Lameness - how long to wait before investigating further!

comet!

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My horse has been lame for 9 days. Vet came out at the end of last week and he was 4/10 lame and was on 2 bute per day for four days and five days box rest. Was sound trotting up Tuesday and last night after being turned out for a few hours but this afternoon back to how he was last week. Vet said back to bute and box rest for another week then either another check or further investigations.

I'm a bit worried that he will potentially have been lame for two weeks before anything further is checked - is this normal?
 
What symptoms are associated with the lameness?

Any heat in the leg or hoof?
Is there a strong pulse on that leg?
Any wounds?
Any damage to the white line (if unshod and you can see it)?
Thrush?
Does the horse happily let you flex the joints on that leg?
Does he stand normally on the leg?
Is the hoof well balanced?
Have you seen him slip while ridden or in the field?
 
I can't seem to quote on my phone

Any heat in the leg or hoof? No
Is there a strong pulse on that leg? No
Any wounds? No
Any damage to the white line (if unshod and you can see it)? He's shod so can't see it
Thrush? No
Does the horse happily let you flex the joints on that leg? Yes
Does he stand normally on the leg? Yes
Is the hoof well balanced? Yes
Have you seen him slip while ridden or in the field? Yes, he went down a hole in a warmup school at a show two weeks ago which is what I'm worried about. That's the only thing that I've seen him so that could have caused it. When he went down the hole I got off and checked him and all seemed fine. That was Sunday. Didn't ride Monday and he was lame Tuesday night.
 
I think that you need to talk to your Vet again and talk about your worries. Some injuries do just need time to heal, but if it's more serious then you need to know.
 
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