Weird lameness, arrrgh

chessy

chessy

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I don't know what on earth is going on with my horse at the moment so I hope someone here can help.

A few weeks ago my sharer was having a lesson on my mare. After about half an hour, my horse started to show lameness on her right fore. Not hopping lame, just a shortened stride on that leg.
Checked for heat/swelling/any obvious injuries/stones in hoof = nothing. Phoned vet who advised box rest for a week to see how she goes.
Trotted her up after a week, straight line on hard ground. She was sound. Lunged her in the school, still sound. Vet said bring back into work. Did a couple of short hacks and a couple of short schooling sessions, no problem. Then my sharer had another lesson. She was fine for half an hour or so... then again started to show a shortened stride on that leg :mad:

I have to add that my horse was a happy hacker who has only started to do some real "proper" schooling since around March this year. She is working much more than she used to, but the "lameness" has only cropped up recently.

My horse is barefoot, and I have also noticed she is reluctant to walk on stony ground for a good few weeks now - there are tons of stony tracks and gravel at the yard, and she prefers to walk on the verges. She is due a trim, her front feet are chipping. Farrier wants to put front shoes on, he says she's showing classic signs of being footy. Also after receiving info from a previous owner, I have discovered she used to be shod on the fronts - it seems she has only been barefoot for her past year with me and the short months she was with a dealer and the person I bought her from.

The vet thinks it could be laminitis but doesn't really know, as it's only one leg and there isn't any heat in the hoof. She isn't shifting her weight off that side and stands normally. Vet advised to keep her off the grass. I have to phone him this week to let him know her progress, before we go down the whole xray/scan route.

Has anyone seen anything like this before?

Cookies if you got through all that! :o
 
Does sound a bit like mild laminitis...which is anything that shows as sore feet really. I think I would treat for laminitis and keep off the grass etc anyway as even if it turns out to be something else, it is going to be similar treatment anyway. If it is laminitis you can hopefully get away with a very mild case if treated early. If in doubt and all that.
My lad was not quite right on a front and we treated as if possible abcess as per the vet after a couple of weeks of poulticing and nothing showing he was worse on the foot and the vet said keep going...it is an abcess coming out. After three weeks I took him for xrays and it turned out to be laminitis with rotation in the 'abcess' foot. If in any doubt now I would treat for laminitis to be on the safe side.
Hope you get your horse fixed and well soon.
 
Laminitis very often starts in one "signature foot". Your mares footiness is almost certainly a symptom that she is getting too much grass.

Two of my horses cannot cope with grass during the daytime, when it is richer. One also wears a muzzle overnight. And the last one can eat as much of it as he wants, they are all different.

If you shoe your mare when this is grass induced early laminitis then you will mask the symptoms, not cure them, and it will cost you more money to shoe and then she may suddenly go fully laminitic. Try taking her off the grass during the day and muzzling at night if necessary. Or put her in a starvation paddock full time (but it has to be a real one, short grass is the most potent of all).

I despair of farriers who leap to the conclusion that footie horses need shoes. Many many barefoot horses are footie in spring and summer on stones. They don't need shoes. They need less grass.
 
Hi Chessy, I agree with CPTrayes. My gelding went footy as soon as the dry spell ended, he is totally off grass and on soaked (for 2 hours min) haylage and very low sugar feeds to replace the high sugar grass, it is lethal at the mo.
It does take some getting into your head that grass is NOT good for some horses, (in fact most), but for some it it lethal and ends in a death sentence if the warning signs are not heeded. Follow your gut feeling, if your mare is footy or lame, there's no harm in keeping her off grass to see if she improves.
P.S. your mare looks the spit of a gelding I had thirty five years ago!
 
Get your farrier to check when next out as could well be just foot sore from working and chipping up feet. mine is barefoot too and got footy when did lots of hacking on downs on flinty going. Have now backed off the hacking on flinty ground or very stoney and much improved. if not been without shoes for that long could well just be struggling with the hard ground. I would get your farrier to check to be sure and go with what they say.
 
Thank you all for your replies and advice! :D

I have bought Rosie a greenguard muzzle for when she can be turned out again, she didn't look to happy when I tried fitting it earlier, but we will see!
 
Have you considered you may have two different problems here?

The footyness does sound like mild laminitis as described by other posters. Those that know about barefoot are better placed to give advice than me as I have no idea!

As for the going lame after 1/2 hour of schooling, have you looked into this any more? When the lameness has started have you trotted up on a hard surface in a straight line - if so, what did you see?
If it is a shortening of the stride it could be to do with tack fit or the way your sharer is riding, if they are unbalanced or collapsing to one side it could show up as a shorter stride as the horse compensates for the unbalance. Does the lameness show when you or anyone else ride her?
 
Roody2 said:
As for the going lame after 1/2 hour of schooling, have you looked into this any more? When the lameness has started have you trotted up on a hard surface in a straight line - if so, what did you see?
If it is a shortening of the stride it could be to do with tack fit or the way your sharer is riding, if they are unbalanced or collapsing to one side it could show up as a shorter stride as the horse compensates for the unbalance. Does the lameness show when you or anyone else ride her?
Click to expand...

A friend of mine actually suggested this too. I didn't even think about it. Her saddle should be fine, it was checked by a saddler a couple of months back and re-flocked.
My other half has observed me riding and says the shortness doesn't show up, but his eye isn't really that trained. Think I'll have to pop someone else on her and have a look!
 
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