Slight Front Lameness? Poss navicular? Can anyone help?

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nahajola112

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Hi everyone I was wondering if any of you might be able to help?

I have a 5 year old American paint horse gelding who I do dressage with, he is very, very fit and currently competing novice level dressage, he gets ridden most days with no quarms or problems at all.

I went to have my weekly lesson on saturday as usual, was just about to start when my instructor noticed he was very slightly lame, so I got off, trotted him up, then flexion tested him on hinds and fronts, and he is very, very slightly lame on one of his front legs.

I dont quite know what has happened as he has no swelling or anything wrong in the actual leg he is lame on at all, the leg is completely normal so that means the lameness is coming from one of three places:

1) the shoulder (which would suggest his been doing his run flat out and skid to a halt trick in the field again!)
2) an old splint on the leg that he has had for 2 years (but the splint has no heat or anything in it at all and is stone cold, he is also always schooled in tendon boots)
3) the hoof (he is shod on fronts only and my farrier is really good) but this would suggest poss navicular which is really worrying :(

He is turned out of a night so when I usually get him in, in the mornings he is laying down, on the two occasions he has been down, when he has got up he has been chronically lame on the leg for a few strides then goes back to walking normal again.

I also noticed when walking on slightly hilly/uneven concrete at the yard he is acting almost footy? But he has shoes on?

So I am at a total loss as to what this is, how it can be worse upon laying down then go back to normal again?
I wanted to hear other peoples views before I go down the vet route as unfortunately my vet passed away recently so I'd have to find another who I can trust as the vets are not particularly brilliant where I am!

I am really really worried this may possibly be navicular :'( as it is so random how it has come on and this breed is prone to getting it. But he is not displaying any of the other symptoms? and he moves phenomenal not landing on the toe at all like navicular horses supposedly do?
The only symptom there is, is this lameness.

He does sometimes run around the field getting up speed and skidding and broncing (something else this breed love to do!) but i havent seen him doing this recently and normally when he does that his legs swell and they've been fine- I have halfed his field now just encase like i had to in the winter.

But i am a bit at a loss 🙁

If anyone can offer any suggestions or maybe they had a horse with the same kind or problem and can help me will be great!
 
With unspecified lameness like that, especially if it is only slight, I'm a big fan of a few days field rest and see if it gets better or worse. If it improves it was probably soft tissue damage such as a slight sprain or a bruise, if it gets worse than it is probably skeletal such as a degenerative joint condition of some sort.
Or get a vet to nerve block etc and a physio to check back, shoulders, musculature
 
It is only a few days and could be anything, I would consider the possibility of it being laminitis, being worse on getting up can be a sign that they are being very cautious, along with looking footy, although it could be an abscess brewing or a simple bruised foot, it certainly sounds as if it is in the foot and that would be the first place to investigate..

If you don't want to get a vet, if it is laminitis you really should, then get your farrier to take a look, and until you get a diagnosis treat it as laminitis, better to be extra careful now than allow it to get worse.
 
Thank you for taking the time to read my post :)
So far his had 3 days rest since it was first spotted he goes out about 70% of the day and comes in for about 30% and its stayed the same same no worsening but also no improvement :( but I might well try leaving him out the rest of this week to see if theres any change by the weekend
 
Thank you for taking the time to read my post :) I did wonder that and checked his feet and they had no heat or any of the laminitis classic symptoms they say, and it is literally just the one leg, the other one he isnt lame on, but my farrier is due very imminently so I will get him to check for me and also stick the hoof testers on him that is a very good point there 👍🏻
 
Ah, if he has been rested for three days with no improvement it probably isn't going to respond to just rest. Be Positive is right though, laminitis is a huge risk at this time of year with spring grass about. Unusual for it to affect just one foot though, I think a vet visit is called for (maybe get your farrier first to check feet and consider removing a shoe to be able to rule out anything with shoes).
 
I'm going through something very similar with my mare. Very sudden onset mild lameness
She was not looking right in front, lameness score of 2 (fluctuates between 1 and 3). I gave her 2 weeks to see if she improved and she hasn't, she seems no different so I don't think it is going to go away.

I had the vet out last night. He used hoof testers which showed nothing, then he nerve blocked the left front. She then looked fine on the left but lame on the right (although not as severe as the left) so he nerve blocked the right and she looked a lot better, although not perfect. The next step for her is x-rays, followed by coffin joint nerve blocks next Tuesday.

I also noticed with mine that she seemed to be more lame on uneven ground, tight turns when being led and looks a bit worse on the left front just after she gets up from laying down.

I'm really hoping for some positive news from the xrays. Not sure how I feel about having more nerve blocks. I've been looking all over the place trying to find advice about treatment but it's very confusing and I'm not yet clear on what may be in store!

I have put mine in some magnetic ankle boots and on NAF superflex. Clutching at straws I think. I hope you find out what is wrong soon. I got to a point where the vet was my only option in the end :(
 
Same with my horse at the mo, we did 8 weeks rest, remedial trim no change, remedial farriery no change, nerve blocked it to isolate foot. It's better now enough that he's sound on straight and we're cautiously starting walk work to see what it is. With sudden onset like yours it could also be tissue damage rather than navicular - also a pain to deal with but both are manageable. Don't panic until you know what you're dealing with, don't worry! It's early days, mgiht be nothing. Good luck.
 
Morgan123 said:
With sudden onset like yours it could also be tissue damage rather than navicular - .
Click to expand...

What is diagnosed as navicular lameness is soft tissue damage in almost every case.

It's been known for a very, very long time that damage to the navicular bone on x ray does not correlate very well with lameness.

Since MRI scanning, it's been obvious that the enormous majority of cases diagnosed as navicular are strain of one or more of the ddft, the collateral ligaments and the impar ligament.

If anyone gets this kind of diagnosis, the success rate of traditional drug and farrier treatments is only a fraction of that of barefoot rehab. See rockleyfarm.blogspot.com for more details.
 
Morgan123 said:
Same with my horse at the mo, we did 8 weeks rest, remedial trim no change, remedial farriery no change, nerve blocked it to isolate foot. It's better now enough that he's sound on straight and we're cautiously starting walk work to see what it is. With sudden onset like yours it could also be tissue damage rather than navicular - also a pain to deal with but both are manageable. Don't panic until you know what you're dealing with, don't worry! It's early days, mgiht be nothing. Good luck.
Click to expand...

Navicular can be a number of issues that can present in any number of ways either slowly or acutely but it's then a chronic condition until someone removes the pressure in that area, or improves the hoof balance that has caused it. If this is the diagnosis...more often than not, "navicular" is soft tissue impingement in the area of the navicular bone.

Rockley, as ycbm has said is a good place to do your research and practical rehabilitation.
 
Be aware that laminitis CAN present as lameness in one leg only.

I was convinced my pony had damaged his elbow. He was between 1-3/10 lame for over a week. Once I decided to treat him as a laminitic (off grass/soaked hay) he came sound within a couple of days. Put back on grass, lame again immediately. Several months later the tell-tale rings appeared on his hooves. He was not over-weight at the time, now diagnosed as borderline PPID.

Laminitis does not always present as the classic rocked back on heels appearance (my pony stood square) and his digital pulses were very, very mild too and as I mentioned above he was also only lame on one front leg. Totally atypical!
 
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