Lame in walk but not in trot?

[wellsat]

Apologies, not strictly a CR post but likely to get more intelligent answers in here.

Genio is lame in his rf walk but completely sound in trot. I've never seen anything like it and neither has my vet or chiro.

Going to get them to take him in to horspital next week for tests Any ideas where you would start?

He's barefoot and has a very good farrier trimming him. He's had his teeth done in case they were complicating things and I've changed his saddle.

 

[MegaBeast]

Nothing overly helpful to say except I hope you find an answer!

Was the saddle change before or after the lameness? Is he sound in trot on a straight line, circle on hard ground and following flexion tests? Is he still unsound in walk after being worked in trot? Is the same on the lunge and under saddle?

 

[wellsat]

Thanks, sound in all conditions in trot. Only thing he hasnt had yet are flexion tests. Saddle changed after lameness became apparent but chiro has checked him and nothing there is causing it. No different ridden and lunged. No different after work although slightly better in afternoon when he's been out all day.

 

[Santa_Claus]

Is it possibly bi lateral so cancels itself out in trot so to speak but the different footfalls of walk shows it up

 

[wellsat]

I did wonder that SC but he doesn't look bilateral, he's still got a good amount of extension in front. When I've seen other bilaterally lame horses they've been really short and choppy in front.

 

[Santa_Claus]

I've had a bilaterally lame horse still get 7s and 8s for his mediums before finally being diagnosed so I wouldn't rule it out! Btw before finally being properly diagnosed with navicular I got told by one (equine) vet that he was 4/10 lame from mild thrush!!

Hope you get to the root cause cause and fix it

 

[Santa_Claus]

Pressed button too quick! the lameness came and went (hence still ridden and competed under vets advice) and was more noted on the near fore but when nerve blocked he was clearly bilaterally lame.

 

[wellsat]

Thanks SC, thats really interesting. Bilateral lameness in trot had crossed my mind bt the vet thought it was really unlikely given that he's still got a beautiful medium trot in him. I'll get them to nerve block before we go straight to the x rays and see what they throw up.

 

[Darkly_Dreaming_Dex]

My boy was lame in walk but still had a fab trot. He was diagnosed with ringbone and came right after adequan and natural balance shoes

 

[KatB]

Mine was also bilaterally lame and not obvious in any pace...only becane apparent when she started to stop when jumping. Nerve blocks should diagnose it very quickly

 

[Frankie10]

http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/horsecare/1379/64960.html

Hi really useful article. I had the vet out to my horse recently- I thought he was lame on the near fore. Turns out he was lame on the right hind. Just bruised his hock thankfully. This article helped me get my head around this scenario!
X

 

[Frankie10]

Added to say that my horse looked lame in walk but not trot too bizarrely. luckily we have a really good equine vet who specialises in lameness. good luck- hope your horse only has something minor too x

 

[Saratoga]

Lame in walk but not in trot would suggest something higher up to me? Is it a fore or hind leg?

I've had a horse recently go bilaterally lame in front, caused by the way he was being shod. The first indication for me was the drop in muscle at the base of his neck!

 

[fatpiggy]

My old girl had advanced arthritis (mainly visible as carpitis) and only had partial bend in her front legs. She clearly stepped short with the near fore in walk but was sound in trot because she had developed a swinging sort of action to accomodate the lack of bend. Trot strides were short but equal. Towards the end she found putting the near fore hoof on a traffic cone (DIY tripod!)to be trimmed difficult so I assume this and the short stride in walk were down to arthritis in the shoulder. She was on painkillers throughout so I assume it was mechanical lameness rather than due to pain.

 

[wellsat]

Thanks for the article Frankie, more interesting things to think about.

I'm fairly sure its in his right fore, it looks like its in his knee or his shoulder although I know that statistically thats unlikely. He doesn't have a classic lame head nod, its more that he's moving awkwardly on the affected leg.

He's only 7 and hasn't done much so I really hope it isn't arthritis as that wouldn't be good for a dressage career