Mare cantering funny - update and more questions (sorry!)

Ziggy_

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I posted yesterday about my mare hopping in canter with her hind legs together and going disunited.

Today I loose schooled her and she was better, only hopping intermittently (sp?) and cantering in a proper rhythm the rest of the time. It seems to be when she tries to mess about and race off her canter goes funny, if she canters slow shes ok. She is definitely 100% sound at trot - no shortened steps, toes dragging, head nodding or anything like that. When she was tied up in the yard a couple of times I noticed her lift one hind leg up suddenly, flexing all the joints, then slowly lowering it back to the ground. She used to do this when I bought her but got better after a few months.

We've had masses of rain here recently and everywhere is flooded including the school. I've read they can strain a stifle or something in heavy going and thought this might be a possibility.

The other thing I'm worried about is bone spavin, she has been treated previously by injections into her hocks and I'm worried its returing/getting worse.

With this in mind would you

1. keep excercising her gently and see if its the time off and lack of schooling that is making loose suppleness etc and revert to how she was a year ago

2. give her a week off and wait for the ground to dry out a bit and see if that makes a difference?

because she seems better today i've decided to put on hold having her vet checked/back checked until i have a more definite idea of what could be wrong. obviously if she deteriorates i will get her looked at immediately.


if anyone has seen similar symptoms before or has any advice it will be welcome. I am really paranoid about her legs cos of the spavin and I could well be imagining it totally, I just need some advice!
 
My mare is exactly the same, i've been following the threads on here about your mare and today my friend suggested that she could be in season. Apparantly they can be sore around their ovaries.

My mare hops slightly in canter but if you speed her up a bit and take weight off her back she is alot better. I had the physio out yesterday who says there is nothing wrong with her back, so i'm going to wait now until she is out of season and see whether there is any difference.
 
I wouldn't wait- get the vet to do a proper lameness work up - our ID x did this and the vet found PSD, it could be spavins but I have also seen this with Stringhalt...
 
I'm with Land_Girl on this one - you will not forgive yourself if in a few days/weeks/months you find she has something which is causing her pain and you have carried on trying to work her. I've had two horses with Kissing Spine, and they both used to draw a hind leg up underneath them in an odd stretch/flex type action. Also you can waste a lot of valuable time messing about when you could perhaps have solved the problem.
 
IMHO It sounds like her hocks have started to cause her trouble again - I'd get the vet out asap - it's not fair to continue - please don't give her a wk off either as the vet will need to see her lame - not rested (this sounds cruel but it's the best thing in the long run)
I hope it works out for you - if it is the hocks you may just need to get them injected again...
Kate x
 
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