Lameness in shoulder? Horse broken

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Sheri

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Any help would be great....
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My horse went lame quite a while back either just before or just after christmas (can't quite remember) and we thought it was in the shoulder, gave her a bit of time off and bute and she was fine.

Ever since I have noticed that when I first start trotting she does half a lap of the school with very uneven steps then she is fine, to be honest I have thought its her slopping around as when I kick her on she comes ok, canter, jumping all fine.

I have noticed its been getting a little worse and last night she was lame in trot. She takes very small short steps with her right front, there is no heat at all, no tenderness anywhere, when I trot her up she trots up sound but get on her and she is lame in trot again.

Please help
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Put her on the lunge and check if definately shoulder.

If in Shoulder/High up
Lameness will be worse with the lame side on the outside of the circle

If below shoulder or in hoof
Lameness will be worse with the lame side on the inside of the circle

Have you had a chiropractor in to see your horse, well worth the visit.
 
Vet? To be honest, lameness that looks like it comes from the shoulder is more likely to originate in the foot. Get the vet out.

A chiro should never see a horse without veterinary permission, especially not a lame horse.
 
There is a saying that 'the best treatment for shoulder lameness is to drain the pus from the horse's foot!'

If the lameness is consistent and ongoing then it is probably time to call the vet to have a look. Shoulder lameness is fairly uncommon compared to problems lower down in the leg so it would be worth having your mare nerve blocked to determine for sure where the lameness is.

Definitely have the saddle checked as well but TBH saddle fitting problems rarely seem to cause outright lameness, I would be more suspicious of a problem in the leg.
 
Thanks guys

I haven't lunged her so I will do so tomorrow and report back
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we've given her 2 weeks off thinking it could be an twinge that she has niggled again and if its no better I will get my vet out.

We are currently looking for a new saddle for her as hers slips back due to her changing shape (she needs a really deep gullet and theses are quite rare on a humane budget!), however our saddle fitter has seen it on her and feels that its not causing her problems.

Thanks again all
 
The vet came up yesterday and said she has acute Laminitis
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She had her shoes off the day before that as I thought she was to be out of action for a while with her 'shoulder' she was footy (but our yard is a little gravelly) the vet came up and she walked ok in the school but was totally lame in trot.

She has the pulses, was tender with the hoof pincers and has heat in her feet but isn't leaning back, isn't overweight (although i now know they don't have to be) and is ok when you pick one up and she is leaning on the other.

She has the biggest bed ever known to man and is on tonnes of meds - was almost totally knocked out last night, the vet put hoof blocks on too and will see her again on tues - thing is I don't even know why but I'm not totally convinced it is Laminitis I just have a niggling feeling that its something else.

I am totally devastated if she does have it as it came on with no warning (unless its been building up and showing in the one leg for a while) I am a total noivce when it comes to Laminitis.

Has anyone had this mysterious onset before? The vet said it couldbe due to changes, ie going out 24/7, could be that she is in season, counld be concussion from riding and many other things that just pushed her over the edge
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