thinking out loud, Neuro issues

[Horsekaren]

The big man is enjoying his rest period, he was due to go back to the vets this week but the gales and traffic stopped us getting there so he is now going to be rested for another month. I can say i have noticed any difference in him ... but then again it wasn't really noticeable unless ridden. I did a few neuro tests of my own on him just to see how he was responding on the steroids and he seemed fine to back up, fine doing a small circle to the right but when i asked him to do the small circle to the left he pivots around that left fore ( hind legs seem coordinated but he doesn't want to step around on the left fore, he plants it and moves his other legs around it almost like a twist. If i ask him to walk a small circle around me he keeps trying to turn and face me ( i taught him to turn to me when doing ground work and i usually give him a treat, so i'm not sure how much of that is him evading)

On the latest work up it states he was very slightly lame on the left fore. I'm sure i'm grasping at straws but can very very mild foreleg lameness on hard ground cause these sorts of things? He has always had a tight shoulder when back people come and i'm wondering if when he goes back to the vets i should push to have that leg xrayed (specifically the shoulder) can they even xray a shoulder?

If for example there was actually an old injury or arthritis ect in his shoulder could that effect how he can position his neck and the mild changes seen in the neck could be compensating for a bigger issue front end.

Obviously im not a vet but would neuro issues effect one side more than another?

Also i sometimes catch him standing in very slightly odd positions, ie his two front hoofs may touch slightly but he is balanced and steady, its almost like he knows but doesn't care. This morning for example when he was eating his hay his front legs were facing the hay but his back legs were facing ever so slightly off to an angle compared to the front. Is that normal or should he always been square

He is so steady on his feet in the field, the other day i caught him and his buddy galloping around in the rain for 10 mins, bucking rearing and bolting so fast... his buddy lost his footing and slid into a bush, Strawberry was so solid, didn't lose a foot the entire time even when turning and high speeds on wet ground... and he is supposed to be the uncoordinated one!

P's His name sake rug is wrapped under the tree

 

[milliepops]

standing weirdly is a symptom of the neuro issues.
that's why they do the hoof placement test, for instance. Mine will stand quite happily with her legs on top of each other or one behind the other, never loses her balance but doesn't square herself up without prompting.

Mine was also presenting as lame in one foreleg. I was told it was resulting from the compression in her neck rather than there being anything wrong with the leg. the hindleg symptoms were bilateral but it was definitely only one foreleg affected.

Like yours, mine happily charges round the field playing, it's nice to see that she has a good quality of life even if the duration will ultimately be limited.

 

[hopscotch bandit]

Neck issues can cause front limb lameness (5th para on link). https://www.tsln.com/news/what-causes-lameness-in-horses-dr-brenda-unrein-explains/
This is very common in my horse, she also holds her head lower than she used to, not necessarily because it hurts her as she is on one bute a day, just that her way of going is easier if she moves this way (fast at times) and she also has a prolific bum swing. Horses will develop a pattern of moving over time because they can cover the ground faster or because it is just easier for them and less wearing. It can go unnoticed at first, but you notice it after a while. She can raise her head adequately in other situations, looking at things, eating a haynet, when being hacked out, etc but when led she has this strange very low neck striding out movement.

In respect of treading on opposite feet/foot placement issues, my mare (who if you remember I explained in a previous reply has this C7/T1 issue with the transposed vetebrae in picture C of SHaron May-Davis' article https://thehorsesback.com/c6-c7-malformation/ ) can be right as rein one day and then 'clumsy' other days, you pick out her back foot and she puts one foot on the other or brushes against the other, its only for a second and she corrects herself quickly but it can be very obvious at times. Foot placement tests, she will always correct herself but sometimes she does it within a second other times two or three although this tends to be very rare. When you turn her which I've especially noticed in the field leading her to the electric switch to switch the mains electric off, when I turn her she pivots and doesn't move the one foot at all, just kind of pivots around on it like its the most natural thing in the world, I can't even begin to think how she does it but to her its normal - IT'S SO NOT HORSE! lol.

The other day she was standing eating her haynet and was really base wide on her hind legs, another time she was really base wide at front. There are a lot of variations in between, but most days she is 'normal'.

Sometimes she will be easy to pull on her tail. She's no where near the state where you could pull her over or even influence her hind legs by doing the sway tail test whilst stood but she can be what I call 'a little loose' when you pull on her tail. When she is led by someone and you pull on it she is very loose at times, other days not affected much but more than if she was stood still and you did it. Still displaying the panniculus reflex whereby if you touch her sides with a stem of hay she will react like she would if it were a fly and tail tone correct.

I will only ever continue to ride her whilst she is 'safe' to do so and will determine her quality of life easily enough as I know her inside out.
OP I really wouldn't get too hung up on testing her all the time. I test/monitor my horse every now and then (probably once sometimes twice a month)
Hopefully after your horses period of rest when you restart riding any neuro issues will be minimal and your horses condition, if it is neck arthritis, will develop at a slow rate. It's so interesting that SHaron May-Davis article, I really would suggest giving it a read if you haven't already.

 

[ihatework]

Stop over-thinking. You will drive yourself mad.

 

[hopscotch bandit]

Stop over-thinking. You will drive yourself mad.

Too true. Like I said in my last paragraph don't get hung up about it. What will be, will be. Enjoy the time you have. Dramatic as it sounds I'd much rather have to make a decision about quality of life of an declining oldie than have to give the shout with my horse rolling around the floor in agony with colic or stood with a broken leg.

 

[Hormonal Filly]

This morning for example when he was eating his hay his front legs were facing the hay but his back legs were facing ever so slightly off to an angle compared to the front. Is that normal or should he always been square

This is exactly what my little cob with severe neck arthritis use to do. In all the years of ownership and working at riding stables I have never noticed another horse do it. Never worked out why, I stopped worrying about it. He couldn't step in tight circles so assumed it was all related. He also would stand with one of his back legs rested, but not in a normal position almost looked like his fetlock was buckled over. Looked very odd. The tight in the shoulder was present in mine and related to the neck issue the specialist said, it developed into a noticeable clunk of the shoulder.

Each horse is different though.

Stop over-thinking. You will drive yourself mad.

This! Don't over think everything, try and block it. Your get ideas stuck in your head and it will drive you insane! My vet is always telling me to stop over thinking

 

[Roxylola]

It's possible, but it's also possible that the slight lameness and the stiffness is because of the changes in his neck - personally that's what I'd suspect. I'd bear it in mind but I'd focus on the neck issues first and see if there are any changes if you can get that resolved