pistolpete
Well-Known Member
Do you think it’s a knack? I can often see ‘something’ but can’t put my finger on which leg/area. I have friends who see it straight away. Do you have a knack?
Spotting lameness.
- Thread starter pistolpete
- Start date
Elf On A Shelf
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It's definitely a knack seeing the problem first time. The more obvious the lameness the quicker you spot it. A subtle lameness I need 2 or 3 trot ups to pin point the exact leg. I feel it much more when i am on them though and could tell you within 5 strides where the horse is wrong no matter how slightly they are off.
spotty_pony
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Definitely a knack. Some are obviously a lot easier to see than others but tbh not many horses look 100% sound when you know what you’re looking at. Then there are the whole other thoughts about how the horse is ‘loading’ his feet which can be a very subtle sign of lameness.
stangs
Well-Known Member
I think it’s a skill anyone can hone with enough practice and experience. Ultimately, you’re using objective factors like footfall, different lengths of strides etc.
I’ve gotten alright at spotting and feeling slight lameness, but I couldn’t tell you the specific joint causing an issue, more of a general area. Just need to find myself more lame horses to get better at it.
I’ve gotten alright at spotting and feeling slight lameness, but I couldn’t tell you the specific joint causing an issue, more of a general area. Just need to find myself more lame horses to get better at it.
pistolpete
Well-Known Member
Yes I remember watching Cheltenham and one of the race winners looked lame to me then won!
Michen
Well-Known Member
You only have to read the posts on here as everyone disagrees which leg which indicates most people can't.
I asked my vet, he says its something that is trainined in although obviously some vets are superior at it than others.
I asked my vet, he says its something that is trainined in although obviously some vets are superior at it than others.
L&M
Well-Known Member
I feel it, better than see it......
Orangehorse
Well-Known Member
My physio said there was an experiment fairly recently somewhere that involved a largish number of vets and the results varied alarmingly. They certainly weren't all correct or maybe that should be - they didn't all agree.
Sometimes it is "is the horse sound" or "is that the way it moves." Watching any warm up for competition and you can look long enough and wonder. Some horses are very stoical and will keep going, others will wave their leg in the air if they stand on a stone.
The only time I saw the trot up at Badminton I thought one of the horses wasn't quite right turning at the bottom, (but who am I to judge, I'm not an expert) but it passed, completed the cross country but withdrawn before show jumping. Also I remember watching the Derby and thought "that horse is lame!" as it came out onto the course. It was passed by the vets to run, but broke down during the course of the race and was PTS.
Sometimes it is "is the horse sound" or "is that the way it moves." Watching any warm up for competition and you can look long enough and wonder. Some horses are very stoical and will keep going, others will wave their leg in the air if they stand on a stone.
The only time I saw the trot up at Badminton I thought one of the horses wasn't quite right turning at the bottom, (but who am I to judge, I'm not an expert) but it passed, completed the cross country but withdrawn before show jumping. Also I remember watching the Derby and thought "that horse is lame!" as it came out onto the course. It was passed by the vets to run, but broke down during the course of the race and was PTS.
PinkvSantaboots
Well-Known Member
I can usually spot when one is even slightly not right but don't always know which limb.
pistolpete
Well-Known Member
How would you learn to get better?
FlyingCircus
Well-Known Member
In my case, you collect broken horses!
Boulty
Well-Known Member
I can feel it better than I can see it normally although can normally see something isn't right, just can't always pinpoint the issue until someone with a better eye points it out. I can also hear if footfall is "wrong" eg horse toe first on one foot, landing differently on one foot or a bit short if the horse is walking on a hard surface like a road so hearing with which leg the rhythm changes can help but I think this is a weird thing unique to me!
Filming at slo mo in walk can help a lot with spotting subtle things (I guess it would work in trot too if only lame in trot?)
Filming at slo mo in walk can help a lot with spotting subtle things (I guess it would work in trot too if only lame in trot?)
SEL
Well-Known Member
And me! With plenty of experience of vets who couldn't spot lameness on a basic trot up even though I can feel the horse is off under saddle.
Since we've shod the microcob behind I can hear on the road if she's NQR on her right hind.
scats
Well-Known Member
Haha yes! I’m pretty good at spotting lameness now, even very subtle. I think it’s years of bitter experience!
I got a vet at the hospital to give me guidance in spotting subtle lameness, while I was up there with one of my many sick notes. Learnt a lot about where to look, what to ‘block out’ of your vision etc.
