Mysterious lameness ?!

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ajen2511

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Hey all,

i'm here to seek worldy advice! Sorry for the longgg post

My mare, who's 10 went hopping lame yst (limping in walk). 24hours or less before that, had just gave her a gentle hack.

Her right foreleg is barely weight baring and so I got such a shock, I called the vet out immediately. at 730pm, the vet came and he too was confused. She shifted weight, resting her left fore instead and when he told me she was lame in not only the right fore, but left as well, I almost had a panic attack!

Then after trot up, weirdly, she looked more sound (but very unwilling to trot). No reaction to hoof testers, quicker pulse in the right foreleg, slightly hotter coronet band but He couldnt figure out what it was. So he gave her a shot of painkillers and said to check on her in the morning.

830am i checked on her, she was lying down unwilling to get up. I had to push her up! She walked out fine, trotted out fine. Then continued to graze a little. And next thing I know, She was VERY lame again!!

I am gutted. YO said to call the farrier instead and said it's probably a hoof abcess and that vets just cost a lot of money ): I don't really know what to do at the moment. She is such a tough horse- doesnt react to much- continued grazing throughout hoof testing...

PLUS, called the farrier but he's only available friday!! and i just cant bear seeing her in pain the whole of tmr as well.

Please if you can help me, it would be APPRECIATED so much. i just really don't know what to do and keep thinking the worst! (bloody internet )
 
There are a number of different causes of intermittent lameness, navicular can cause this, so can a high suspensory injury and so can a check ligament injury. My horse is lame at the moment so I sympathise with you, its so hard when you are left guessing and feels like the end of the world with all the possible scenarios going through your head. I am wondering if my horse has navicular which may have been brought on by poor shoeing following a change from my previous farrier but I guess I will find out when the vet visits next week.

If I were you I'd get the vet out so you can get a definite diagnosis. Good luck x
 
Thanks applecart. Did get the vet out yesterday and he couldn't come up with anything ): so YO said to call farrier though he's only available friday. it is so difficult when i'm guessing so many things so i'm just trying my luck with all the experienced people here at HH!!
 
Just out of interest, is she kind of shuffling, like she doesn't want to put her legs forward properly? Or is it purely weight bearing lameness?
 
Hey royal,

I don't quite know what you mean by shuffling but i reckon kinda both cos she doesn't want to put her legs forward but also doesn't bear weight. Like she's really REALLY lame in a matter of 24hours and i'm afraid that Friday( for the farrier)waiting might be too painful for her to bear
 
I would be getting another vet out pronto, the pony needs ACP and needs to be inside, not out.
 
thanks guys. I am so worried atm but will probably try to get the vet out tmr morning. YO keeps saying it's probably a hoof abcess.

What are the symptoms of Lami?

cos no reation to hooftesters (she was grazing the whole time), the more she walks the more sound she seems (strange enough), she trotted up sound this morning and has only heat and increased pulse in one leg (coronary band). but she's rather stiff on all 4 now and im guessing it might be because she puts weight on the other 3 legs.

sigh. it is so worrying . pony has only been here a month +!! ):
 
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If she has heat in the coronory band, then that points to laminitis. Just because it is only prevelant on one leg doesn't rule it out. They can also get it in all four feet. It IS an emergency, so I would get the vet back out now. The sooner it is treated, the better the prognosis. You need ACP now to open the bloodvessels to the laminae, or they will die.
http://www.laminitis.org/laminitis.html
 
This is really worrying me. The vet who came yst said that it is probably something silly or a hoof abcess.

I'll be calling the vet tmr again but is there any possible way that it could be a hoof abcess though it does not show in the hoof tests?

When they have lami, does their temerament change alot and can they be on-off sound? doesn't say much in alot of the sites i've read
 
Yes, they are not always consistently lame. Pain relief had been administered by your vet as well, infact, one pony I dealt with years ago went from being completely unable to walk to running off across the field within minutes of a pain relieving injection being administered. As for their temperment changing, how do you feel when you are in extreme pain?
I would be getting a different vet out to be honest, as if your vet has not even suggested laminitis to you, I would be questioning their diagnostic skills.
 
