Horse leaning quarters against wall

Marigold4

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I have an elderly connemara pony who is doing this in her stable. Has anyone else experienced this and know of a possible cause? I've owned her for 15 years. This winter she has started to lean back against her stable wall for long periods of time when in. She's out 24/7 when possible but has been in at night more than usual this winter. She doesn't lie down at night but still rolls in the field. She's pretty sound except for a stiffness in her left hock which she's had for years due to mild arthritis. She looks depressed. Not the cheeky pony she used to be. Pony has great feet with thick soles. Excellent barefoot trimmer says no signs of laminitis. She has been seen by the vet x 4 in last year but can't find anything. I might put her on bute for a few days as a trial but it would be useful to know the cause.

Any thoughts or experiences please? I'll also post in veterinary.
 

Floofball

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I would definitely put her on a bute for a couple of weeks and see if she perks up on pain relief. She needs to be comfortable to lie down and rest properly, maybe getting to that time in her life when she needs some help. They’ll soon be out more ??
 

southerncomfort

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Old,sore and tired?

When my old girl started doing this and occasionally losing her balance, the vet gave her a very thorough check over and said very kindly that she had nothing physically wrong with her other than she was tired and her age was starting to catch up with her. We gave her a supplement called Event from the vet (hideously expensive but it did give her a temporary boost). We also gave her daily bute to ease any aches and pains.

Although she was PTS a few months later due to seizures I'd already decided that I wouldn't put her through another winter. I think winter can be extremely tough on oldies, and this winter seems to have lasted forever.
 

Leo Walker

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The only horse I've known to do this was diagnosed with kissing spines and ulcers shortly afterwards. Once they were treated the leaning behaviour stopped, so I'm another one who would be thinking its a pain reaction.
 

MrsNorris

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She could be sleep deprived due to lack of REM sleep, which they can only get when laying down. Seen it a lot in older horses who don’t lie down for whatever reason.
 

Marigold4

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I would think shes tired but its too uncomfortable for her to lie down. Have you had her feet looked at?
Her feet are fantastic! Nice thick sole and barefoot farrier scores them as 7.3. We tested her today for caudal pain and signs of laminitis, but all good. Walk, trot and canter on lunge but not lame but looked tense.
 

Marigold4

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Barefoot trimmer says horses that lean and stand toes down like that (she digs a hole for her toes by shifting bedding back) have tight hamstrings, sore hocks or lumbar pain. We lunged her and not lame so bute and physio next for the old girl. She also had a make over from me this afternoon and now looks like a beautiful unicorn!
 
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