mechanical unsoundness
- Thread starter showjump2003
- Start date
Fahrenheit
Well-Known Member
My old gelding is mechanically unsound, it means that pain relief doesn't improve it, ie if he was to be nerve blocked where the unsoundness is, or given bute, it doesn't change his soundness because its to do with his mechanical movement (in my horses case its his joint that is the problem) and not pain causing it.
showjump2003
Well-Known Member
But if a horse was mechanically unsound over a jump, surely chances are he sin't sound for flatwork?
burtie
Well-Known Member
My old gelding was machanically unsound but he still jumped, he had a very old tendon injury which had just been left to heal by chucking in a field. This left him very over at the knee in one front leg more than the other and so if trotted up on a hard suface in a straight line would have a slightly uneven gate. But it was fully healed so he fine to do everything, just had to ride with a slight wrong bend in dressage!
Mind you he was given to me because of this fault, I'd never pay money for horse like that.
Mind you he was given to me because of this fault, I'd never pay money for horse like that.
Partoow
Well-Known Member
many horses are mechanically unsound. Only usually 1-2/10ths in most cases. The most common cause being not having its 'straightness' improved through work. This unsoundness is seen in the hind limbs as it is these limbs that best reflect straightness in terms of engagement and application of the hind leg.
They are not actually in pain, they are just like us in that they have a strong and a weak side and if i told you to hop on one leg you would chose your strongest side and this would be easy. If i then said now use your other leg you would realise how lacking in strength and co-ordination you are. This is exactly like the horse and now you can appreciate that it is possible to be 'unlevel' behind but for it not always to cause pain . This lack of straightness may actually then lead to problems later as there is a direct link between symetry of movement and soundness and performance.
They are not actually in pain, they are just like us in that they have a strong and a weak side and if i told you to hop on one leg you would chose your strongest side and this would be easy. If i then said now use your other leg you would realise how lacking in strength and co-ordination you are. This is exactly like the horse and now you can appreciate that it is possible to be 'unlevel' behind but for it not always to cause pain . This lack of straightness may actually then lead to problems later as there is a direct link between symetry of movement and soundness and performance.
puddicat
Well-Known Member
I think it is an unfortunate term becuase it is easily abused and misinterpreted. 'Soundess' in general (as opposed to specifically with regard to horses) has always been interpreted to mean 'able to serve purpose' and 'free from weakness'. I think the problem arises when the term is slapped on horses with a deviation from normal musculoskeletal structure or function with no consideration of whether the condition will compromise fitness. This is at least in part because the vocabulary to describe non-detrimental deviations in structure and movement in horses is fairly limited. In its literal use, a mechanical unsoundness is a compromise of the mechanical integrity of the locomotor system that renders the animal dysfuntional or liable to injury. That is not the same as having asymmetric movement due to unequal muscle development.
The distinction between 'altered' or 'deviant gait' and lameness is subtle but there is an implication in the use of the terms 'lameness' and 'unsoundness' that the locomotor system is clinically compromised. If this is not true, for example if you have a crooked horse because of uneven muscular developmet, it isn't unsound and it is meaningless to score it using the lameness scale.
I think the idea of a 'direct link' between symmetry of movement and soundness over emphasises it's significance and it would be better to thinkof it as a 'weak correlaion'. The fascination that some horsey people have with deviations from symmetrical movement in horses travelling in a straight line is no bad thing but in context one has to remember that horses like all terrestrial animals spend much of their time doing asymmetric things such as turning corners and travelling in asymmetric gaits such as canter and gallop.
The distinction between 'altered' or 'deviant gait' and lameness is subtle but there is an implication in the use of the terms 'lameness' and 'unsoundness' that the locomotor system is clinically compromised. If this is not true, for example if you have a crooked horse because of uneven muscular developmet, it isn't unsound and it is meaningless to score it using the lameness scale.
I think the idea of a 'direct link' between symmetry of movement and soundness over emphasises it's significance and it would be better to thinkof it as a 'weak correlaion'. The fascination that some horsey people have with deviations from symmetrical movement in horses travelling in a straight line is no bad thing but in context one has to remember that horses like all terrestrial animals spend much of their time doing asymmetric things such as turning corners and travelling in asymmetric gaits such as canter and gallop.