Just got back from the vets and still no answers :-(

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_jetset_

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I took Grace down to the vets this morning due to noticing something strange going on with her left hind when Spencer was riding her. Spencer had seen it first and wanted me to see it so I would know what was going on. Basically, the left hind is not coming through as much, or as fast, as her right making the whole movement on the left rein look a bit sticky.

So, off we went to the vets this morning in hope of an answer...

I trotted her up on the flat and nothing was immediately apparent to me, but the vet said her left fore foot fall was much louder than her right fore foot fall. He then flexioned her front right and hind left with no changes (which is good news as I thought it could be hock related).

I was then asked to tack her up and ride her in the arena... she was spooky, shying at everything and incredibly sharp as she did not come out of her stable yesterday. Anyway, we trotted for a good 15 minutes constantly changing the rein. The vet asked me whether I could feel anything, but I just can't (Spencer said he could not feel what she was doing when on board).

He wants her on bute over the weekend and worked to see whether it is pain related or perhaps just the way she goes. If it is the way she goes, then he seemed a bit pessamistic about the future as he knows I wanted to continue competing through the levels in BD and you can't really change the way a horse goes can you?
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I just don't know what could be causing this, and if it is the way she goes why it has not been brought up in any dressage competitions that I have been to (and won at Novice recently)?
 
hi hun - good news then!

The judges have never picked up on it, so i really cant see that theres going to be a problem??

once she starts strengthening up behind more it will more than likely sort itself out, like i said before im sure its jsut because her workload is increasing now and shes obviuosly just slightly weaker on that side.
 
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... but the vet said her left fore foot fall was much louder than her right fore foot fall.

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This could indicate a muscle spasm in her back or more likely her right hind. Due to various health troubles my aging TB sometimes has spasms in his back and right hind leg muscles. I can tell when he is on a bad day because i can hear him falling onto his left front leg as I lead him in. Since longterm work on his muscle development this has almost completely disapeared. And the good news is that dressage/schooling has been instrumental to this.

I'm not remotely suggesting your horse has serious health troubles - Have you looked into whether she might have pulled something in her rump, or maybe developed a bit of tightness in her back from a saddle issue? Some people on here swear by McTimmoney -might be worth a try?

Hope this helps rather than adding extra things to stress about!!
 
I am hoping to get a physio up to her once we have discovered whether the bute makes much difference... I didn't know that foot fall could be caused by muscle spasm. I am trying to talk my dad in buying me an Equissage for Christmas, but he is not having any of it
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Have you had a Chiro look at her? Just an idea, but if the pelvis is out or something like that it can make them slightly unlevel/unable to bring hind leg underneath. Might be worth a shot if you've not tried it already.
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This is good news, especially that she was negative on the flexions. See how she goes while on the Bute, and if still nothing obvious I'd get a good Physio or McTimony Chiropractor referred by your vet to have a look.

How old is she again?

x
 
She was 6 in June...

I have just booked her in with a fantastic chiropractor over in Cheshire who did my other mare when she was having real problems with her pelvis.

I am glad that people on here think it is good news, I came away from the vets feeling pretty down about what had been said
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I had this with my warmblood, on the right, a judge noticed it, saying "right hind not stepping through as much as the left at times." and my trainer noticed it, but since he wasn't lame and in obvious discomfort I continued riding and it came right in a couple of weeks. He was 6.
 
When the vet asked if you could feel anything, did he indicate if he could see the problem?

I'm with most everyone else on here, get her checked by the phsio/chiro and work through it.
Is it apparant on the lunge, or loose in the field?
Hopefully it should disappear when she strengthens, or it will get worse and then need further investigation.
 
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When the vet asked if you could feel anything, did he indicate if he could see the problem?

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He said he could see something ever so slightly, but he said in no way would he class her as 'lame' because she was most certainly not.

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I'm with most everyone else on here, get her checked by the phsio/chiro and work through it.
Is it apparant on the lunge, or loose in the field?
Hopefully it should disappear when she strengthens, or it will get worse and then need further investigation.

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It is difficult to say whether it is apparent on the lunge because she is very reluctant on the lunge due to the surface of our school. I cannot get her to canter in it without slipping quite badly which makes her reluctant to work properly. I am hoping to hire a school tonight and take her there to lunge and ride and see whether I can see it on the lunge.
 
Had a smiliar thing with Diva about 6 months ago - her hock blew up and was massive, no apparent lameness although she dragged the leg slightly when first coming out of the box (due to swelling restricting movemenet slightly).
As you can imagine I panicked rushed her to the vets and was generally hysterical and the vets x-rayed her hock couldn't see anything and because she wasn't lame on flexion test he sent me home.
He said and I qoute "Go home and ignore it, it will either be something or nothing. If she goes lame ring me otherwise she has nothing more than a blemish."
Sometimes I think we want too many answers, we are all naturally one-sided it might be that it is Grace's weaker side and she is just a little slower to build, strengthen and develop that side. Bit like one of our calf's being bigger than the other.
Easy to say but try not to panic.
x
 
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Had a smiliar thing with Diva about 6 months ago - her hock blew up and was massive, no apparent lameness although she dragged the leg slightly when first coming out of the box (due to swelling restricting movemenet slightly).
As you can imagine I panicked rushed her to the vets and was generally hysterical and the vets x-rayed her hock couldn't see anything and because she wasn't lame on flexion test he sent me home.
He said and I qoute "Go home and ignore it, it will either be something or nothing. If she goes lame ring me otherwise she has nothing more than a blemish."
Sometimes I think we want too many answers, we are all naturally one-sided it might be that it is Grace's weaker side and she is just a little slower to build, strengthen and develop that side. Bit like one of our calf's being bigger than the other.
Easy to say but try not to panic.
x

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Thanks so much for that... I am hoping to start long lining her so I am not in any way altering the way she moves and she can start being more even if it is me being wonky (which it could well be). I am waiting for my roller to come
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Did the vet put her on bute, or just send her away?
 
