Lameness experts

MasterBenedict

MasterBenedict

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Please could anyone who is better at seeing lameness issues than me (this would probably be everyone...) have a look at the following vids and tell me what they see?

Little background - pony is 5yrs and barefoot, never had to see a vet apart from vacs and teeth. Had farrier Monday and rode straight after, didn't feel lame but definitely didn't feel right after about 20 mins gentle walk/trot on surface. Wasn't obvious to anyone but me, I know pony inside out having had him from a foal and broken him myself. Vids are him trotting up this evening and I'm not happy with the way he is moving at all. Hoping the farrier just got a little trim happy and he's just a little sore. He has fabulous feet normally and farrier always complements them. Yes, he is a bit fatter than ideal but it's a struggle with him and I am taking measures to ensure we are on the right track weight wise.

Thoughts please -

https://youtu.be/8CeWhtvT1gM

https://youtu.be/OZLiArhSCnc

Slow-mo -

https://youtu.be/RCk-PsnfFhg

https://youtu.be/fns2dujhON4

Thanks!
 
AdorableAlice said:
My uneducated guess is laminitis.
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Also mine, he is carrying too much weight as you already know, that combined with a trim may just have tipped him over, the other thought is he appears tight in the way he moves over his back, or rather doesn't move much, which is similar to my livery who has recently started treatment for PSSM, it may be worth looking into or it may just be the way he is moving to brace himself because his feet hurt.
 
he just looks a bit sore all round to me. the heels on his hinds look very low so maybe farrier has taken a bit too much off. as he is a little rotund I would treat as if it is the start of laminitis just to be on the safe side
 
I would agree with the others. I would also say he is not just 'a bit fatter than ideal' and even if you are lucky this time and it is not laminitis this should probably be the wake up call you need to really take his weight management seriously. I hope he is feeling better soon.
 
Sprig said:
I would agree with the others. I would also say he is not just 'a bit fatter than ideal' and even if you are lucky this time and it is not laminitis this should probably be the wake up call you need to really take his weight management seriously. I hope he is feeling better soon.
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Agreed :( with the winter being so mild I failed miserably at keeping him trim. Into the starvation paddock in the morning.
 
Well done for being proactive. Why not take some pics to track his weight loss. It will be a good motivator and interesting to look back on.
 
be positive said:
Also mine, he is carrying too much weight as you already know, that combined with a trim may just have tipped him over, the other thought is he appears tight in the way he moves over his back, or rather doesn't move much, which is similar to my livery who has recently started treatment for PSSM, it may be worth looking into or it may just be the way he is moving to brace himself because his feet hurt.
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It's the tightness in his back that worries me, he normally swings very nicely :/ his back just seems so rigid and still! Bothe his sire and dam are tested PSSM negative, would this still be a possibility?
 
MasterBenedict said:
It's the tightness in his back that worries me, he normally swings very nicely :/ his back just seems so rigid and still! Bothe his sire and dam are tested PSSM negative, would this still be a possibility?
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Don't forgot soreness in the feet can often be seen through the whole body - as be positive says they do brace themselves when their feet hurt.
 
AdorableAlice said:
My uneducated guess is laminitis.
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Mine too sadly :(

Sprig said:
I would agree with the others. I would also say he is not just 'a bit fatter than ideal' and even if you are lucky this time and it is not laminitis this should probably be the wake up call you need to really take his weight management seriously. I hope he is feeling better soon.
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Hes the weight mine was when I had to jailbreak him from his full livery yard as I thought he was grossly overweight

MasterBenedict said:
It's the tightness in his back that worries me, he normally swings very nicely :/ his back just seems so rigid and still! Bothe his sire and dam are tested PSSM negative, would this still be a possibility?
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HashRouge said:
Don't forgot soreness in the feet can often be seen through the whole body - as be positive says they do brace themselves when their feet hurt.
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This! Ex YO was banging on about mine being pigeon toed, which he is not! However when I looked at him properly, he was. It was because his feet were sore so he was walking on the outside edges of his hooves, which combined with his saddle not fitting anymore has made him very sore :( Imagine how you would walk and hold yourself if your feet were sore. It has a knock on effect throughout the whole body
 
Ouch ouch ouch ouch (is all I could think with every step). Grossly overweight sadly but looks like a beautiful boy. I'd be treating as laminitis and hoping to have caught it in time.
 
Im afraid I would guess at laminitis too.

When my horse first came down with it a number of years ago I thought he had put his back out - not in a million years would I have thought he had laminitis. Eventually had the vet out and he had serious acute laminitis and was stabled immediately and remained that way for some time. He was in a bit of a pickle. Luckily he pulled through but then was a sufferer of chronic laminitis so I had to watch him like a hawk and we had it at least once a year with him. For 8 years we battled the laminitis and I wouldnt wish it on anyone.

My advice - put him in a bare (and I mean bare) paddock, with little piles of hay scattered around and get the weight off him.

If your horse has acute laminitis he will prob be put on box rest, but if he has chronic laminitis, he best off staying out in a bald paddock with small piles of old ish hay dotted around, keeping the blood circulating in his feet by walking around.

