Lame - do I call vet?

[Magicmillbrook]

HELP - my poor pony is lame. She was fine on friday, last practice for dressage comp on Sunday. Hacked on Sat to chill out but she was lame in near fore in trot on the road. Hopped off and walked her home. No heat, swelling or cuts. Tapped hoof and sole, no obvious pain.

Sunday and this morning she is still trotting up lame, this hasn't stopped her from racing round the field with her chums.

Two years ago she had several bouts of mystery lameness, that went after 24 hours. Had a course of osteopathic treatment, was given some exercises and advised cortaflex. Since then she has been realy good.

This bout has gone on for 48 hours - should I now call the vet? She is a 17yo tb x cob. She did have low heel /long toe when we first got her. She is due the farrier, however she is not overly long (have her booked in for wed). Her near fore has a congenital inward twist (the leg that seems to be lame).

What would you guys do?

 

[samp]

I would try couple of days on box rest first and then see

 

[Magicmillbrook]

She is too clingy to stay in on her own, she would get stressed. I have put her in a very small paddock in sight of her friends, this also has lots of grass so she will probably eat rather than play.

 

[poggio]

I'd rest her until the farrier comes - maybe tub her foot in the meantime in case it is down to soreness in the foot, its not going to do any harm anyways, and then see what the farrier says.

If the farrier can't pinpoint anything and theres still no obvious signs go down the route of osteo / physio before getting the vet. Particulary if she has a twisted foreleg this is obviously going to put unecessary strain on other areas. Unless you do get an area that seems to show obvious signs of injury etc I would try the other options before calling the vet, imo

 

[Parkranger]

Ty has mystery lameness - we think (physio) that it's linked to an old shoulder injury and he pulls it galloping around in the field like a loon. He's on flexijoint and linseed oil and touch wood he seems ok. Maybe it's a pull?

 

[OWLIE185]

Lameness is an indication of pain. The vet should be called immediately to diagnose the cause.

 

[wizzi901]

IMHO i wouldnt go dashing to call a vet unless it was causing enough discomfort to stop her her moving around the field etc.

But after 4 days or so I'd want a vet to take a look.

The most a vet can do is either see what you have already seen, and you couldnt see anything obvious, or start costing you money on lengthly investigations.

No point having bute as may mask other things, so I tend to leave them a few days and see if they work themselves out. Unless obvious nasty cause.

If its a punctured sole etc, then sometimes it wont be obvious until a bit longer.

 

[poggio]

sorry I disagree... why call the vet out for him to say, its in the foot you need to ring your farrier ? (as an example! not relating that to magicmillbrooks case)
I think in most cases you need to use your experience and intuition.. and a bit of common sense when it comes to diagnosing lameness. Obviously, the main concern is to get the horse sound but there are several things you can exhaust before calling your vet, wasting money and his/her time.

 

[Parkranger]

[ QUOTE ]
sorry I disagree... why call the vet out for him to say, its in the foot you need to ring your farrier ? (as an example! not relating that to magicmillbrooks case)
I think in most cases you need to use your experience and intuition.. and a bit of common sense when it comes to diagnosing lameness. Obviously, the main concern is to get the horse sound but there are several things you can exhaust before calling your vet, wasting money and his/her time.

[/ QUOTE ]

I totally agree - unless the horse can't move or is in severe discomfort then you need to see if they've just rolled badly in the stable/field!

 

[RLF]

Have to agree with POggi0 and Vicstress:

i would at least wait until the farrier has been at least you can then rule out problems in the hoof, when all obvious causes have been ruled out and if the horse is still lame then i would then call the vet.

 

[ss1]

Is it definitely in the foot? How is your horse on a turn etc?

It's worth finding out where the lameness is before calling anyone, eg could be in the shoulder. If there is no heat or swelling then I would try the box rest option for a few days first. If the vet comes out and can't see anything obvious then all they will do (depending on how good the vet is) is a few exercises to see where the lameness is coming from and prescribe a weeks box rest.

If after a week of box rest and walking in hand twice a day it doesn't show any improvemnet then call your vet.

 

[pagancluf]

I have a similar prob - horse has heat in foot - farrier comes out and has a puncture wound -- digs it out - put poultice on and see what is like tomoz am at 6 (on duties at 7am..._) put new nappy on tomoz am and see if anything comes out. How long before discharge comes out anyone??? non-weight bearing on front foot. REALLY concerned = should I cal vet as well??

 

[poggio]

if its been dug out you'll probably have gunk out of it by tomorrow AM, provided its been poulticed well enough. It usually appears quite quickly. I wouldn't call the vet yet as there's not much he/she could do at this point... just keep poulticing until poultice is clear then your farrier will probably give you a solution (name of it has totally gone from my mind!!) to soak cotton wool in and then plug the hole. Try to keep it as clean as poss etc.
If there is infection, it is unlikely there will be any weight-bearing at all, this tye of lameness always looks a lot worse than it is. Must be very painful though! imagine having an abcess on the ball of your foot... ouch!

 

[Magicmillbrook]

Thanks everyone - I know lameness is an indicatior of pain, however she is only showing signs of pain in trot. She seems to be moving fine in all other respects and was bearing more weight on her bad leg than her good as she was having her tea tonight. I will see what the farrier says on wed. If still lame on thurs will call the vet. Obvioiusly if it gets worse I will call him sooner.

Incidently Vicstress - My mares osteo said she has a touch of arthritis in her fetlock joints, probably due to being over jumped in her youth (she was BSJA pony) - when they go tight it affects her shoulders - the reverse of your horses probs. Will let you all know how she does.

 

[Parkranger]

If it's only in trot that is exactly what Ty had - not saying it's the same but I wouldn't rest in a box, get them out in the field so they're stretching themselves out and give it a couple of days - especially if it is arthritis. Maybe not bute though as she might overdo it in the field if she feels no pain? I wouldn't say it was an absess as she'd probably be lame all the time (although I'm no vet!)

That's weird isn't it? When Ty gets the cold in his shoulder or pulls it, it goes like a rock! physio showed me how to release it now. Sounds like your mare had a bit of a hard time before she found you - same as Ty.

Let us know how she gets on hun x