Overgrown Pony
Well-Known Member
Following on from my post about feed causing sore feet (Im feeding the wrong thing for something bare in behind so Ive got a new low starch high oil plan)
Please bear with me. This is long
Bought my horse (17.2hh 7yr old DWBxISH gelding) Feb 2012. He has mild, what I was told to be, stringhalt in both back legs, although more prominently in the off-hind. It shows in walk as a slight swing outwards. Occasionally he raises is up and out. Absolutely no sign of it in trot or canter and he jumps happily. Its also intermittent so sometimes not visible at all.
I work him like any other normal horse (schooling, jumping, hunting, XC etc) and he never has any issues. I do get the odd comment from people about his leg swinging out. Im sick of saying hes got stringhalt as Im sure everyone with a horse the same is .
Hes as fit as a fiddle and could go all day. This is my first winter with him and Ive been struggling with his weight. He held weight well and looked fantastic in the summer so Im thinking the lack of condition is nothing to worry about and Im expecting him to pick up when the grass comes through.
Now when I bought him I got his back shoes off (hes still shod in-front) which I do with any horse I get as I find they do well (and saves some pennies). His back feet are solid and havent needed rasped since I had them taken off. Hes always been a bit of a verge hugger when it comes to stony ground and over the last few months has taken to not even liking to walk on smooth tarmac (although in trot hes fine). I spoke to my farrier about it and he said that the constant wet ground wears/washes away the protective layer on the sole and can make them sensitive. Anyone heard of this?
So - mild stringhalt and a bit foot sore, more so in the last few months. He seems to suffer a more with the stringhalt (if thats what it is!) in the cold when hes standing all day/night at the big round bale of hay eating and not moving about.
So I was hacking him out on Friday. He came in from the field again sore on the stoney track. Off we went trotting the majority of the 4 miles to the woods. He was happy as larry and needed no encouragement to trot. We cantered round the tracks in the woods, back out onto the road and trotted the majority of the 4 miles back. Again no problems. So about 15 mins from home I did a bit of schooling along the road (quiet country tarmac road) e.g. leg yielding and transitions. He was feeling great. All of a sudden about 5 mins from home when I asked him to walk he suddenly started lifting his back right leg right up and out much more severely than hes ever done! He was really struggling to walk and then got kind of stuck. I sat quietly waiting for him to pull out of it. He couldnt. I jollied him up and pushed him out of it into trot and off he trotted no bother. I asked for walk again and the same thing happened (right back leg up and out to the side and he felt stuck). Again I pushed him into trot and off he went.
Took him home, gave him his tea and turned him out.
I gave him Saturday off. I took him out again yesterday and he felt the same. Awful in walk. Right leg up and out and really struggling but fine in trot. Took him into a grass field and all of a sudden he was absolutely fine in walk. We had a trot and canter round and he was right as rain and full of the joys.
So on the way home I experimented and every time I put him on the verge in walk (which he wanted to go on anyway) he felt right as rain. The moment I put him on the road (smooth tarmac) the back right leg started its swinging and a couple of times like he was going to get stuck again.
I am absolutely stumped on this one .
Sorry for the really long winded post. Just wanted to give as much info as possible.
Please bear with me. This is long
Bought my horse (17.2hh 7yr old DWBxISH gelding) Feb 2012. He has mild, what I was told to be, stringhalt in both back legs, although more prominently in the off-hind. It shows in walk as a slight swing outwards. Occasionally he raises is up and out. Absolutely no sign of it in trot or canter and he jumps happily. Its also intermittent so sometimes not visible at all.
I work him like any other normal horse (schooling, jumping, hunting, XC etc) and he never has any issues. I do get the odd comment from people about his leg swinging out. Im sick of saying hes got stringhalt as Im sure everyone with a horse the same is .
Hes as fit as a fiddle and could go all day. This is my first winter with him and Ive been struggling with his weight. He held weight well and looked fantastic in the summer so Im thinking the lack of condition is nothing to worry about and Im expecting him to pick up when the grass comes through.
Now when I bought him I got his back shoes off (hes still shod in-front) which I do with any horse I get as I find they do well (and saves some pennies). His back feet are solid and havent needed rasped since I had them taken off. Hes always been a bit of a verge hugger when it comes to stony ground and over the last few months has taken to not even liking to walk on smooth tarmac (although in trot hes fine). I spoke to my farrier about it and he said that the constant wet ground wears/washes away the protective layer on the sole and can make them sensitive. Anyone heard of this?
So - mild stringhalt and a bit foot sore, more so in the last few months. He seems to suffer a more with the stringhalt (if thats what it is!) in the cold when hes standing all day/night at the big round bale of hay eating and not moving about.
So I was hacking him out on Friday. He came in from the field again sore on the stoney track. Off we went trotting the majority of the 4 miles to the woods. He was happy as larry and needed no encouragement to trot. We cantered round the tracks in the woods, back out onto the road and trotted the majority of the 4 miles back. Again no problems. So about 15 mins from home I did a bit of schooling along the road (quiet country tarmac road) e.g. leg yielding and transitions. He was feeling great. All of a sudden about 5 mins from home when I asked him to walk he suddenly started lifting his back right leg right up and out much more severely than hes ever done! He was really struggling to walk and then got kind of stuck. I sat quietly waiting for him to pull out of it. He couldnt. I jollied him up and pushed him out of it into trot and off he trotted no bother. I asked for walk again and the same thing happened (right back leg up and out to the side and he felt stuck). Again I pushed him into trot and off he went.
Took him home, gave him his tea and turned him out.
I gave him Saturday off. I took him out again yesterday and he felt the same. Awful in walk. Right leg up and out and really struggling but fine in trot. Took him into a grass field and all of a sudden he was absolutely fine in walk. We had a trot and canter round and he was right as rain and full of the joys.
So on the way home I experimented and every time I put him on the verge in walk (which he wanted to go on anyway) he felt right as rain. The moment I put him on the road (smooth tarmac) the back right leg started its swinging and a couple of times like he was going to get stuck again.
I am absolutely stumped on this one .
Sorry for the really long winded post. Just wanted to give as much info as possible.