Odd lameness - any advice/thoughts greatly appreciated!

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saddlesore

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Hi folks,

My horse is 7yo, seemed in good health. Jumped on Friday, hacked him Saturday, no problems at all. Hacked him on Sunday, seemed fine and was striding out in front happily, went to trot and he was lame. Trotted him up when got back to the yard and the lameness seemed to be shifting from the front to the back? Can't determine exactly where it is! Gave him a couple of days rest and lunged him in trot on a circle yesterday and he was definitely lame in front. Farrier checked him today, no problems with his feet, but he said he was sound in front but lame behind? He said it could be bone spavin :eek: or he might have hurt his back/ pelvis in the field. So I have a qualified equine osteo coming out to give him the once over on Sunday and then take it from there re vet etc. Haven't phoned vet yet as there are no visible signs of anything, no heat etc so wanted farrier to check him first.

I should add that when he was trotted up he was more than happy to trot on and looked bright and not actually in pain :confused:

Any thoughts? x
 
Sounds like mine with sacro-iliac strain. Has he "sat down" at any time on hack or mucking about in the field?
 
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Thanks for your reply. He lives out (on the whole) so would have had plenty of time to do something silly to himself in the field. Coupled with the fact that I live in the west coast of Scotland so we've had no shortage of rain lately to make the fields slippy......

Don't know if its relevant but I've kept him in a few nights, although not all because he gets fed up, since he hurt himself and he seems no different whether he's been in or out.
 
It's a difficult injury to get a diagnosis on, and it can, as I know from experience, cause front leg lameness and very odd gait abnormality. My horse also seemed bright and forward and happy!

Look at the tuber sacrale, the two highest points on his bum and see if they are level. Feel for heat/stiffness anywhere around those two points and the muscles/tendons leading to them.

Mine was resolved by complete box rest for one week eventually, after weeks of intermittent lameness, coming sound on field rest, etc.

It was only after his tuber sacrale became uneven in height after several weeks that I was certain what the problem was, but I did find heat and stiffness between the point of the hip and the tuber sacrale.

I hope you find an easy answer.
 
Yep defiantly vet first off , don't waste your money with osteo as they'll probably refer to vets.. My horse was lame on backend but often compensated on front :/ his back was also sore but was secondary to lameness, primary problem was OCD (stifles) causing OA (hocks)- weird bit these complex lameness issues can shift around causing multiple problems..then again it could be something so simple. My horse is same at the moment everyday he's mildly lame on a different leg. Hes had his hocks injected for a 3rd time but gone lame on front just on a tight circle. I can't afford more investigations so vet has advised to turn him away for a month and see if he comes right then. Itl be 5 weeks this weekend so hope he will be ok.
 
Thanks guys. I will get the vet but getting the osteo first. I don't believe it to be a waste of money, and as there is literally nothing to see the vets would have to go straight to nerve blocks, scans, xrays etc - my vet is also very good at doing this. Think "are you insured?" type scenario :rolleyes:. Want his muscles fully checked over first -vets permission has already been asked and granted.

I'm fully aware that if it bone spavin then back pain could well be found as a secondary issue but it just seems very sudden?

I know you shouldn't 'self diagnose' either but he's more than happy to go downhill and doesn't wear the toes of his hind shoes, plait his hind legs etc. Like I said - he was sound on Saturday!

Just so stressed about it all. My poor boy :(:(
 
Yes-nerve blocks would be the way to go with this.. Not due to insurance but because it is the only way to localise what sounds like a low grade lameness. Why risk your horses health?
 
I think it would be very difficult to nerve block intermittent lameness that moves between the front and the back. The vet missed my horse's sacroiliac strain. In the case of moderate and indeterminate lameness like this, I too would go for a bodyworker first. We all know that the vet is supposed to refer, but with my vet that just means a "would you mind?" phone call because they do understand these days that there are some things bodyworkers are quite good at sorting out, especially if you are uninsured.
 
As Cptrayes says, the lameness is very low grade and intermittant. Sometimes he looks lame behind, sometimes in front, sometimes sound. When he is lame it is a 1 or 2 out of 10. No pegging at all, just the occasional 'odd' stride. I had the farrier check him today and his advice was to get a physio to take a good look first, so I'm going to do that. The vet has okay-ed the visit from the osteo, and as cptrayes has said, sometimes alternative therapies also get great results. My horse is insured and its not a case of not wanting to pay for treatment, I've just decided to do this first! Please remember this started on Sunday so hardly been sitting around for weeks doing nothing about it
 
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