Lame steps showing up in lateral work?

F

Farma

Well-Known Member
Joined
17 March 2010
Messages
2,107
Visit site
Can anyone offer some advice? I have had my current horse about 14 months and since I got her she has a tendency to show bridle lameness which I thought once contact was sorted would go away, she passed 5 stage vetting (after some physio), fast forward to now and the contact is now sorted and very good and secure but now the hopping steps are showing in most of the lateral work but not in any other steps.
If she is trotted up, flexioned etc she isn't lame, I have had physio from the vets several times now and the back seems fine now, (which it wasn't when I got her), she goes from scoring brilliantly with tonnes of bd wins to being harshly marked down for uneven steps in the lateral work and then this weekend I was stopped halfway through as the judge though she saw lameness. Luckily I have the test on video and there is some tension and a look of the horse holding itself in the lateral but not lame as such. She jumps brilliantly and flexes her hocks well over raised poles.....any ideas? If there isn't a lameness to investigate do I investigate the obvious anyway or do I carry on regardless and see what happens?
 
If injury lameness is ruled out I would investigate her body symmetry with your physio (not just back but use of all limbs, both shoulders, pectoral muscles, hamstrings etc). Crookedness can very often produce uneven steps but doesn't have to mean injury, just a way of her holding herself so she doesn't have to use the parts that are uncomfortable/sore/unused to working well. Hope it's nothing sinister and you get to the bottom of it.
 
I had a livery that was similar, passed full vetting then soon started to show "bridle lameness" which went once he worked more correctly, jumping was no problem and he seemed perfectly sound and was winning/ competing dressage up to elem level until he went up for sale and failed the trot on a circle, xrays showed some changes within the coffin joint in both front feet as far as I can remember, he had injections and went to a mainly hacking home as his owners didn't want to wait any longer before selling, it was obviously declared.
I suspect something is going on with your horse, if she appears sound try trotting on the hard on a circle, they don't have to show much for nerve blocking or go for a full workup, the tension she shows is probably due to holding herself to avoid discomfort, a good judge will pick up unlevel steps it has now been seen by more than one, so should a good vet.
 
Thanks for the comments ☺ viola she is very crooked I recall when I first tried her constantly pushing myself back over to one side as she was shoving me over. Her back was very sore when she came so i always thought she had gotten used to holding herself against discomfort but now the back and contact sorted there is still 'something' going on! If I showed a bid of her working you would not see a thing if I showed shoulder in or Travers/renver it's glaringly obvious!
 
I think you have your answer there then :) Now it's to figure out is she crooked because her natural crookedness had been left untrained for a long time and produced dysfunctional posture...It's similar to humans really, if you have weakness in one leg and are asked to walk without much pressure you will be ok but if you have to show more gymnastic ability you might show uneven/crooked/one-side-favouring steps. In grand scheme of things, lameness is "just" an intricate way of shifting weight to avoid loading/stretching so watch her closely and you should figure out which limb she is favouring to load.

Shoulder-in is like weight lifting for inside hindleg as well as ribcage stretch on the outside of the body - both can cause discomfort in crooked horse.

I would definitely chat with your vet and physio about best ways to work on her basic symmetry and re-evaluate after a few months of remedial work.

Another thing...if she was as crooked as you described when you got her it could indicate some injury/soundness issue in the past which she found her way around but which is still there and will not allow her to progress into more demanding work before it is sorted...
 
Just wondered if she is the same if you put her in a long and low frame and perform some lateral movements.
I had a bridle lame horse, his previous owner rode him very up and short in the neck and the unlevel steps appeared when I tried riding him in a different frame. For a long time he needed to be ridden very short and tight until we could slowly change his reliance on the contact.
 
Have you tried her on bute? Is she any better? My friend is currently going through this and I have to say it has definitely been pain related. In their case diagnosis is navicular and kissing spines trying to avoid loading the front limbs equally. Hopefully it isn't the case for you but it is worth asking a goid equine vet.
 
Have you discussed this crookedness with the physio and vet? Have they seen you riding your horse? There are many exercises you can do on and off the horse which can help and a good physio should give you homework to go away with. It may well be worth getting the vet to do a ridden assessment and go from there rather than endless trot ups and flexion tests which dont always show what the problem is and if you have a specific video which captures it then even better (have first hand experience of this and found ridden assessments to be very useful indeed) Hopefully there isnt something more sinister going on and its simply a case of taking time to strengthen up evenly from your horses previous problems. Good luck x
 
Hi no I am contemplating a bute trial now before I take her in for more investigation ...just to see what happens.
Geogiegirl I have a good vet and physio and shown them vids of her being ridden, they have been out a few times now ...no obvious problem so sensible next steps are bute trial myself and then in for investigation 😕 the horse is so talented and special i really want to make sure I get to the bottom of it!!
 
I would do a bute trial it won't let you rule out pain but if the horse improves you know you have and that gives you a start point .
 
Hi wongkong they found an issue in the t14/15/16 so under the back of the saddle area, not kissing but some 'activity' as the vet put it, it's been injected but I can't say I've noticed any difference after 5 months ....vet back out this week!
 
Someone i know had a horse similar to 'be positive's. Very similar signs only it turned out to be the hocks. No issues doing other work or jumping but lateral work showed it up.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top