pony lame on one front leg seems foot related with pulse

meesha

meesha

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Hi all, hoping for some help/advice - friend called me round as her pony (sheltlandxcob - overweight but no more than normal) was lame - she had ridden out yesterday with hoof boots (stoney round by us) and he had even decided to trot down quite steep hill. Then last night apparently looked bit footy - today very head bobbing lame - happy for foot to be picked up, leg bent back and leg pulled forwards (ears forward) cant feel any heat in particular (possibly warmer than other front but marginal) but there is more of a pulse and he is not keen to pick other front up to weight bear on bad one.

I am assuming its laminitis and owner is keeping in with soaked hay and bute and deep bed - he was on slightly more grass than normal yesterday and the grass round by us is growing like stink !

Any other suggestions if not lami ? seems odd to have only in one front but have heard this is possible - not my pony and owner is calling vet if not improved by later today.


penguin biscuit and cuppa for all !
 
Could well be an abcess, worth getting farrier out either way but i suspect you will probably struggle now until next week so might have to be the vet!
 
Strangely enough, one of my gang was head bobbing lame recently. I thought it may have been down to a splint he has, although that wasn't painful to the touch. Anyway, when I next checked him out, he was striding out nicely in walk on the lunge, but very short and choppy and lacking impulsion in the trot.......

....... It took a while for me to realise that this is one of the classic signs of laminitis. Anyway, I'd decided to keep him on the yard, off grass, to limit his movement to see whether he improved, and 2 weeks later he seems to be totally sound and back to his exuberant self!

Yarding him has also given me chance to get his weight down a little, which I'm sure will have been working against him.

So I'm fairly convinced that my boy had laminitis coming on. It can come on in one foot before another.

And in all honesty, it's just so worth treating it as though it's laminitis and getting them off the grass, because it's so easy to do and may make all the difference.

And yes, it could turn out to be a foot abscess, and in that case you'd expect to see it getting worse over the next few days as the pressure in the hoof builds up more and more.

We've had so much rain and warm weather here that the grass has gone bezerk, so my money would be on laminitis, but I know nothing!

Sarah
 
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