mystery lameness that occurs only on outside of lunge circle

J

JenniferR

Active Member
Joined
22 October 2014
Messages
47
Visit site
Anyone got any thoughts on the cause of this? Mare is 11 year old Connie x TB that passed a 5 stage vetting when purchased 3 years ago. Before purchase I raised with vet doing the vetting that she was tracking up slightly short on her right hind. He thought not and I bought her as I really liked her (and still do!). She's visibly lame (2/10) on right hind if trotted on a 10-metre circle with right hind on the outside. Sound in a straight line and sound on the other rein. Occasionally she jars that leg and is more lame for a week and then it goes away. Leg has been x-rayed and scanned up to her stifle by Liphook and all clean as a whistle. She is quite upright in her pasterns and through her hocks and has windgalls that are soft and come and go. Physio says she is symmetrical in terms of muscle development and not dropping a hip. Any thoughts on what this might be?? Any advice from you Horse and Hounds experts would be very welcome.
 
It could be caused by back/SI issues.

Is she showing any ulcer signs?

Probably the most obvious would be soft tissue damage in the hoof?

Thing is you could throw a load of money at it with diagnostics and still be none the wiser.
 
Thanks very much for your reply. I'm going to see if Liphook xrayed her foot as well. If not, that might be something to look at and not too expensive. She is barefoot and has been transitioning for 9 months. This foot grows a slightly longer toe than the other one and the heels are still a little contracted which I guess might suggest something foot related?

I'm interested in your question about ulcers. What are you thinking?

I agree about the diagnostics and the money!
 
My old share horse was very mildly and intermittently lame, and would NOT pick up canter on one lead. Vet advice was hard work to bring it out - it never got worse, but a few years later she was diagnosed with ovary problems which might have been playing a part.

It could be all sorts of things! Does the vet have any ideas?
 
No, vet didn't nerve block but full scans and xrays taken. It's a bit off and on and she's performed well in dressage tests and showing classes without any comment about unsoundness. It's been about the same for all the time I've had her, with the odd flare up. I don't want to spend a fortune on bone scans etc but maybe that will be the only way to see for sure.
 
I am surprised they didn't nerve block it could have at least given an indication of where the problem is I know sometimes they don't but it's quite rare for that to happen, I think the only thing you can do now is either mri but doing the whole leg will be expensive or bone scan, see at least if the horse had blocked out somewhere it would narrow down where they do the mri now it's a bit of a shot in the dark, I would maybe ask for the hoof and maybe just above to be nerve blocked to at least rule it out if anything.

One of my horses is lame and his not great with vets or needles initially the vet wanted to give nerve blocks a miss because of him being a problem, but his now going in to the hospital on Monday for them to try and do whatever they can, my vet just really didn't want to start scanning and doing X ray's before at least having a try there.

They are so complicated if only they could tell you where the problem is it would be so much easier lol! I hope you get to the bottom of it soon just a thought but have you had a physio look at her you never know?
 
Mine was like this, 1/10th lame on tight circles when the worst leg was on the outside with bilateral hind PSD. Could be many things but blocking is usually where they start. Good luck
 
What does your farrier say? As in how does she wear this RH hoof compared to the others?

How supple is she in that side compared to the other?
 
Ahh, sorry I read it as if they had x-rayed the hoof. I would definitely do this first, I sort of assumed everything had been x-rayed and blocked when you said the leg had a clean bill of health.

With regards to the ulcers, sometimes it can show up as a right hind intermittent lameness, but I wouldn't consider this until you have exhausted basic diagnostics on that leg.
 
Thanks, Porkchop, for your reply. Well, I did a little research on hind leg lameness and ulcers and this is all ringing some bells. I think you maybe on to something. She is reluctant to stretch on that side and bring that leg forward, is rarely truly straight, saddle slips (always thought that was me being unbalanced), she was very girthy when I first got her and had been kept stabled and unridden for 7 months, very stressed previous owner couldn't catch her in her stable. Now out at grass and not stressed so perhaps symptoms less obvious. Sometimes won't eat just stares at her food in the bucket. Thought it might be teeth and so had expert dentist vet look and x-ray but nothing to be seen. I've not been down the ulcer route since she looks so well but now I'm beginning to wonder.If you have any other thoughts on this then I'd love to hear them.

Equi, I'll check whether hoof x-rays were done, I can't remember. I use an excellent barefoot podiatrist so will have a look at trim and conveniently he is coming on Monday.

Pinkvboots, thanks for your advice too. Reason for not doing nerve blocks was me, I'm afraid. I really don't like needles in joints and insurance were OK with going straight for x-rays and scans.
 
The foot being slightly different to the other one sounds more like a response to the fact she does not use it 100% rather than the cause of the unlevelness, if she is not happy stretching that side, is not actually lame which if is she is totally level in her muscular development suggests it is not a form of mechanical lameness, then I would look at it being something that makes her uncomfortable only when stretching rather than hurting all the time..
Nerve blocks are essential really to get a diagnosis and even more so with subtle ones, I wouldn't have any more xrays done as even if you do find a possible cause without knowing she blocks sound to that area you could be treating a red herring.

I would do the opposite to Porkchop and get her scoped before doing anything else, she has enough reasons to suspect ulcers, if they are there treat them and once they are settling if she is still lame crack on with the other diagnostics, scoping is not too expensive if she doesn't have ulcers it is something crossed of the list of possibilities, if they are the cause then you have the answer.
 
Ruddy horses! I have a gelding who has been up to 2/10ths lame over the past 6 months. We tried box rest on bute, no change. We tried working him harder, to see if we could make him properly lame - NADA. £1,000's worth of diagnostics - and they couldn't tell me where he was lame (x-rayed, nerve blocked, the lot.) And he's only 7.
 
Thanks, Old Nag. I'm going to ask the vet to come out next week and discuss possibility of ulcers. She just recently had a course of antibiotics and bute to treat cellulitis on other leg which thankfully went within 24 hrs but I wonder if medication is the cause of the right leg lameness coming back if it exacerbated the ulcers.
 
Hmmm, well, think I might have got that wrong with the ulcers idea. Rang the vet to get an appointment next week but she came today! Horse tested positive to flexion test and vet agreed with physio that she's lame with bad leg on outside of circle. Off for some nerve blocks next week. Be interesting to see what they think (different vet) as two years ago xrays and scans by Stuart Duncan on that leg were clean as a whistle and nothing has happened to the leg since.
 
A lot can happen in 2yrs. When my horse was lame behind on the outside of a circle it was due to a suspensory branch injury.
Hopefully you will find the cause of the lameness.
 
My horse was seen by vet school couple of weeks ago and goes back next week. I too was worried about ulcers. He was girthy, biting at sides, doesn't like taking right canter lead. He doesn't look like he has ulcers, shiny coat etc. He does have mild ulcers which we are treating but vets suspect it's secondary, and that there is a lameness issue. Found him to be intermittently and mildly lame on both off fore ad hind, said I was to work him so that when he goes back next week there is something to see. He feels worse on right rein than ever before, tight and restricted, swings his quarters in, he also rests his hind leg under him a lot. I am so worried about him. He has been trying to roll with me in walk on right rein on circle, so I am not going to ride again till next week, it's clear there is something going on. He isn't girthy or biting sides now though, which suggests ulcers, tho very mild, were causing him bother.
Point of this post, other than download and for any thoughts anyone may have on what is wrong, is to flag up that looks like ulcers can often be secondary to something else.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top