severe right hind lameness

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Jim bob

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Everything has been going so well for us recently. Hacking my boy out, only 15 mins but I wanted to take my time and build him up slowly. Thinking the rest days that he has off are as important as the days I am working him, thought only in walk.

Last Wednesday or Thursday ( cant quite remember) I noticed loads of skid marks in our field ( horse shares his field with another playful tb) Wednesday night until Thursday 4pm he was in. Then either Thursday or Friday night I noticed he was lifting his right hind wide ( like how a dog would pee) when I picked his feet out. Thought it was strange but nothing more then that really. Took him for a plod on Friday and he was his normal self , no issues.

Over the weekend and into this week ( he is still been turned out) he seems to be getting worse! Continuing to lift his hind leg very wide and has started only recently to do it with his left hind too. There doesn't appear to be any heat in either legs and only yesterday did some swelling ( from his right hind hock to his foot) appear. It feels more like he has a filled leg rather then swelling. I thought he had just pulled something so took him for a light plod last night and he didn't feel right! On trotting him up he seems lame on his right hind, quite badly and also head nodding too... Spoke to physio and said she to get a vet.

Vet is coming down to see him on Friday. I buted him last night but it doesn't seem to have made a massive difference.*
 
If turnout makes him worse, could you not keep him in until the vet visits? That goes double if you are giving bute that may mask some of the pain. If it was my horse I'd be quite worried to be honest.
 
I would keep him in until the vet has been if his damaged a tendon or ligament he will only make it worse by being in the field and do further damage, I would have wanted the vet straight away if he was that lame can the vet not come out tomorrow?
 
This doesn't make sense. My horse had bute last night and I came down this morning and it didn't seem to me a huge difference. This morning when picking his feet out, he still give me his leg very wide. I did turn him out and brought him in later. However later the other horse came charging up a d my horse started to trot and didn't look too bad. Brought him in and hosed his leg he let me pick up his leg and held it normally not wide out. ( the bute was given 24 hours ago) however there is heat down the back of his leg :(
 
Jim bob said:
This doesn't make sense. My horse had bute last night and I came down this morning and it didn't seem to me a huge difference. This morning when picking his feet out, he still give me his leg very wide. I did turn him out and brought him in later. However later the other horse came charging up a d my horse started to trot and didn't look too bad. Brought him in and hosed his leg he let me pick up his leg and held it normally not wide out. ( the bute was given 24 hours ago) however there is heat down the back of his leg :(
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I have a very old rescue mare who has a fair few issues, she had the problem you describe, she would do the same with her left hind, sometimes holding it out and up to the point we would worry for her balance, she had a swollen hock, very big but was not particularly lame, however the vet and I felt she was stiff and has danilon once a day.....I recently added turmeric as I felt it was worth a shot......well the hock that has been so big for the last 3 years is a normal size and she no longer does the action you describe.....I did find, incidentally that if I gently held it and waited she would relax it, the key was to make sure I almost supported it so it came up straight and not out...not sure that will make sense.. .anyway this horse is 30 this year and flying about and prancing and generally enjoying life.....I do however have another one who is also doing what you describe but is really very lame without his danilon[SUB][/SUB], he is 22 and we are waiting on an xray to see if we have a fracture or severe arthritis going on, he has hard bone like swelling on the outside lower hock, where as the mates was softer swelling and involved the whole joint...so in this sense he is different but he does the same action as she did and yours is....so I guess the point is it can be any number of things....try not to panic...(says she who is lying awake all night worrying about my gelding! :-\) good luck!
 
Oh and I also found with the mare that picking feet in a particular sequence works, so if I started near fore we had problems but start off fore we are fine......she does have other issues though
 
Jim bob said:
I am very worried :( he is in tomorrow and Friday.
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I would have thought that if he is swinging his legs wide he has pulled a muscle and he is moving in this way because it hurts in the normal way.

Maybe the vet will be able to sort it out for you, followed by a physio.
 
Yeah vet has been. Apparently its his right fore! He either has an abscess or he has bruised it. I still thought it was his right hind though. Vet said not and that he looks fine on his back end
 
Good news that the vet didn't find anything serious, but I'm guessing that you are still concerned about the curious symptoms you described before. Hopefully it is nice and straightforward and your horse will be back to normal soon!
 
Hi my horse had similar over xmas, looked awful, vet wanted to run tests as he had hocks issues 18mths ago & was worried stifle now remodelling - found lump on joint etc etc. To cut a long story short, I found out he'd been playing with another horse. I think he'd skidded in the mud and pulled a muscled in his groin area. I thought he'd fractured his pelvis from the way he was moving, it was hideous, but the way he moved was made much worse as he is barefoot and with all the wet, the cartiledge in one of his front feet had become quite weak so his foot balance was out of kilter too and obviously if I tried any amount of work he'd be good one day and horribly lame the next.

We put wraps on the feet and I rested him and have been bringing him very slowly in to some walk work with emphasis on back end power. Yesterday I decided to walk him in the school before tea and started to free school him, he decided to behave like a complete idiot - he is now sound in walk, trot, canter and flat out gallop, oh and his bucking was pretty fluid too! He's probably going to be lame again today, however - I might be inclined to rest your horse out of the mud - does he have a pen he can go in for a couple of days? I think perhaps some rest and check his feet. Try not to worry too much, something very small can look really awful! It might be spavins as they do swing their leg, but if it looks higher up it could just as easily be muscular. If bute helps it is possibly more likely muscular than skeletal but go carefully until the vet sees him.
 
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