take the horse to the vet so he/she will have everything they need to hand for full diagnosis. That or at least tell then that they will need an X ray machine and scanner to the appointment.
 
irishdraft

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My horse was lame for 4 weeks nothing obvious had farrier check no abcess etc . I suspected some type of ligament strain in the foot and this is what my vet has diagnosed. I waited 10 days to get this appt because i wanted a certain vet hence the 4 week wait . As others have said please get the vet you could be causing more damage to your horse by not actually knowing what the problem is
 
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Horseymad_123

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Sorry don't I made it clear, my horse was showing improvements everyday for five weeks and was only slightly lame last week and no lameness a few days ago. It seemed to be getting better everyday and the farrier said vet was not needed just a winter injury and rest will work which it did. But lameness came back all of a sudden from yesterday, so I am back to square one... but vet is coming as lameness back.
 
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Horseymad_123

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redapple said:
I've got a lame one too Horseymad_123. Also no heat, also no swelling. I feel your pain, very frustrating and I too want to be riding and have a happy horse :)

So obviously as above, you need a vet at this point as its not just pulled muscle. So #1) Get a vet out. #2) It's not really box rest if he's having the 'occasional turn-out'. Its not nice feeling like we are keeping then cooped up but if the advice from vet is box rest just be aware for it to work it really does need to be total box rest (some vets will say in-hand walking ok but check). #3) Pain in horses is notoriously difficult to figure out. If he's lame he is in pain. Mine is still happy to canter when asked, doesn't object to transitions, is super forward and ears forward like usual etc but she's lame so she's definitely in pain.

I hope you can get it sorted soon, its not fun when they are not quite right.
Click to expand...

Thank you :)
 
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claret09 said:
I agree. you really do need to get the vet to have a look. i understand why you haven't but i definitely would recommend that you do now. six weeks is a long time to not see much improvement. i know it is expensive but you need to know what you are dealing with
Click to expand...

I don't understand why OP hasn't called a vet. If my horse is lame, I call the farrier. If the farrier doesn't find an abscess then I immediately call a vet.
 
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milliepops said:
what did the farrier mean by a "winter injury"?
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That's a new one for me, my farrier will deal with an abscess but anything else is a job for the vet to diagnose, as an experienced owner I will 'wait and see' at times but only if I know what I am dealing with as doing the wrong thing can makes matters worse and have implications if insured.
 
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I’ve also never heard ‘winter injury’ before.
Lameness that takes 5 weeks of getting slowly better each day to resolve is serious.
I’m sorry if I sound harsh but I genuinely don’t understand how people can let these things go on for this long without getting the vet?? I wouldn’t limp for 6 weeks before going to the dr!?
 
ester

ester

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So you have a lame horse that hasn’t seen a vet, that you’ve ridden and likely re-injured by your description.

I have no idea how you have managed to determine that your undiagnosed lame horse is not in pain.
 
Red-1

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Many acute soft tissue injuries can get rapidly 'better' but if you scan them the damage is still visible, and if you work them before the damage is healed enough to be strong, it can be worse than it would have been in the first place.

"Winter Injury" is a new one on me too. I don't know if he thinks it is abscess because of wet feet; thrush because of wet feet; soft (bruised) feet because of wet feet; muscle/ligament/tendon strain because of deep and/or slippery going? Or maybe tying up because of being confined more to a stable (in which case box rest would have been very bad)? Maybe mud fever or feather mites causing infection?

Of course, it is a winter injury, as it is an injury that occurred in winter, it is just the "just" a winter injury that confuses me. Maybe he perceives it is less serious in winter because you don't ride as much in winter?

Curious!
 
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Horseymad_123 said:
Sorry don't I made it clear, my horse was showing improvements everyday for five weeks and was only slightly lame last week and no lameness a few days ago. It seemed to be getting better everyday and the farrier said vet was not needed just a winter injury and rest will work which it did. But lameness came back all of a sudden from yesterday, so I am back to square one... but vet is coming as lameness back.
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Ummm... sorry but "only slightly lame and no lameness and now lame again"... I would have called the vet a lot sooner. No idea what a "winter injury" is and so I think its now best just to get booked in to see a vet ASAP.
 
MissTyc

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Red-1 said:
Many acute soft tissue injuries can get rapidly 'better' but if you scan them the damage is still visible, and if you work them before the damage is healed enough to be strong, it can be worse than it would have been in the first place.
Click to expand...

100 times this!


My horse went lame almost 2 years ago. He was fighting fit. Was very mildly lame on a circle. Sound on straight line. He had 3 days in a small paddock but no improvement so went for a lameness workup. Turned out to be a ligament. Nothing visible from the outside (heat, swelling, etc), but damage clear on the scan. After 6 weeks of rest (small paddock), he looked sound but very little improvement on the scan. Waited four months until the next scan, which showed positive progress but certainly not healed! In the end he had 18 months off on a field perimeter track, with some controlled walking. No box rest, no work. I only put him back into work once damage not visible on the scan any more. Perhaps overly cautious, but as someone who has injured a ligament herself I know how quickly these things come back when you take a wrong step at the wrong time.

(To me "winter injury" is a sprain or strain or muscle damage caused by e.g. wrenching in mud or slipping on ice. It doesn't make it any less of an injury, just means there's sometimes no obvious cause that you've observed.)
 
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