Northern Hare
Well-Known Member
A friend loaned me a lovely sports horse type that they had in the field not doing much. I did end up getting him right and had him for 20 great yrs, but when he arrived, a renowned and very elderly horse vet was visiting. He asked me to trot him up, and then again. "You see that white hind, well he's sound on that one" (hence lame on the other three).... Not really what I wanted to hear!
I think the best (or rather the worst!) way to hone your skills at spotting a lame horse is to own a horse that has a history of lameness!! The problem is then that you then find it very difficult to spot a sound horse! ?
I think the best (or rather the worst!) way to hone your skills at spotting a lame horse is to own a horse that has a history of lameness!! The problem is then that you then find it very difficult to spot a sound horse! ?
rabatsa
Confuddled
It is a skill and does need practice to keep. I was taught by several old horsemen by watching everything that entered the ring at a local horse sale, month in month out. Conformation was also taught and how it affected movement explained. This was put into practice with a variety of animals over the years for both myself and the RDA. Fast forward to most of the old men dying, the horse sales finishing, limited contact with horses and the skill is now a lot less honed than it was. I can still detect lameness before many people but pinpointing the cause has gone out of the window unless it is patently obvious.
pistolpete
Well-Known Member
Glad I’m not just thick. I too feel I can see a not quite right but very subtle lameness eludes me!
Orangehorse
Well-Known Member
My vet (who diagnosed hip lameness in my horse after others had failed to spot it) said that it is very hard for a rider to detect hind leg lameness. That is why when she goes to a dressage competition she can see lame horses!
Vets like to trot up an unridden horse, presumably because the weight/saddle, balance of the ridden horse could be different to the unridden and until you get a "control" if you like, of the unridden horse.
Vets like to trot up an unridden horse, presumably because the weight/saddle, balance of the ridden horse could be different to the unridden and until you get a "control" if you like, of the unridden horse.
Birker2020
Well-Known Member
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=spot+lameness+in+horse
watch these
bilateral lameness is a hard one, it can be very subtle, so its not always easy even for professionals to spot.
Sprogladite01
Well-Known Member
I think it's definitely a skill. I had 3 different vets look at my boy and tell me he was sound (one diagnosed him with an "attitude problem") - glad I didn't listen as he went off to Rossdales and was bilaterally lame on both hinds, 3/5 lame on one and 4/5 lame on the other! So even the so-called experts can have trouble seeing it!
Tracking_up
Well-Known Member
For very slight lameness, i can hear it better than I can see it... but that doesn't help me with identifying the limb!
Leandy
Well-Known Member
I'm very bad at this! If it is just simply lame on one leg then it is not so hard and often the cause is obvious to see also. But most longer standing cases are lame on more than one leg or have a problem entirely somewhere else eg back, mouth etc and those are near impossible. The other issue of course is that lame or not is not an absolute black and white. Is the horse sound enough to sustain the work it is doing? Could that be improved for the longer term or will it just revert? Those are the key questions. Many people (including athletes) don't look level, equal and sound either and may have something that grumbles a bit but they are fine to keep on going. It would all be easier if horses were perfectly symmetrical and balanced in their build and posture but they aren't. Some of that is of course as a result of compensating for weakness or pain but some is just how they are born. Like all animals.
oldie48
Well-Known Member
Sometimes a horse is unsound but will feel and look perfectly sound, the advantage of four legs is they give a horse the ability to compensate. Bilateral hind limb lameness can be very difficult to see and feel. I had a performance work up on Rose because I thought she was finding collection harder work than she should and I wanted to be sure I wasn't missing something. I doubt many people would have looked at her either ridden or in hand and said she was unsound but she was very slightly off on the right hind and was compensating using her left fore. I'm no expert but can generally see lameness even if I can't always pinpoint the site of the problem and I was actually very surprised, as were the little group of very experienced people watching, as we all thought she looked fine, however the performance vet could see it. I think there are lots of horses who appear perfectly sound as long as they are kept within their comfort zone of training (if that makes any sense) but once the level of work steps up, they start to struggle.
Sprogladite01
Well-Known Member
Yes, or perhaps when the type of work simply changes - my boy was previously jumped and hunted a lot before he came to me, where his workload changed to just hacking and schooling and his problems became apparent!
Birker2020
Well-Known Member
Yes I was told to keep Lari in constant work and now I know why.
By having a break of 6 months to build up his top line and core it became apparent that he was falling apart.
My vet always used to say that riding Bailey reguarly was the glue that kept her together and I think this is true of Lari too.
Follysmum
Well-Known Member
It’s weird but I can ? see if one of my own are straightaway , sometimes have to really look a lot longer at any others