Ok, she's lame again- suggestions?!

charleysummer

charleysummer

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She was lame after being kicked inthe back leg, and that got better and now she's lame on the front leg. when she trots up she drops onto the leg with a head bob but doesn't seem to mind galloping around the field and putting weight on it. i went to ride tonight and trotted her up to the yard, when i noticed her trotting 'wobbly'

The farrier said she was footsore from being jumped on hard ground and reccomended rest so she had two weeks off - this was about a month ago? and i was sure she was better again so rode her again but it has only been flatwork apart from a tiny bit of jumping since then and now shes lame again.

What could be wrong? is it worth having a back check (would this cause lameness?)- i say this as she had an ill fitting saddle for a while, and we only noticed after white hairs appeared and (please don't bite my head off i would have it had it checked but my parents thought it was a load of rubbish and i can understand with the idea of it all..) we never had it checked.

Opinions? i only want to do what is best for her =/
 
Yes a bad back can cause lameness! What breed is your horse? Has it driven? Done a lot of road work? Or work on hard ground? Did this lameness come up when she was being ridden or bought in with it?
 
Have you had the vet out to her?

I doubt a respected back person (be in physio, chiro etc) would be happy to see or treat a horse with suspected lameness without a vet seeing it 1st. By law they can't treat a horse without a vets permission anyway.
 
No not had the vet, my farrier told my mum
'dont bother getting a vet out they'll charge you the earth and always find 'something complicated' wrong and she'll just be footsore'- or similar,
i'm not sure when it occured really as it had been a bit on and off- she is a 14.2hh 7year old connemara/native/warmblood type mare.

Someone at my yard had a back woman out who claimed to have 'put a hip back in place'- sorry if im wrong but surely that would take a tractor not a little woman? just wondering what the back people would do.

ETA and no never been driven but has done quite alot of roadwork yes, and ridden on hard ground yes through the summer =[ always fully tendon booted up on all legs throughout but i feel like i sound i bit of an idiot now, but if i don't ask i can't get help for her, as i have no experience in this and im not afraid to admit that.
 
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that's very unprofessional of your farrier! I wouldn't want to use a farrier who wouldn't be more than happy to work alongside a vet.

If it's a month now since he went lame, it's time to get the vet.
 
I agree, time to get the vet..

It sounds just like what was happening with my mare (13.2hh welsh x fell pony). She was lame on one of her fronts. Got vet out which did X-rays to find out she has ossification of the sidebones in both of her front feet. This I was then told is caused by repetitive concussion of the feet. My mare had been driven hard before I bought her, and I had ridden her a lot on roads and hard ground too. I was jumping her in the field one day on hard ground and all of a sudden on landing she went hopping lame.. After this, vet was called and had feet x-rayed = the problem! I do hope your horse is ok, but please get the vet soon as it could easily get worse if untreated!!
 
charleysummer said:
oh god that sound like a possibility then :( does this mean she would have to be retired or anything?
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Nope, well my pony isn't.. Rest and special plastic shoes (green and yellow ones!) which absorb a lot of the concussion which she had one set of whilst being brought back in to work, and then she had normal shoes after which she was sound with and then barefoot :)

She was jumped after, ridden on roads, hunted etc with no problems, however i have to be careful how much road work she does, and strictly no jumping on hard ground. I haven't had any problems with it since after having her diagnosed with it :)
 
when you say jumping how much do you mean? its just i compete her at 3ft height for a team and im assuming this might be too much for her- well ive just gone and assumed shes got this problem now! but it does seem likely and i feel really really bad :/
 
95% of lameness is in the foot. call your vet. blocks will tell you where the pain is. x rays should give a better diagnosis. mri an even better diagnosis.
 
charleysummer said:
when you say jumping how much do you mean? its just i compete her at 3ft height for a team and im assuming this might be too much for her- well ive just gone and assumed shes got this problem now! but it does seem likely and i feel really really bad :/
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Don't feel bad, just worry more about getting your pony fixed :)! 3ft won't be a problem as long as the pony is sound and it's not on hard ground. My pony is very happy and capable of jumping 3ft and it's no problem to her or her feet!
 
If it was my horse I'd be calling a vet, yes they might find something complicated thats wrong but only if its there. If they do find something wrong then it needs treating.

My hip regularly comes partially out and I have to go and see the chiro to have it put back. It doesn't dislocate but it does drop in the socket and becomes really very painful. If thats what it feels like for a horse then they have my real sympathies and I think we owe it to them to get their backs seen to regularly to keep them confortable. My old horse had to have her pelvis adjusted by the chiro on a regular basis and it definitely helped.
 
I think you should get the vet out. The horse has been lame for a month now. Also don't go worrying what it might be, wait and see what your vet says. It could be somethng quite straightforward and easy to treat.
 
ok i think the vet needs to pay a visit, but i would like to know what they'd have to do and how much it would cost, obviously if it has to be done it has to be done but my parent's would like an idea on how much it would be - just to prepare
 
It REALLY depends what is wrong with her...

The call out fee is generally around £30, then prob another £30 to just assess her (feel her all over, see her trotted up on a hard surface, then maybe ridden or basically to shown what she's doing when she's showing the lameness).... Any further assessments nerve blocks or treatments etc will be more.

It may be something very simple (although I'd have hoped if it was just as abcess or something your farrier would have picked up on it). Don't panic. Take one step at a time.

Do you have her insured for vets fees?
 
i don't think it is an abcess- she's had that before (apparently) well i shall contact the vets and hope for something fixable, i can't imagine how awful it would be if it is serious- i just have a gut feeling there is something underlying as when we bought her 2 years ago she used to trip alot and trainers/vets/farriers/ etc passed it off as an unbalanced, poorly broken 5yr old with really long feet struggling to school. The tripping got much better and she stopped doing it for a while but although i hadn't noticed at the time- thinking back she had started tripping again (not long ago she stumbled almost onto her knees) but i suppose after being reassured over and over, the odd trip seemed the norm. yes she is insured but i don't know the finer details of it- anyway vet call tomorrow and i shall post when the vet has paid a visit!
 
I am also going to get her back checked, i went to the field today and she trotted up fine- infact it was quite lovley and floaty :S so i really am confused. It is going to be an expensive month!

Could anybody reccomened me someone good who will tell me the truth, and not rip me off in leic/warks area? will have her teeth done aswell while i'm getting her all checked up on as that is overdue so hopefully things should be ok :/ fingers crossed! i'd be heartbroken if its anything permanent
 
Ok, there is a guy here in ireland who will travel, he's the very best at what he does. I had cooper seen by so many idiots who hadnt a clue, he diagnosed cooper straight away, told me to go get him xrayed to confirm and he was bang on, his name is ted mcLaughlin, mobile number 00353872345115. Maybe send him a text and sees what he says, or leave him a voicemail and he'll ring you back.
 
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