only lame on lunge on hard surface

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snaffle

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post fracture pedal bone hind leg, 3 months box rest, now on turn out and sound in both straight line trot up for vet, and without bar shoe for farrier. just a bit lame on lunge for vet, hard surface and small circle.

How much lameness on a tight cirlce is likely to be due to the injury, or to unfit horse?

people keep telling me most sound horses are lame on tight lunge circle on hard surfaces.
 
not true, but a lot of older horses with pre existing niggles will not be sound on a hard surface, my event horse isn't and it is a question of whether it is pain/going to be causing the horse pain in normal work.
 
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people keep telling me most sound horses are lame on tight lunge circle on hard surfaces.

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People have low standards.
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'Tis true most people wouldn't check their horse is sound on firm ground on a circle unless they've have specific problems (can you tell I have
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) However if a horse isn't truly sound it will soon start causing intermittent low-grade pain and probably affecting its performance. Your horse is still lame in my book, sorry.
 
Most horses are not lame on hard surfaces on the lunge otherwise how would anything ever pass a 5 stage vetting!
 
Hi,

I agree that a horse is not truely sound unless it can trot on lunge on hard surface.

My horse has a current tendon injury and was at one time sound on the straight and slightly unlevel on the lunge on hard surface. However 4 weeks later he was sound in both, although this is a completely different injury it may just be that your horse needs a little more time.

However I must add that I have had 3 horses 5 stage vetted all by very experienced vets (one international vet) and none were required to trot a 15 meter circle on hard ground in order to pass.
 
really wjfred? All of ours have passed 5 stage vettings for us to have them, they all had to trot on a hard surface a small circle and all did this!
 
What was the purpose of the vetting? There's sometimes a bit of a difference for "un-affilliated all-rounders" and "competition horses". Not that there should be, a lame horse is a lame horse IMO.
 
Two were vetted for affiliated dressage and the last one for affiliated dressage and low level affiliated eventing which he was already competing at.

I dont want to detract from the original posting which is actually nothing to do with vetting, but I would add that I know that my horse has current tendon and collateral ligament damage, however he is sound on a 15 meter circle on hard ground on the lunge - so how conclusive is this for a test of anything anyway?
 
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Hi,
However I must add that I have had 3 horses 5 stage vetted all by very experienced vets (one international vet) and none were required to trot a 15 meter circle on hard ground in order to pass.

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I only have experienced two vetting that of my friends where her pony failed as it was required to trot on the lunge in a circle on the car park was not sound but as it was not shod she decided to take a risk and get it anyway. And that of my pony where my vet asked vendors to make sure that when he came they had an area ready where he could be trotted up on the lunge in a circle on concrete - he passed.

Neither ponies were being vetted as eventing ponies or anything high stress!
 
Hi, my OH had a horse which had a broken pedal bone. He was only slightly lame when turned in a circle on hard surface. The vet didn't think to xray him and diagnosed him with pulled muscles. He would go out in the field and gallop and buck but after a few weeks my OH insisted on x-rays which showed that his pedal bone had a split the thickness of a pencil. Bone could not be fixed so horse pts.

If I was you I think that I would ask the vet about it and possibly do more xrays in case. Hope your horse gets better
 
My horse is currently on box rest for a hind leg tendon injury. When he was being initially assessed at the vet hospital they lunged him on a tight circle (less than 10m) on a hard surface (and on a slope!). He was definitely uncomfortable in front too but the vets said they would politely ignore that as 'most horses are lame to some degree in this situation'.
 
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He was definitely uncomfortable in front too but the vets said they would politely ignore that as 'most horses are lame to some degree in this situation'

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DITTO - my vet has said similar during recent checks on her on going hind limb tendon lameness, although my mare definitely has some slight arthritis which is clouding the picture for her lameness workups on a concrete circle, plus no shoes.

We are putting her shoes back on to see if that can filter out some of the "footiness" issues and see what we have left, but he has said that a horse her age (13) will often show some level of unsoundness on a tight lunge circle on the hard and only a small minority of any age will pass this test with flying colours.

With my mare we are working on getting her as sound as possible and the tendon as healed as possible on the scans and then take it from there as to how much work or not she can cope with (luckily she is the type of mare who will let me know what she can and can't do anyway)
 
My horse was always previously sound when lunged in a small circle on hard ground (it was done at his original vetting), however post chronic collateral ligament damage he is still lame on a small circle on hard ground on one rein. He is back in work (hacking and some dressage) as he is sound when ridden but I believe the slight lameness is a sign of his underlying injury.
Yes it is true that some horses may be unlevel when lunged on a small circle on hard ground and yet sound to ride (as is the case with mine) but I think what matters is what is 'normal' for your horse. If your horse has previously always been sound then there is a problem. If your horse has always been slightly lame when doing this then maybe there is no need to worry.
 
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