I've given your post a little more thought this morning, and I'm sorry, but I don't believe that you have had a vet to look at your horse. I cannot imagine for one minute that any vet would not suggest laminitis with those symptoms, and if a horse was non weight bearing, they most certainly wouldn't give a jab and say check in the morning.
So, my conclusion is that you are listening to your YM who says 'save your money, don't get the vet', or you are trolling. To be honest, if your horse is in that much pain and you don't get the vet, then you are negligent in your care.
Maybe you have limited experience of keeping horses, your previous posts would suggest so, but knowing when to get the vet in an emergency (and when to get a second opinion, if indeed you did get the vet), and also a bit of horse knowledge will go a long way to ensure that horse ownership is fair on the horse.
Sorry to be blunt, but the horse is in pain.
 
harsh...comments above .. no wonder horsey people have a bad name.. have some good advice not criticize it stops people from wanting to post :-(
 
lhotse said:
I've given your post a little more thought this morning, and I'm sorry, but I don't believe that you have had a vet to look at your horse. I cannot imagine for one minute that any vet would not suggest laminitis with those symptoms, and if a horse was non weight bearing, they most certainly wouldn't give a jab and say check in the morning.
So, my conclusion is that you are listening to your YM who says 'save your money, don't get the vet', or you are trolling. To be honest, if your horse is in that much pain and you don't get the vet, then you are negligent in your care.
Maybe you have limited experience of keeping horses, your previous posts would suggest so, but knowing when to get the vet in an emergency (and when to get a second opinion, if indeed you did get the vet), and also a bit of horse knowledge will go a long way to ensure that horse ownership is fair on the horse.
Sorry to be blunt, but the horse is in pain.
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totally agree. my thoughts exactaly. get the horse sorted and on some meds!!! also this post above^ IS NOT HARSH!
 
Okay, i'm definitely not trolling and to be honest, I find your comments very helpful

but 1. The vet did come out (i called immediately after hours first thing I saw) and did suggest lami but said it probaly isnt cos it's very inconsistent, flexion tests done and in fact, she was more sound than before flexion tests and her hind legs werent taking much weight (stance when horse has lami) and that she was NOT walking heel first

2. no reaction to hooftesters at all

3. said it was very strange but if it gets worse, get them to come back for more testing and that it's most prob a hoof abscess.

Before going to the yard, I called the vet today as well to discuss with him what I should do next whereby he said getting the farrier out is more reasonable and practical. Today, I went and she was much much better, sound and surprisingly, only very slightly lame when turned in a circle.

So, called the vet again and he said it's probably a bruised sole or hoof abscess hence he said, to get the farrier once again, is a smart decision.

Sorry if I sounded like i'm trolling but to be honest, no one would troll about something like this, in my opinion. It's a waste of time typing and you just get snidy comments like your own lhotse.

I have loaned horses in the past but I'm not from the UK so climate etc, diseases they are prone to etc, are all different and even the kind of activity i do here (polo) is different from the dressage I do back home.

Whatever it is, bottom line : it's not lami and i'm not trolling. I called the vet within 45mins of her being in pain and called at 830am next morning after checking on her as well.
 
your vet isn't helping you much I'm afraid. If it is a hoof abscess then "pain relief" as in probable bute, is contraindicated because it suppresses the inflammation that you need for it to come to a head and break its way out. Use of bute at this stage can prolong an abscess for a long time and cause a much more difficult recovery period.

It sounds like an abscess but it could equally well be lami, and at this time of year I would be taking no risks and have her off grass pronto. I do not see how you can definitively state that it is not laminitis.

Re the soundness, it is quite possible for a bilaterally or quadrilaterally mildly lame horse to be mistaken for sound.

If I were you I would treat for abcess (no bute) AND laminitis (no grass) until you are sure which one, if either of those, that you have.
 
Someone more experienced than me thought my girl had laminitis the other week so I called vet cos I was obviously worried - however it wasn't laminitis thankfully.

If it's sudden lameness and only one leg it could be a puncture wound or pulled tendon. Is there any heat or swelling anywhere?

Ihotse - why would someone lie about getting the vet out. The girl is obviously worried about her horse and looking for support and advice.
 
TBH it does sound like an abcess rather than laminitis, but it would not do any harm to treat as both for the time being.

Your farrier will be able to confirm when he comes tomorrow.
 
My vet says that there are alot of hoof abcesses about this year. I have one horse recovering from one at the moment who has only ever had one before. (She is 18). I think getting the farrier is a good move. Fingers crossed that he finds the problem.
 