I am no expert on these things...but the fact you have had only had the horse a relatively short while and taken her from unfit to doing very very well at novice level...and she is only 6 years old....i am not surprised she is a bit 'uneven'. You are pushing her muscles to perform and everyone/horse has a good and a bad side so maybe she isn't developing equally on both sides at the moment and in a few weeks she will have 'righted' herself out?

You are obviously a very careful rider and dedicated owner and I totally think you did the right thing taking her to the vets - in my eyes the result from the flexion test shows it isn't likely that there is anything mechanically wrong, so a session with a good physio and continuing with her training should sort out any muscle development/spasms and I am sure she will be as right as rain. You said yourself yesterday she looked amazing on the right rein and really flowing - so think positive and I am sure the left rein will look the same soon!

Good luck xx
 
Thanks Nels... Her left side is definitely weaker, it always has been since I first started riding her at a certain level. I probably do not work enough on trying to build that side up as try to work both reins evenly in every session. But when I looked at her the other night trotting up (after the lesson i wanted to see her on the flat when we got back) I could see that her right side is more developed than her left.
 
He said I could bute her for the swelling if I wanted but becasue she wasn't in any apparent discomfort he personally wouldn't bother.
As you can guess I went out bought the most expensive joint supplement as well as some Armidillo magnetic wraps which she still wears everyday. I explained all of this to the vet who just smiled serenely and said well it won't harm her
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OH who was with me just rolled his eyes and said that Diva is better looked after than him!

If it makes you feel any better, OH rang me that morning to say her hock was really swollen and she was dragging it. I burst into tears and was generally hysterical, so much so that work thought I was having a breakdown and sent me home!
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I know I am one-sided and that my reactions to the left are not as quick or as strong as they are to the right andI think horses are the same.
 
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Thanks Nels... Her left side is definitely weaker, it always has been since I first started riding her at a certain level. I probably do not work enough on trying to build that side up as try to work both reins evenly in every session. But when I looked at her the other night trotting up (after the lesson i wanted to see her on the flat when we got back) I could see that her right side is more developed than her left.

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A physio a couple of years ago made me stand in front of my horse and hold my hand up to block one side of the horse and then do the opposite and compare what I saw....it is very rare to see a horse that has the same muscle quality on both sides...most horses are not mirror images the same as a human isn't - my right bicep is much bigger than my left for example! But the physio said the aim is to get them to match as much as possible to keep the horse balanced...which is easier to do with a horse because they have a leg at each corner. Not really sure what the point of that rant was, but have a really good chat to your physio and I am sure you will get recommendations to strengthen up the left rein. Most sessions I always work equally on both reins as well - but I always did more spiralling circles on my old mare's weak left side once/twice a week to help build her up and even her out. Seemed to help!

Give it time and fingers crossed for Grace - she is beautiful by the way! x
 
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She was 6 in June...

I have just booked her in with a fantastic chiropractor over in Cheshire who did my other mare when she was having real problems with her pelvis.

I am glad that people on here think it is good news, I came away from the vets feeling pretty down about what had been said
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Aw, you feel worse hun because you're in the middle of it, and it's so easy to convince yourself that there's something really wrong.
It may just be a case that that is her weaker side.
I know it's hard, but try not to convince yourself of worse case scenarios.....I've been really worried about my little newfie lately, yet to see him today you'd think I was mad to even consider there being a problem!

Bethx
 
Is she lame enough for nerve blocks?
A dressage horse on my yard had a similar lameness last year and vet totally missed the significance of which joint it was in on initial lameness work up (he thought it was hock, turned out to be fetlock) They nerve blocked which highlighted the fetlock and then used thermal imaging which pinpointed the location of the pain. X-rays showed a small bone chip when examined closely and he had a sucessful operation to remove the chip.
 
Like I said in my post in your last thread, if it IS the way she goes then you move onto physio etc work and go from there. The bute option is a good one as I said before, it should give you more indication as to what is going on and where - hugs xxx
 
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The problem is she is not lame, just not moving right... which is why he could not nerve block her
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That was the problem with the horse I mentioned- she could feel it but not see it.
He should be able to nerve block her if it's visible from the floor that she isnt moving quite right as, in theory, if it isnt just her then she'll move normally once the source of pain is removed......
 
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The problem is she is not lame, just not moving right... which is why he could not nerve block her
frown.gif


[/ QUOTE ]

That was the problem with the horse I mentioned- she could feel it but not see it.
He should be able to nerve block her if it's visible from the floor that she isnt moving quite right as, in theory, if it isnt just her then she'll move normally once the source of pain is removed......

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If it is something like a tilted pelvis though, nerve blocks wouldn't have an effect. Her body would struggle to move correctly due to the position it's in, not due to pain necessarily. I'm convinced a McTimoney or like will sort her out for you, I wouldn't worry too much
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[ QUOTE ]
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The problem is she is not lame, just not moving right... which is why he could not nerve block her
frown.gif


[/ QUOTE ]

That was the problem with the horse I mentioned- she could feel it but not see it.
He should be able to nerve block her if it's visible from the floor that she isnt moving quite right as, in theory, if it isnt just her then she'll move normally once the source of pain is removed......

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With Grace neither I nor Spencer could feel it when on board... just see something slightly in the trot.

I think after this weekend on bute, nerve blocks could be on the cards if no closer to finding out what is going on.
 
No news is good news I suppose. It really isnt obvious. There is a chance that it might show up more later in life but if the vet says she is OK then go with it. Afterall they are the experts.

You worry far too much!
 
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