INTERMITTENT LAMENESS:EVERYONE BAFFLED

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Ancient Hacker

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I'll try to be brief (excuse the point form!), and hope that the collective wisdom and expertise out there will be patient, and be shared with me. Any advice and suggestions would be very welcome.

Brief history:
- 17 hand TB ex racer, aged 11
- short racing career, too slow, sold on to me
- clean medical records for racing career
- conformation very good
- absolutely 100% sound with me for 7 years
- used for hacking, flatwork, small jumps
- out of work the past 8 months (lack of jockey)
- shod front only - no shoeing or hoof problems
- same feed and conditions for 7 years
- consistent weight, just right and never fat
- same excellent farrier and vet for 7 years.
- no significant changes of any kind

So he came in lame over three weeks ago, limping exactly as I would if I'd trodden on a sharp stone while barefoot. I checked for injury, heat, swelling but nothing to be seen.
The next morning, still lame, and so I got the farrier over. He found nothing, but was confident of a bruised sole... he's seen a lot lately as we had an exceptionally wet summer.

The following week saw intermittent lameness, and a return of the farrier who confirmed he could now see the bruising. I was concerned about the possibility of an abscess but he disagreed.

The next week, with more on/off lameness (literally 100% sound, fresh and cantering around the arena before shooting into the interleading paddocks.
I go out to the paddock two hours later and he's a lame duck!)
So back with the farrier who now finds a dark spot, a pulse, and diagnoses an abscess; he managed to cut a bit to drain it.

We then have the Epsom salts dance.... nothing!
We continue with intermittent lameness; again, extreme lameness to apparent soundness at different times of the day but with no discernible pattern.

The vet is called. Thorough examination, no real sign of the abscess, no tenderness on hoof testing. But still a lame duck. The vet considers the lameness to be possibly in the patella, but is unsure.

Tomorrow the horse is going into the equine hospital so that scans/X-rays and anything else can take place.

The baffling part is that the lameness is so intermittent, and inconsistent in itself. The lameness is on the near hind (but not toe-dragging) with lots of head-bobbing. Nevertheless the horse is otherwise very well, his cheerful cheeky self, with no signs of anything amiss. My other horses are all fine, same feed, same farrier etc.

In all, it's the intermittent aspect of this that I find baffling.
All and any ideas welcome. (Sorry this is long - I did try to be brief, but hopefully not curt :o)
 
I had similar problems and it turned out that he had thin soles and under run heels another time it was an abscess which came and went for a week or so and then suddenly when it was ready he was hopping.

Please update us with how you get on.
 
Thanks victoria1980x.... I'm hoping this is the case; it was the vet that threw me with the talk of patella. It's seemed like foot lameness all along, to me. Now of course I've got visions of horrible joint problems:( Never thought I'd see the day when I actually WANTED my horse to rather have an abscess.:eek::eek:
 
Bone or cartilage chips in or near a joint can do this. I had a mare with one once, she alternated between crippled and totally sound as it moved into and out of areas where it caused pain.
 
it could be a number of things from not serious to more serious. meniscal tear can present like this, as can late onset OCD of the stifle (ask me how I know!). vets always give the worst case scenario. fingers crossed for an abscess. good luck and let us know the outcome please.
 
Hi cptrayes, I was secretly hoping you'd trot in. Yes, the only thing I can think of that in my (very limited) knowledge would explain the extreme inconsistency is a chip. He's not been in work, no sign of injury, so I'm baffled as to how the silly sod could hurt himself. Non-TBs for me when this lot get old!
 
peteralfred said:
it could be a number of things from not serious to more serious. meniscal tear can present like this, as can late onset OCD of the stifle (ask me how I know!). vets always give the worst case scenario. fingers crossed for an abscess. good luck and let us know the outcome please.
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Ouch, I've been through the degenerative stifle thing with another ex racer... not a happy ending. That's been on my mind, but the sudden onset confused me. Thanks for the advice (yes, these vets are grim so and so's ;)
 
Ancient Hacker said:
Hi cptrayes, I was secretly hoping you'd trot in. Yes, the only thing I can think of that in my (very limited) knowledge would explain the extreme inconsistency is a chip. He's not been in work, no sign of injury, so I'm baffled as to how the silly sod could hurt himself. Non-TBs for me when this lot get old!
Click to expand...


The extreme inconsistency was what marked mine out. I was out on a hack and close to home she was suddenly on three legs. I led her back, called the vet and when he arrived she trotted up sound. It would suddenly affect her and then be gone again.

Now for the good news. She was rested for a completely unrelated tendon injury and it must have remodelled or been reabsorbed, because it never happened again after that and she was sold and went showjumping.
 
Thanks cptrayes - this would explain the broncing happily one minute, then lame duck the next. Of course the bruising and abscess issues will certainly have muddied the waters for our farrier and vets.
 
I knew a pony like that who was eventually diagnosed with a bone cyst in his stifle. It was successfully operated on and the pony returned to full work. Having suffered from intermittent nerve pain myself I wonder if horses can get something similar? The cause of something like that could be an infinite number of things!!
 
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