Horse Not Quite Right - Strange Diagonal Foot Pick Up - Anybody Else Had This ?!?

[bubsqueaks]

Okay so our Irish Cob has gone under the radar somewhat due to huge company liability, huge feat of selling Connie, & consequences of Covid.
But long story short, finished Autumn doing couple of hunter trials, hacked out through winter as no arena, no arenas open.
She's barefoot, had some thrush over winter as very wet, then in space of few weeks ground now rock solid & rutty - stopped riding in our field as too rutty.
Physio came last month & felt she was less than 1/10ths uneven on left hind & right front - went to biomechanic clinic & he said looked stiff through back but not unlevel.
Have not called Vet out yet.
No heat, nothing noticed by trimmer, not overweight, no grass.
Since physio only doing walk hacks, suppling exercises, in hand work, stretches.

What we have noticed which is quite odd to me & which Id like to hear if anybody has experience of this or their comments -
when we pick up right front hoof, every time she rests the back left hind foot !? she doesnt do this on opposite diagonal !
So its got me puzzling why that would be as any muscle links from front to back would be along the same side wouldnt they?
Im happy to call out our Vet but the logic of the last 6 months does explain it somewhat but the foot pick up is niggling me now!

 

[Cowpony]

Sounds like she doesn't want to bear weight on the left hind. To pick up the front they have to move weight back. I'd be starting there, but no idea what it might be. Sorry!

 

[bubsqueaks]

Sounds like she doesn't want to bear weight on the left hind. To pick up the front they have to move weight back. I'd be starting there, but no idea what it might be. Sorry!

Yes it would seem so, I was just puzzled as assumed she would rest the left hind when you picked up the left front, but now Im wondering when you pick up a front hoof if it pushes them towards the opposite hind - so yes thank you Im in the process of getting our vet who specializes in chiropractry to attend as I cant have it bugging me like this!

 

[milliepops]

It makes more sense that a horse would rest the diagonal foot to the one held up... if they rested the foot on the same side they would fall over ?

I notice some of mine occasionally rest the diagonal foot when e.g. having the front foot dressed forward by the farrier so that in itself is not too weird.

However as physio has already raised a query re soundness I'd want the vet to have a look anyway.

I think muscular issues can often be diagonal across the horse as a compensation will pop up in the opposite corner sometimes, again a horse can't compensate a front issue on the same side because it would lose balance. Its not that unusual to find tightness one side of the wither and the opposite side behind the saddle, for example, as the horse compensates one thing by tightening the other.

 

[maddielove]

Don't have a particularly concrete answer here but my mare has been doing the same with both hinds, though is doing it less and less now. I only noticed her starting it after she had an injury to a back foot.

Her feet in general (particularly her hinds) have been in a right state due to poor farriery which I think is the route of her discomfort coupled with the injury but there is also hock arthritis at play but only in one leg too but don't believe it is the issue.

Her hind feet are looking progressively better and she maybe only does this once a fortnight now at most when at the start of the year she would do this every time I picked her feet out.

She has also done it in front of the farrier who didn't seem to be too concerned about it.

 

[bubsqueaks]

It makes more sense that a horse would rest the diagonal foot to the one held up... if they rested the foot on the same side they would fall over ?

I notice some of mine occasionally rest the diagonal foot when e.g. having the front foot dressed forward by the farrier so that in itself is not too weird.

However as physio has already raised a query re soundness I'd want the vet to have a look anyway.

I think muscular issues can often be diagonal across the horse as a compensation will pop up in the opposite corner sometimes, again a horse can't compensate a front issue on the same side because it would lose balance. Its not that unusual to find tightness one side of the wither and the opposite side behind the saddle, for example, as the horse compensates one thing by tightening the other.

haha yes you do have a point about falling over!
Yes Im going to get our Vet to take a look now thank you - its so minute & we have such an unlevel field now due to the wet then concrete scenario we cant even do a proper work up but will see what her opinion is

 

[bubsqueaks]

Don't have a particularly concrete answer here but my mare has been doing the same with both hinds, though is doing it less and less now. I only noticed her starting it after she had an injury to a back foot.

Her feet in general (particularly her hinds) have been in a right state due to poor farriery which I think is the route of her discomfort coupled with the injury but there is also hock arthritis at play but only in one leg too but don't believe it is the issue.

Her hind feet are looking progressively better and she maybe only does this once a fortnight now at most when at the start of the year she would do this every time I picked her feet out.

She has also done it in front of the farrier who didn't seem to be too concerned about it.

Its like trying to look for a needle in a haystack isnt it sometimes!
Since going barefoot almost 3 years ago she has the best feet ever, but she could have trod on a stone as started to up the fast work.
Im sticking to guinea pigs next time!!!

 

[Tarragon]

guniea pigs just tend to die for no apparent reason!!

 

[milliepops]

guniea pigs just tend to die for no apparent reason!!

that's depressing and reassuring in equal measure

will carry on with the horses then!

 

[Tarragon]

I would ;-)

 

[sbloom]

Movement patterns, muscular tensions etc are usually diagonal - a weaker (pushing not carrying as an example) hind loads the shoulder on the other side.

 

[The Jokers Girl]

I queried this with my farrier as mine does the same. He said it is very normal and a way of them balances themselves so they have weight evenly distributed over the diagonal so are not putting excessive weight on other front. They then use the rested hind to keep themselves even.
Probably not explained very well but don't worry ad it does sound like it is very normal and correct for then to do it.