Persistently resting a hind leg?

Q

QueenDee_

Well-Known Member
Joined
18 August 2010
Messages
834
Visit site
Can anyone suggest a reason for a horse persistently resting a hind leg whist standing in the stable/yard? (90% of the time its the near hind).

If I stand him up, within a few seconds he will return to resting it. Other than being a bit weak through the topline, which we're currently working on, he is sound and healthy. Had hind shoes off 8 weeks ago but seems fine with that and is worked on a surface most of the time.
 
Lazy? My lad does this. He doesn't mean anything by it and he's always done it. I suspect if he could stand on only 2 legs rather than 3 he'd try it. He does swap legs from time to time -but has a preference for the left hind as he has a slightly unlevel pelvis following a fracture when he was a weanling. But it causes him no problems. He's in hard work, hunted in the winter and competed in the summer.
 
Mine did this - she didn't seem to have a preference and, left to her own devices would very rarely stand on all four feet at the same time. I asked about it at her vetting and six years later she was still the same. No ill effect and never a day's bother behind with her so I just put it down to (another) one of her characteristics.
 
I was always told it was a sign of a laid back (lazy, maybe!) horse. I remember years ago reading an article by Blyth Tait on choosing an event horse. He said he would never buy one that he saw resting a leg as it would never be sharp enough.
It doesn't necessarily mean pain or injury.
 
Chiffy said:
I was always told it was a sign of a laid back (lazy, maybe!) horse. I remember years ago reading an article by Blyth Tait on choosing an event horse. He said he would never buy one that he saw resting a leg as it would never be sharp enough.
It doesn't necessarily mean pain or injury.
Click to expand...

Hmmm, well the sharpest horse I own nearly always rests a hind leg when he is stood in the stable and usually it is the same one. He has also mastered the trick of waving a front let around int he air whilst also resting a hine
 
Mine does this and it turns out that he has a neurological problem, however he tends to rest the whole leg as well and of course there were other signs. He was also very difficult to stand square as he would constantly rest but now I know there's a reason.

However, I think mostly its just because they can and its nothing to worry about.
 
My gelding had the habit of always resting a hind leg, and swapping frequently between hind legs when he was unshod behind, particularly when tied up in the yard after a ride. It took me a while to figure out that he wasn't fully comfortable without boots on behind as well as in front. He stopped the resting/swapping once I started booting up all around.
Do you have boots you could use to see whether the leg-resting stops if you use them? Maybe he is slightly uncomfortable after all, and more so on one leg than the other. Did he do the same thing before his shoes came off?
 
My rising 3 yo rests his hinds quite a lot. I asked the physio about it the other day and she said it was actually a good thing. There's a big muscle between the leg over the quarters/hip that the tension in it is only ever fully relaxed when a horse rests the leg. Probably explained that completely wrong but that's the jist of what she said.
 
my mare rests her off hind most of the time and she has an old tendon sheath injury which she has recently injured again!!!!! as she is 25 im not sure if she will recover full fitness to be ridden so may be a field ornament...
 
Perhaps I'll stop hassling him to stand up square whenever he does it then- he is a bit of a dope so probably just being lazy!
 
My boy has always done it a lot & he is most definitely not lazy! Quite the opposite in fact as he can be quite sharp at times. He generally rests near hind but does swap over sometimes. I did mention it last to Chiropracter as he's getting on a bit & I convinced myself that he's doing it more but think I was imagining that it's increasing, she wasn't concerned. He does it whenever he's tied up & when he's snoozing in the field. Mines done it for the 18yrs I've had him.
 
My appy always rested same leg, when we looked back at old photos (loads of photos from 3 yeasr old upwards) he was never resting other one. Also used to stand square some of the time, turned out had bone cyst in stifle on leg he rested. I wouldn't worry if horse was swapping between legs when resting but if always same one there may be underlying issue.
 
I was always taught that resting a hind leg was normal, but resting a foreleg needs investigation. If you have to stand for a while do you always stand square or do you shift your weight to one leg occasionally? I know I do. I don't think I know any horse that stands square all the time. Which is a long winded way of saying it's perfectly normal as long as it isn't the same leg all the time.
 
My sister's gelding rests a hind leg most of the time! He's a pretty laid back character generally, but he also had an injury a few years ago (100% sound for the last couple of years though) and he tends to rest that leg more than the other one.
 
Thank you posting and asking this - I wondered the same about mine but put to the back of my mind as I didn't want something else to worry about! Glad to see it is mostly thought to be normal if no other symptoms.
 
As its the same leg 90% of time, I would be a bit more concerned. Mine does this and he does have a known problem in the leg he rests. He does occasionally rest the other one, but only ever briefly.
 
MrsNorris said:
As its the same leg 90% of time, I would be a bit more concerned. Mine does this and he does have a known problem in the leg he rests. He does occasionally rest the other one, but only ever briefly.
Click to expand...

This was why I am a little wary of it. He is also very persistent with it, as in I will move him to stand him up square (which he doesn't appreciate!) and within 3 seconds he is resting it again. What issues does your horse have that contributes to it, if you don't mind me asking?
 
Not wanting to put a damp squib on this but my cob mare used to rest one hind leg all the time but did not show any obvious signs of lameness. When she did eventually go lame a stifle problem was diagnosed that unfortunately did not respond successfully to vet treatment. She is now retired and if it gets any worse will have to be pts.
 
Queenie_ said:
This was why I am a little wary of it. He is also very persistent with it, as in I will move him to stand him up square (which he doesn't appreciate!) and within 3 seconds he is resting it again. What issues does your horse have that contributes to it, if you don't mind me asking?
Click to expand...
Mine had an old injury 12 years ago, before I owned him. He's still in work under close supervision from vets and physios etc, but he has a very slight hip hike on the injured side and struggles to work properly. He's rested that leg consistently ever since I've owned him, it was what alerted me initially, along with a small gait anomaly which I could feel when riding but was quite hard to see from the ground.
I was contacted by the person who owned him when he had the injury, after I'd owned him for about 5 years. It all suddenly become clear after years of trying to work out what the problem was! Good luck with yours, fingers crossed its just a habit.
 
If he has only just started resting one hind leg more than the other it could be an abscess brewing. My lad did that for about a fortnight before he actually went lame but I wasn't surprised when the abscess burst!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top