Mysterious lameness ?!

What's with the 'thumbs down'? :confused:

If a horse wasn't weight bearing, and the vet didn't know why, then I would not expect them to let it lie till the next morning or whenever. The last time that I had a hopping lame horse was after treatment (IRAP) where that is a VERY serious concern, but thankfully it was a badly timed abscess and he (the vet) cut it out in a jiffy.

If a horse was non-weight bearing and the vet couldn't determine why then I would want them to take them into the hospital and do x-rays, asap.
 
The vet didn't rule out a sprain/strain but he said to give it a day.

The vet did not say she was lame in the other foot (hind). After looking at her trot up etc, he said it looked stiff and probably isnt lame per se, just a result of extra weight on the 3 other legs.

Funny thing is, she was reluctant to get up when lying down but once encouraged, stood up and walked with no lameness at all. I am quite worried about that too but vet and farrier both said it is not a BIG sign?


I was very worried about lami too, and told the farrier but he said it is looks quite definite it isn't lami as she could lift up her legs for him with no problem, no reaction to hoof testers, was only slightly lame on the right fore. He also looked at her shoes and said right fore was slighly unbalanced so probably contributed to her tripping in the fields.

I have been look at her at least half a day everyday and I don't find any telling signs of lami! Even though 1 or two symptoms look similar, the rest of the descriptions don't fit laminitis?Even chronic laminitis..

I will still keep a close eye on her and would get a different vet out pronto if anything happens!
 
ajen2511 said:
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!
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Where did you mention the vet saying she was lame in a hind leg????

Clearly says FORE
 
lhotse said:
My sentiments exactly....
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I agree. I was very worried, so i called him asap and he said he even brought an xray out incase! and I did ask him if she needed to be hospitalised asap.

But he said he wanted to be "conservative"? as she wasnt' showing consistent signs and the more she walked the more sound she looked, strange enough?

So i would agree with both of you that I wanted a more firm diagnosis, but on the other hand, I don't really know equine medicine that well and when he told me conservative methods, I didn't reject that notion. But he and I both agreed that if it was the same the next day, to hospitalise asap...
 
lhotse said:
Where did you mention the vet saying she was lame in a hind leg????

Clearly says FORE
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I am sorry. He couldn't figure it out! He said that she shifted weight from left to right fore and seemed lame on the right hind as well.

I apologise as i might not be giving a good picture....
 
Yes, the picture you are giving is a very obscure one, apart from the first and second post which described a horse with laminitis.
 
lhotse said:
Why did he say she was lame on both front feet?
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He didn't say lame on both, just that she was shifting weight alot but clearly lame on right fore. But unsure why she was shifting (but fyi, it wasnt shifting alot. To me, it was more like 90%on right fore, 10% left fore? )

I don't know if that really makes sense. But that's why i thought it was mysterious and wanted to ask for HH opinions.

But now, i think she's getting better and I would keep a close close watch on her to make sure it isn't lami like you all have suggested and would get the vet out if anyth changes
 
"when he told me she was lame in not only the right fore, but left as well, I almost had a panic attack!"

Is that not what the vet said to give you a panic attack?
 
Well, sorry.. It sounds like i was crap at giving a clear picture of it.. was just too many weird signs. But she was lame on her right fore. but unsure if other legs were lame as well. Vet kept changing opinion cos she kept changing...

Also, lhotse, thanks for your help!(Aside from saying i was trolling !)

Cos I think you helped me understand the different signs and I watched out for it very closely the next day.

I think being cautious should always be the case with horses and would definitely be doing so for the next few days!
 
Right, glad to hear that you are more aware of the signs of laminitis now. Please don't discount it as a cause to your horse's lameness, especially since the lameness seems to be in more than one foot, and is inconsistant. You must now make sure that your management is geared to ensuring that the horse doesn't go down with it severely. Is she overweight? How much grass is she getting? Workload on the hard ground? Feed?

If indeed it is due to a ligament strain, then I think that it is worth getting a second vet to give an opinion if the first one missed it. Strange place for a strain to be honest, in 30 years of keeping and being around a lot of horses, I have never come across an acute ligament injury in the coronary area, only degenerative conditions that effect the tendons and ligaments in that area.
 
Jesus! Poor girl, why are you giving her such a hard time? She called a vet and went with his instructions, just how anybody on here feels they can diagnose better than a vet without actually seeing the horse in question is quite beyond me! OP admits she is fairly novice and has come on here for support and advice, only to have to defend herself.

FTR the OP did say fairly early on that the vet thought the horse was stiff behind.

OP, if it is ligament damage then bute is actually a good thing to give as it is anti-inflamatory, however, I would be contacting the vet again to get a definite diagnosis as ligaments can be tricky.
 
Actually, the vet didn't give a diagosis at all, the OP said he didn't know what was wrong. Also, the hind limb stiffness was noticed the next day, not by the vet. Please read what is written.
My concern is the horse, that is why I have suggested on numerous occasions that the OP would be wise to seek a second opinion.
 
lhotse said:
Actually, the vet didn't give a diagosis at all, the OP said he didn't know what was wrong. Also, the hind limb stiffness was noticed the next day, not by the vet. Please read what is written.
My concern is the horse, that is why I have suggested on numerous occasions that the OP would be wise to seek a second opinion.
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Thanks everyone. But ilhotse, the stiffness was noticed by the vet too hence he siad it's probably NOT lame on both legs tho he initially thought it was lame on more htan one leg (though he couldn't say for sure which leg out of the 3 cos it was slightly inconsistent and could be due to stiffness. but that said, the right fore was VERY consistently lame). Do you understand the picture i'm trying to paint?

