Odd Shoulders

[Jade2007]

Also posted in NL, though I might get more responses in here. Thanks PennyJ for the reply in NL though.

You might have read some of my posts about Boomer being lame. Basically, it started around 25th June and he's still not quite right

He's 16, (was) fit and does a fair amount of competing.

We don't know why he went lame, I was riding him one day and he was lame

There's not been any swelling or heat and we've tried everything - support bandaging, hosing, box rest, turned away in field etc. but he's still not quite right.

We has the farrier up today and he said that it's definatly not his leg, it's more his shoulder. We then looked and realised that one of his shoulders (the normal one) is round, as it should be, but the stiff one is flat as if he's got muscle wastage there

We have a chiropracta (think that the's word?) coming up tomorow, we did have a different one but she said that there's not problem with this front end it's his hip - ehh, no, there is no doubt that it is the front. This one was recommended by my farrier so hopefully she'll be better.

I'm sure she'll answer our questions but in the mean time ..

What could have caused this?

Why has the muscle gone on that shoulder because it is stiff?

Does it sound serious?

Any answers would be helpful

x

 

[hellybelly6]

It could be sweeny.

The muscle may have gone because he is not using it, but there is the question of why he is not using it.

I think sweeny is a nerve condition.

I would request an x-ray.

Hope it is nothing serious.

 

[Jade2007]

It could be sweeny, but as far as we know he hasn't been kicked or banged his shoulder. Surely if he was kicked that hard that it gave him sweeny it would leave a mark?

 

[hellybelly6]

Could he have rolled or fallen onto a stone or rock?

 

[monstermunch]

A horse has an extremely complex matrix of musculature an it is pretty impossible to try and second guess what is going on as it could be a huge number of things. Should er wastage can be caused for a number of reasons but if he has been lame it is likely to have bee caused becasue he is simply not using his leg as he should. It is important to note that though a horse may have discomfort in the shoulder or indeed muscle wastage it is not necessarily where the problem is coming from. If for example your horse has a small tendon pull in his foot which causes him to limp and would not show heat or swelling necessarily, this would make your horse move differently which would in turn cause tension in the shoulder as it is being used in a way that is not normal for your horse, and this in turn can cause muscle weakness. If you have tried all the normal routes i.e rest, ice etc I would probably get the vet to carry out further investigations as there may be something completely different going on. Lameness in horses has to be one of the most frutrating things becasue it can be caused by so many factors. the only way of finding out exactly what is wrong unfortunately is with more investigation from your vet. It may well be worth it if not just to out your mind at ease. Good luck I hope you find some answers