But at the end of the day im obviously not a vet, and i could be completely wrong. If I were you I wouldnt be happy until the vet had seen him and made his own diagnosis
 
If he were mine I would be treating as if for laminitis. In on a deep bed right to the door, soaked hay and vet out asap.

His Wright would definitely be a worry.
 
Another vote for laminitis I'm afraid, I would also have him on a deep bed with soaked hay, he's quite obese poor lad.

I hope he makes a good recovery but he wouldn't have access to any grass at all for quite some time if he was mine.
 
Looks like Laminitis to me I'm afraid...it can be subtle to start with, the pony is very, very overweight, you need to restrict his diet to soaked hay and call the vet sooner rather than later - good luck.
 
Am going through exactly the same - no obvious signs it's laminitis in my boy other than he moves like yours but he isn't particularly overweight. It looks like he is stiff but actually he is holding himself 'off' his feet if you see what I mean. And yes he stands pigeon toed when it's more sore. And yes it was worse after farrier has been.

He is in over night, out on sparse grazing for an hour or so and the rest of the day out in a manège with soaked hay. He is being tested for cushings on Monday (he is 16)

I would def get yours off the grass and onto soft surface asap and avoid all sugars for next week or so
 
touchstone said:
How is he doing today op?
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Thanks for asking. He seems much better today and was happily swinging through his back much more with no wierd shuffly movement. I was just worried because it had been 5 days. I have been thinking a lot and because he was sore immediately after the farrier I am certain he just took too much off and made him sore, this coupled with the fact he has recently been turned out with my new horse who is bullying him and running him round has probably contributed.

I am pretty sure this is not laminitis, but I am of course still addressing his weight. I have taken the following pics this morning so I can track progress. I have had him weighed on a weigh bridge and have one at my disposal when needed. I appreciate everyone's views and I certainly don't want to be one of those who says 'oh but he's a cob' or 'he's big boned' and bury my head in the sand, but seriously? I do not agree that he is grossly overweight. In my opinion this is an exaggeration - he does not have fat pads, he does not have a gutter down his spine, his belly cannot be seen sticking out from in front or behind and his ribs can be felt. Yes, he is cresty and needs to drop the pounds but in reality he will never look like a fine boned show pony. His breeding is high % quarter horse and his conformation is definitely not what many people would deem ideal. He has weight to shed and I will be keeping a close eye.

I do of course appreciate and take on board everyone's comments :)

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Now in his restricted paddock not looking very impressed.

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I think he is not helped by his natural conformation, the type he is will carry excessive muscle, especially on the hindquarters but he is certainly not just a few pounds overweight, I would not call him obese but he is not a cob, he is fairly light boned and would look far better and be healthier with less crest and belly, the quarters will always look relatively big but the rest does not need to.
 
This is the size of paddock I've made up for him. Small enough it should be pretty much bare in a week or so but big enough he can move around sufficiently. I will supplement with small amounts of soaked hay when it's nearly bare. Thoughts?

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I think you need to adjust your view of what is right for him in terms of weight.
Ignoring the butt he looks very top heavy, he looks pretty fatty around his sheath are which is always a good indicator, I would treat him as though he has EMS and would want to almost get him to too thin (so I could see ribs at a stand still, I am sure they are there somewhere!) if I could and then work back up.
If he is still at all footy please take him off the grass completely, as stressed grass in a small paddock won't help either.

Re the paddock any chance you can set him up a small track round the edge of a field? It really keeps them moving.
 
I'm pleased to hear he's more comfortable op, however I'd still be concerned about his weight especially as he's fairly young, it can set them up for so many metabolic issues which quarter horses can be prone to anyway.

I appreciate you realise this and I'm sorry to nag, but having been through the nightmare of ems, laminitis and eventually Cushing's in a native pony I can only wish I'd been more restrictive with diet in the earlier years before any weight issue were apparent. These types really do live off fresh air and it is hard work keeping them right.

A cresty neck is still fat and releasing hormones into the bloodstream that can impact on the whole system.

I can really recommend the blue cross right weight articles, and there is an excellent piece of writing on how an Icelandic pony was successfully dieted on icelandichorses.co.uk

I will shut up now as I'm sure you are feeling a bit got at by me, which isn't my intention at all. I hope he continues to improve.
 
Good luck with the weight loss plan it is so hard keeping good doers slim. Though he looked uncomfortable in the video's it was odd how in slow motion he looked to be moving quite well tracking up.

Hope he is soon moving as stunning as he looks.
 
Afraid I am with the others who think he needs to lose a fair bit of weight. When I saw the photos you posted I did wonder about ems as others have mentioned. The only horse I have had who ever got laminitis (which was stress related after having his toes taken back too short) had ems with the typical crusty neck and swollen sheath. We kept his weight down and he was actually quite ribby
 
How tall is he, OP? I'm guessing around 15hh. If so, then I would say he needs to lose around 100kg. He has a very cresty neck, apple bum and has a spinal channel. I would condition score him a 4, possibly 4.5. He's very fine limbed. Gorgeous horse. I hope you get him sorted. I think your paddock looks a good size and once he has eaten it down, it should be ideal. It's so hard (and expensive) having a good doer. He's lucky he has an owner like you who can be bothered to help him to lose weight. I'd rather have a poor doer any day; much easier!
 
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