Anyway, getting a second opinion today!So it's still safe than sorry!
 
Glad to hear it, although you do seem a bit confused as to what the vet said in the first place.
 
lhotse said:
Actually, the vet didn't give a diagosis at all, the OP said he didn't know what was wrong. Also, the hind limb stiffness was noticed the next day, not by the vet. Please read what is written.
My concern is the horse, that is why I have suggested on numerous occasions that the OP would be wise to seek a second opinion.
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Actually I did read what was written, it is you who needs to take your own advice.

OP I am glad you have gone for a second opinion, as your vet does indeed sound a little confused by your horse's lameness, do keep us posted.
 
Amaranta said:
Actually I did read what was written, it is you who needs to take your own advice.

QUOTE]

Hmmm, still cannot see anywhere that it is written that the vet commented that the horse was lame on a back leg, until after I had questioned it. The OP noticed it herself the day after, but she quite clearly says that the vet said she was lame in both fronts. I am glad that the OP is getting a second opinion, as for a vet to suggest that a horse that is non weightbearing has 'something silly' is to me just a tad worrying.
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lhotse said:
Amaranta said:
Actually I did read what was written, it is you who needs to take your own advice.

QUOTE]

Hmmm, still cannot see anywhere that it is written that the vet commented that the horse was lame on a back leg, until after I had questioned it. The OP noticed it herself the day after, but she quite clearly says that the vet said she was lame in both fronts. I am glad that the OP is getting a second opinion, as for a vet to suggest that a horse that is non weightbearing has 'something silly' is to me just a tad worrying.
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Op did state in one of her posts that the first vet was unsure about 'stiffness' in one of his hind legs. I agree that on the face of things, the first vet does seem a little vague which is why I am very glad the OP has had both her farrier and now another vet take a look.

Your posts to the OP appeared to be very aggressive which was was prompted my post, perhaps you did not mean them in that way, I realise the written word does not always translate, but you do appear to be giving the OP a hard time, one which she probably does not need at the moment when she is obviously very worried about her horse and is doing everything she can to get to the bottom of things.
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Well, please post the quote where it says the vet mentioned that the horse was stiff in a hind leg, because I sure as hell can't find it written. The OP mentioned that she herself noticed that the horse seemed stiff the day after. The first time she mentioned the vet saying that a hind leg was involved was after I asked why the vet thought it was lame in the other fore leg. Can you see my confusion here. I am sporry if my posts are coming across as agressive, that is not my intention, just that the OP's first few posts were describing a horse with laminitis in my opinion, and I can't believe that her vet was so vague with his diagnosis. If he thought it was an abcess, he should have dealt with it then and there. A horse that is non weightbearing should not be left with a jab and check in the morning, what if it had a fracture?
I feel for the OP in having a vet who can't do his job, I hope the one coming tomorrow is a bit better in his diagnosis and she can get back to enjoying her new horse.
 
'The vet did not say she was lame in the other foot (hind). After looking at her trot up etc, he said it looked stiff and probably isnt lame per se, just a result of extra weight on the 3 other legs.'

Here, bottom of first page.

TBH I think the OP is very worried about her horse and has reacted in a panic to the badgering she has received. She is a novice and english is her second language, it is not surprising that she has sounded vague and confused at times.

I also don't think the vet 'walked away' he gave pain relief and said to call again in the morning, that is hardly walking away. I have had a vet do/say exactly the same to me when a strain has been involved. Personally I do not believe the horse has laminitis, and neither, apparently, do the vet or the farrier. It did sound more like an abcess to me but I have not seen the horse so not totally surprised that, according to the farrier, it is not.
 
No, that was posted on page 4, after I asked the following question.
" Why was the horse lame on the other foot, as your vet suggested? "
I will be interested to know what the vet says tomorrow, but from the description given in the first instance, I still think that it sounds like laminitis.
I think the english is fine by the way, better than some on here!
 
I agree with lhotse - shifting weight around all four feet with inconsistent lameness is screaming laminitis at me. I'd have her off all grass and onto soaked hay quicker than a rat up a drainpipe if she was mine. It's a disease where it is far better to be safe than sorry, and if it's not laminitis then no harm will be done by treating it as if it is.
 
OMG!!!! i have just trawled through this post and my jaw has now dropped to the floor..... so here's my penny's worth....

Many many years ago I had the privilege of working at a family friends yard who bred and trained racehorses and throughout the racing season, invariably there were many horse accidents out on the track... some just landing funny over a jump, some just stumbling and falling, some being trodden on by other horses when they were down.... so they would come back to the yard feeling very very sore and sorry for themselves... obviously they all had a thorough vet examination and were given the all clear (as in no broken bones/torn ligaments etc etc.... but the following day over 70% of these horses showed the EXACT symptoms that you have described simply because they've either jarred their shoulder/back on landing, been trampled on, bruised...etc etc the minor injuries go on....

Seriously guys have any of you ever had a bad fall or just simply tripped over and couldn't get out of bed the next day coz it felt like every bone in your body is broken but really all you've got is a few bruises??

So my question to you is, was your horse out with other horses, and could she have been frolicking around and simply have just stumbled and fallen awkwardly somehow? (check field for rabbit holes - they are a bane of my life in my field!!)

:)
 
Thanks for the PM... glad to hear that you got a second vet opinion and I am even more pleased to hear that it was just a ligament strain and nothing more serious.. These things happen! lol! shame we can't wrap em up in bubble wrap huh... mind you that would be fun! (although my arab would go nuts with all that popping around her, she'd have a nervous breakdown!). :)
 
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