I have a confession...

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Puddock

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I have been riding for 20 years and I'm s%#t at identifying lameness. If I'm riding I can "feel" if something isn't right, but I'm just no good at spotting it from the ground :(

My horse is unshod and has had a couple of tiny abcesses in one foot over the last 2 weeks (neither of them made him lame or sore, however). This eve, after warming up in walk, he was rather unwilling to trot and when he did he felt a bit short. He's lazy by nature, though, and i wasn't sure if he was just backing off as didn't feel like working. Anyway, I jumped off, suspecting another abcess. Felt the offending hind foot for any heat and palpated the heel (this is where they always come out). Nothing obvious. So, I lunged him in a big circle in trot - all I could tell was that he wasn't very willing to go forward. Asked my friend to trot him up on slightly harder ground... Again not willing to go forward, but that was all i could say for def. Picked up foot to examine it again and lo and behold small abcess had burst out, probably from the movement. What concerns me is that if I hadn't been aware of his previous abcess woes, I wouldn't even have been sure which foot was troubling him :(

I can spot obvious forelimb lameness - head nodding etc. But hind leg lameness has me completely baffled. I know to look at the hips from behind and see if they are level, but how do you spot it on a circle? I can tell if the horse is tracking up or not, but that isn't always the best guide. I see videos on here of people asking if their horse is lame and others give their opinions, but they tend not to state what exactly they are basing them on. So, who can provide me with a lameness 101? Video examples would be ideal :D
 
I usually look for a shortness in stride as well as whether hips are level...tbh, I'll look at horse moving away from me but I usually 'spot' the slight lameness if they are moving past me IYSWIM.

On a circle, it's easier to see if there aren't tracking up evenly so you can see which leg is the problem. IME if they aren't tracking up properly on both hind legs (this is where it's important to know what is the norm for your horse) it's a back or pelvic issue.

Fore leg lameness is usually easy to see because as you said, there is head nodding - then you can start figuring out where the problem is.

A lot of the time it can be like you were - you know the horse is Not Quite Right because you know them well and then you have to start the process of elimination...it's not very scientific, more of a gut feeling.

I know this isn't what you were asking but what does your farrier/vet say about the abcesses?
 
Thanks cbmcts, I'll answer your last question first. Horse has a long history of problematic feet (the main reason I want to improve my ability to spot lameness). He had his shoes removed 2 years before I bought him, as according to the farrier, there was simply no more horn left to put a shoe on :eek:

He has giant, flat feet and also had recurrent thrush in all four feet when I took him on. We have beaten this in three out of his four feet and the only problematic one is his right hind. Vet (from big university equine practice) and farrier (who works closely with vet) agree that we will get there, it will simply take time. My theory is that my horses sheared heel and deep central sulcus on this foot (caused by the thrush) make the foot unstable and more prone to abscesses caused by trauma. The advice i have been given is to work him as usual as much as possible when he is sound as work on a variety of different surfaces is best to help increase circulation to the foot. I should add that despite theses issues, horse is usually 100% sound and only lame when an abscess is brewing. Farrier will not shoe, as he is aware of my boy's history and feels that putting shoes on would take us right back to square one. Sometimes I have to poultice, others not. Both professionals feel that allowing this stuff to drain out on its own is the best course of action. It's not like he goes hopping lame for a week beforehand before anything appears - it's always a case of either a bit sore or not obviously lame like yesterday and then out pops a small abscess - always in the heel area.

Although I am not great at spotting lameness from the ground, my horse is handled daily by my ri who is also my yo - she knows the signs and lets me know immediately if she spots a problem. As demonstrated yesterday, I can tell if something is up when I'm on board.

So yes, gypsythecob, the vet is always called immediately, should my horse require it. His advice for my horse is simply to clean these small ones out with iodine and leave them open to the air.

Cbmcts, your comments have made me feel a bit better about just having an idea that something is not quite right. I do try to be aware of what is normal for my horse and then work from there. I just wish I was one of those people who can instantly assess a horse's movement very accurately.
 
I'm not good at anything less than about 3/10ths and have to get help to spot it!

On a circle I usually just look for a shortness of stride on one side over the other. Whether a toe is being dragged,whether both sides are tracking up by the same amount. My horse has a permanently asymmetric backside so knowing what is normal for him is helpful. One side is differentially muscled to the other so he always appears to have one hip lower although once you get used to looking at it you realise the hip itself isn't being dropped, it's just a trick of the way he is muscled.

I usually get a better eye than mine (the vet on my yard) to double check for me if I think there is an issue. I am rubbish at spotting it too so don't feel bad. You're not alone!
 
It's so true what they say about "no foot, no horse" isn't it? Sounds like your vet and farrier are on the case and hopefully that last foot will sort itself out soon.

I'm one of those sickening people who can spot an unlevel, 1/10th lame horse a mile off :o the real challenge is then figuring out what and where the problem is and I've only improved that with practice. Try having a haffie with what turned out to be a comination of arthritis (hind leg) navicular (low level, fore feet) and DDFT (foreleg) oh and to add to the mix, he was putting his back slightly out on occasions because of the leg problems! I got far too much practice diagnosing lameness for a few years...
 
Thanks guys, you've both made me feel a bit better. I know what you mean about trying to know what's normal for your horse. Mine has a slightly "different" action anyway - he's a big driving-bred kwpn and you can tell from his leg confo that he was bred for driving rather than riding!

Cbmcts - it's a useful talent to have, my ri is the same, luckily for me! Also feeling slightly better as I've been up and checked how he's moving this aft and he seems about 80% better - and I was able to tell.
 
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