New horse - lameness - not sure which leg though!

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Crazydancer

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New mare, arrived 4 weeks ago. Living out 24/7, and put in with my old gelding a week ago. Not ridden yet, as no saddle, went to lunge today, but she is lame. (Not badly, otherwise I would have called a vet.) On the left rein I didn't notice anything worrying. Not quite tracking up at trot, but ground is hard (in the field, as no manege) so was going to keep it slow and steady, just working on halt/walk/trot transitions. Put her on the right rein and she was noticably unlevel. She was 'nodding', but more like tensing up rather than nodding down.
Firstly, is there a way of telling which leg is causing the problem? (not easy without seeing her I know)
I have checked her, and there are no wounds, lumps, bumps, sore bits or heat in any leg/hoof.
It may be a bruised sole, as we do get random large stones come up in the field, or may be from when she kicked out at the gelding last week and clattered the gate! She was hopping for a minute, but I couldn't get near her to check for another 15 mins as they were hooning, and by then she looked ok on it. That was her off-side hind. I had checked it several times since and no heat etc.
Any helpful ideas/comments? Thanks! :)
 
Don't quote me on this but i was always told to lead the horse up straight on and stand head on from the horse (while someone else leads) and usually from straight on you can tell. Always did work with me, but it might just have been luck
 
i'm not saying that your mare is doing this because she might genuinely be lame but i used to loan a 18hh gelding who was clever enough to "go lame" whenever you tacked him up. he had back, teeth and feet done and we only realised that he was pretending because whenever he saw something interesting he'd walk normally and then realise he was supposed to be lame but could never remember which leg it was so the leg always changed, vet farrier and back lady all said he's absolutely fine, even the saddler said the saddle fits perfect, plus he used to do that on the lunge too. its was quite funny when you saw his face trying to work out which foot it was that he was supposed to be lame on. the second you let him in the field he was perfectly fine, jumping the fence too.
but don't think that your mare is pretending cuz she might really be lame as i never met another horse which pretended.
 
shiny-ISH that made me smile, I like it when horses have a sense of personality like that sometimes.
 
Could it be early stages of laminitus? Sometimes its not obvious which leg the horse is lame on with this... Initial signs can be that the horse is a bit footy.
 
he was a very cheeky horse, he also used to work out how to open his stable and everyone elses even if he had the kick bolt, no one knows how he did this without breaking it :)
 
shiny-ISH said:
he was a very cheeky horse, he also used to work out how to open his stable and everyone elses even if he had the kick bolt, no one knows how he did this without breaking it :)
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Clever one! That little bit reminds me of that scene in Black Beauty where merrylegs opened everyones stable.
 
Crazydancer said:
New mare, arrived 4 weeks ago. Living out 24/7, and put in with my old gelding a week ago. Not ridden yet, as no saddle, went to lunge today, but she is lame. (Not badly, otherwise I would have called a vet.) On the left rein I didn't notice anything worrying. Not quite tracking up at trot, but ground is hard (in the field, as no manege) so was going to keep it slow and steady, just working on halt/walk/trot transitions. Put her on the right rein and she was noticably unlevel. She was 'nodding', but more like tensing up rather than nodding down.
Firstly, is there a way of telling which leg is causing the problem? (not easy without seeing her I know)
I have checked her, and there are no wounds, lumps, bumps, sore bits or heat in any leg/hoof.
It may be a bruised sole, as we do get random large stones come up in the field, or may be from when she kicked out at the gelding last week and clattered the gate! She was hopping for a minute, but I couldn't get near her to check for another 15 mins as they were hooning, and by then she looked ok on it. That was her off-side hind. I had checked it several times since and no heat etc.
Any helpful ideas/comments? Thanks! :)
Click to expand...


Was she vetted when you bought her? Where did you buy her from and what's her work history? If she stays lame, and she was vetted, test your blood sample for drugs, this timing is suspicious for wearing off of bute in a horse with lameness.

"Can't tell which leg" lameness is more often hind leg than foreleg. On the hind leg, the head usually goes up when the bad leg is in use. On the lunge it would also more normally be the inside leg than the outside, though it can also be inside edge of the outside foot.
 
Thanks all! I don't think she's figured out how fake lameness yet... give her some time and she might! Clever little madam she is...

I'm pretty sure it's not lami, I'd expect her to be generally 'footy' as said, but she is specifically lame on one rein on the lunge and not the other... she's not really the 'type' either, I've been more concerned about my gelding for that. She's quite lean, and very active in the field, I don't think she'll carry excess weight.

Vetting - yes, fully vetted. Seller was private seller, 'know of' and local and used to teach locally. I have no reason to think there is anything sinister. But bloods were taken just in case.

From the replies, I'm thinking off-side hind, which is the hoof I saw her clatter the gate with last week. I'll give her a few days, farrier is out early next week and I'll get him to check sole etc. if not, I'll be getting the vet out for a better look.

Thanks all!
 
Sounds unlikely to be dodgy drugs then, good :)

Hopefully it will be something simple and common like a bruise or an abscess.
 
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