update on horse lame on circle/under saddle

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showpony

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So vet was up last week, he trotted lame steps on circle but fine on straight line . followed vets instructions and started ridden work Thursday and he didn't feel right on right rein ..
Yo hopped up and said he just wasn't carrying himself properly and over compensating the inside hind causing short hoppy steps...
Back man fit me in an emergency appt and it wasn't good, he was v unlevel behind, slightly disunited in walk, muscle wastage In back end, high head carriage resulting in a dipped back... Feel awful:( no jumping for minimum of 3 mths... Which is totally fine just feel so bad that I really didn't feel or see he was in pain... But glad I know what I need to do to get him right.
Rehab started today with 20 mins walk in hand down the road and I swear to god he walked alongside me with headcarriage low and was v chilled, no spooking at all which is v rare...
Hope the next couple of mths will get him to where he needs to be recovery wise.
 
At least you've got a plan now, and all this long and low will give him an amazing topline and he'll be a proper dressage diva when he comes back into full work :)
 
There doesn't seem to be a proper diagnosis - it's all symptoms. I just worry that you have been instructed to address the symptoms without knowing what has caused them and addressing that. Horses don't favour one leg, or go disunited or suffer muscle wastage just because they carry their heads high. Sure, they can get tight/sore behind if they're going like a camel - but this all points to an underlying structural unsoundness that your vet needs to pinpoint, so that you know what you're dealing with. With the best will in the world, you're just fumbling around in the dark, doing the best you can, but not achieving anything - because you haven't got a diagnosis. Not your fault AT ALL - but I feel you and your horse have been let down by his healthcare providers.
 
When my mare ruptured her collateral ligament (coffin joint) she was 100% sound on the straight. Lame on a circle. No external signs of damage (I.e. heat/swelling etc)- I'm not saying that this is what your horse has done, but just that further diagnostics may be wise? Certain injuries could be made far worse with improper rehab. Good luck.
 
With Auslander on this one - get another vet out and a proper diagnosis. I suspect any back person will tell you your horse is 'wrong' and what execercises to do to remedy it, but fundamentally you still have a lame horse that working may just make worse.
 
Have you spoken to vet again to say rest didn't work? I'd agree with aus and want to do a bit more digging
 
Vet was out last week , and we followed his plan, he is back up early next week. My head is melted tbh... I will definitely dig deeper but at least with what my back guy said it's a start. Vet wasn't too concerned tbh and said if trotting up sound there isn't much wrong.
ester said:
Have you spoken to vet again to say rest didn't work? I'd agree with aus and want to do a bit more digging
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showpony said:
Vet was out last week , and we followed his plan, he is back up early next week. My head is melted tbh... I will definitely dig deeper but at least with what my back guy said it's a start. Vet wasn't too concerned tbh and said if trotting up sound there isn't much wrong.
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did the vet see the horse on the lunge?

If your vet is not concerned about a lame horse I would be changing vet
 
EllieBeast said:
When my mare ruptured her collateral ligament (coffin joint) she was 100% sound on the straight. Lame on a circle. No external signs of damage (I.e. heat/swelling etc)- I'm not saying that this is what your horse has done, but just that further diagnostics may be wise? Certain injuries could be made far worse with improper rehab. Good luck.
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This. My boy is pretty much sound trotting up on the straight but lame on a circle . . . I'd be most put out if my vet just shrugged that off.

Get a second (veterinary) opinion and stop working your horse until you get a proper diagnosis.

P
 
Would definitely want a proper diagnosis. It is so easy for a vet to just tell you to rest them, as with most things the problem will go away with rest but will most likely reappear once you start working your horse again. Last year, my boy wasn't tracking up on a circle, was quite tight through his back and very slightly unlevel behind. I got my Vet and she diagnosed him as 1/10 lame in both hind legs. We investigated further - he had full back x-rays, hock and stifle x-rays which showed he had a narrowed vertebrae along his spine, and mild arthritic changes to both hocks. He had steroid medication in his back, and both hocks and after rest and bringing him back into work slowly he was fully sound. He has since had a top-up steroid in both hocks and is full of life, in full work and 100% sound.

So I would definitely advise you to get to the bottom of it. It isn't cheap but if you are insured your insurance will pay.
 
I think plenty show issues on a circle that they don't on a straight line, mine is atm and am going to do a bit of a work up to see if treatable or just getting old and needs to hack not school and it is always stressful and worrying not knowing what is going on. - I didn't work F up before as we were treating a squamous cell carcinoma which if we didn't cure a bit of lameness was not going to be the problem. I'd speak to vet again when out next week and go through what has been said so far :).
 
It's cheaper to get a lameness work up from a proper horse vet than @rse about with repeated visits from a less clued up vet. You need to know what is causing this lameness, so that you can start the appropriate treatment.

As others have said, back problems are often (but not always) secondary to a lower limb lameness, as the horse twists itself to try and work comfortably. It may well be nothing serious, but until you know what it is, you are fumbling in the dark.

Good luck.
 
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