Thank you to all of you for your kind advice and help (:

It has been great getting all the advice and thank you for the support. My mare scared me cos the lameness was just so inconsistent till today where it was clear the slight hobbling was only from the right fore.

There is slight elevated digital pulse on the right fore and slight heat in the coronet band but no swelling. Researched on hoof testing and they said not all horses react to hoof testers (mine was grazing the whole time) but my mare does have hard soles and is very tough in not showing pain so i'm hoping it's an abscess or bruised sole!

Thanks alot!farrier coming in the morning and will let you all know firm diagnosis.

Thank you so much for all comments (: Very much appreciated
 
I will apologise for saying that I didn't believe that you had the vet to your horse, but you must see where I am coming from. No vet that I know would walk away from a horse that was non weightbearing, as you wrote in your opening post, you also never mentioned that he had mentioned laminitis.
However, you cannot say for certain that the horse doesn't have it, infact, a friend of mine suspected her horse to have an abcess with exactly the same symptoms, only one foot, and her horse DOES have laminitis, as diagnosed by the best horse vet in the area. So, just because symptoms are not textbook, don't discount it. You say that you play polo, so it is possible that the hard ground has set it off rather than the grass, and that it is mechanical, so one foot may be worse than the other. Your vet also said the horse was lame on both fronts, so you are now contradicting yourself with the comment that it is only the one.

As for her being more sound today, laminitis is often like that, especially chronic cases. It may well be that this is just a warning call, and you have got away with it this time, but please don't discount it.

I hope you get a diagnosis soon, but the vet should really be able to diagnose the difference between an abcess and laminitis, in my humble opinion.
 
cptrayes said:
If it is a hoof abscess then "pain relief" as in probable bute, is contraindicated because it suppresses the inflammation that you need for it to come to a head and break its way out. Use of bute at this stage can prolong an abscess for a long time and cause a much more difficult recovery period.
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When my vet prescribed bute for my horse's abscess I queried it quoting the above reasons. She said I was getting confused with antibiotics which would not really help but bute was okay. I was a bit puzzled at the time.

My horse became suddenly and alarmingly lame to the point where he couldn't move. Vet was called immediately and diagnosed a fractured pedal bone. She set his foot in plaster and he was whisked off immediately to equine hospital. X-rays revealed a huge sub-solar abscess
 
Oliver12 said:
When my vet prescribed bute for my horse's abscess I queried it quoting the above reasons. She said I was getting confused with antibiotics which would not really help but bute was okay. I was a bit puzzled at the time.
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Antibiotics are a no-no too. My understanding of bute is that anti-inflammatories allow the pus to build up more, because the inflammation is kept down and there is more room for more pus. So by the time it does get around to breaking out (if it is not cut a way out), then it can have caused a lot more damage than if the inflammation was allowed to continue and make it break out quicker. Both are OK but probably pointless after there is an exit hole.
 
Hey guys,

had the farrier out today. She's even better today!barely lame at all.

Farrier said no abscess etc and that it's just a strain on the ligament at the coronary band! Said that it's prob cos of the hard ground and playing around in the field that caused it.

He said to just give her a few days rest and she should be good for str8 line work and should be back to normal in no time (:

Thank you everyone for their help, I really learnt alot from your experiences and read up so much on tell-tale signs for various diseases (though had many mini panic attacks!)

Thank you all!!
 
Puppy said:
I have to agree. How very alarming :confused:
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Well, he didn't walk away per se. He looked at her for a good 1++ hour and said because it is so inconsistent and she isnt reacting to hooftesters etc, yet had no prominent signs of lami, he said it's prob sth small and to rest her, gave her anti-inflammatory, took bloods and said to check on her the next morning (it was 8pm then) and to take it from there.

I supoose after reading everyth, anti-inflammatory won't be the best idea but I think cos he thought it was not showing signs of something very serious, he thought to let it rest..

Though after this thread, I'll probably be calling another vet in the future!
 
If your farrier was able to say that it is a ligament injury, then the vet should have found it after an hour of examination. I would be getting a vet out to confirm your farrier's diagnosis, as if you don't know what you are dealing with, then you could end up with a more severe injury. Why was the horse lame on the other foot, as your vet suggested? Also, if it is only a mild sprain, why was your horse reluctant to get to her feet when she was lying down?
Still think laminitis to be honest, or at least the start of it.
 
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