Lofiro
New User
Hi everyone, looking for some advice/opinions on my mares mystery lameness!
For context, she’s a roughly 14.2hh, quarter horse cross and I’ve owned her for about 9 months. We primarily do showjumping and eventing, but just over a month ago she started to buck in the canter and refuse jumps (this is totally out of character for her).
I put her in the round pen to see if she’d act differently without a rider and that’s when I noticed the lameness. She was a 3/5 lame at the trot going to the left, but 0/5 lame in the trot on the right. On the straight, she was only mildly lame in the trot. Not lame in the walk either. There was also no heat or swelling anywhere in the left front.
Got the farrier out the next day as she was 2 weeks overdue because my farrier was out of state. He trimmed her feet (she’s barefoot) and couldn’t find anything noticeable. Showed him the lameness and he thought that her shoulder looked out.
Got the bodyworker out the next day and all she found was some soreness in her back and withers (from a previous ill-fitting saddle). Suggested it could be ringbone, but was stumped as there was no heat or swelling.
Took her to the vet the next day and they did a lameness exam. 3/5 lame at the trot going to the left on hard and soft ground, no lameness going to the right and only mildly lame on the straight. There’s a small hoof crack in the outer wall of the left front which they thought could cause it, they also did nerve blocks which narrowed it to the hoof and then X-rays which came back completely clean. They also used hoof testers and flexion/palpitation tests which both had no response.
That was 3 weeks ago, and she has been on box rest since but I took her out yesterday to reassess and she is still as lame as she was a month ago.
I’m absolutely stumped and a bit lost at this point. The next step looks like an ultrasound or MRI but I’m hoping it’s just a hidden abscess and not a tendon/ligament injury.
Keen to hear other people’s experiences/thoughts.
TLDR: lame in the left front, only in the trot going to the left. Vet/farrier/bodyworker couldn’t find anything causing the lameness. Still lame after 3 weeks box rest.
For context, she’s a roughly 14.2hh, quarter horse cross and I’ve owned her for about 9 months. We primarily do showjumping and eventing, but just over a month ago she started to buck in the canter and refuse jumps (this is totally out of character for her).
I put her in the round pen to see if she’d act differently without a rider and that’s when I noticed the lameness. She was a 3/5 lame at the trot going to the left, but 0/5 lame in the trot on the right. On the straight, she was only mildly lame in the trot. Not lame in the walk either. There was also no heat or swelling anywhere in the left front.
Got the farrier out the next day as she was 2 weeks overdue because my farrier was out of state. He trimmed her feet (she’s barefoot) and couldn’t find anything noticeable. Showed him the lameness and he thought that her shoulder looked out.
Got the bodyworker out the next day and all she found was some soreness in her back and withers (from a previous ill-fitting saddle). Suggested it could be ringbone, but was stumped as there was no heat or swelling.
Took her to the vet the next day and they did a lameness exam. 3/5 lame at the trot going to the left on hard and soft ground, no lameness going to the right and only mildly lame on the straight. There’s a small hoof crack in the outer wall of the left front which they thought could cause it, they also did nerve blocks which narrowed it to the hoof and then X-rays which came back completely clean. They also used hoof testers and flexion/palpitation tests which both had no response.
That was 3 weeks ago, and she has been on box rest since but I took her out yesterday to reassess and she is still as lame as she was a month ago.
I’m absolutely stumped and a bit lost at this point. The next step looks like an ultrasound or MRI but I’m hoping it’s just a hidden abscess and not a tendon/ligament injury.
Keen to hear other people’s experiences/thoughts.
TLDR: lame in the left front, only in the trot going to the left. Vet/farrier/bodyworker couldn’t find anything causing the lameness. Still lame after 3 weeks box rest.