weird movement

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moocow

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My mare doesn't have great hocks. I knew that when I bought her. I have always put her movement down to this but i think it might be developing into something more serious with her hip. Its hard to discribe but here goes. When I take her out to ride, for the first little while she under steps with her far hind and over steps with her near hind. She has never been lame and after she is warmed up it goes away. its also an intermittent problem. sometimes she is fine when she comes out.

i had a new farrier to her last weekend. When the farrier went to shoe her on her far hind she immediately stopped and asked if my mare had a hip problem. i said no but that i knew her hocks weren't great. the farrier said that she feels the mare has a hip problem that needs checking asap. My mare is only 4 so i thought she was just a bit funny about lifting that leg. she pulls it away from you but if you try again she lifts it. i explained that to the farrier and she thought that the mare wasn't just being funny but that she was protecting her hip.

i brought her out for light hack on sunday and noticed that she comes up behind on that side every so often.

i have contacted my vet and he will see her tomorrow. i am so worried about her. she is only 4 and is the sweetest mare. i wont ever be doing much with her as she is only a leisure horse.

Anyone got any advise about this? someone once said to me that they thought she had stringhalt but from what i have read about this, it doesn't look like that.

Any views? Am going mad with worry about her.
 

My horse has arthritis in his hocks he showed the first signs when he was four and was uneven with his shoes like yours he used to pull one leg up higher than the other when I picked his feet.I dont know anything about stringhalt but if its arthritis there are several ways of addressing the problem.The vet will do a flexation test if it comes up positive there are alot of people who have dealt with the same problem on this site and you can get alot of positive advice.Its better to see what the vet say s first if she has arthritis you can pm me my horse had surgery last month.This is just one of the alternatives.
 
the vet has been and gone. i wasn't able to be there but just spoke to the YO. She has bog spavins in both hocks. She is only a pleasure horse so the vet thinks she will be fine with management with Bute. fingers crossed!
 
Hi moocow, from what you've been saying, your horse has BONE spavins - not bog spavins. The bog variety are not caused by arthritis and don't usually cause lameness.
 
Check out half steps reply
Does she have any swellings around the hock.Bog spavins are different to bone spavins .Bog spavins are swellings soft tissue and bone spavins are where extra bone forms on the hock.I would give your vet a ring just incase the translation got passed on wrong.Dont want to be a pessimist but I think you would have noticed swelling if it was bog spavin.If its bone spavin its still ok and you would treat with bute like your vet suggested.Bone spavins are what I am dealing with and can be managed with bute there are alternatives too .Its good to know that you can still keep riding her .My horse was very lame with his.
 
No i am nearly sure its bog spavins. they are just coming up and thats why she is sore with them. There is a VERY small amount up on them, no heat, just a bit squidgey if you know what I mean. Her hocks are bad anyway, they were discribed to me as not being a pair of hocks but a vet that saw her when I was buying her. she didn't even get to vetting her when i bought her as that vet stopped the vetting once she saw the hocks so i knew it was on the cards.

i will talk to the YO again anyway, it was just a quick call at lunchtime to let me know that there would still be a face over the door of the stable tonight! vet has said no need for x-rays or anything further so i think that fits in with bog spavins rather than bone spavins. i could be wrong about that though
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I haven't come across them before. my previous horses were sound from the day i bought them. the YO previous horse though had them so she is well used to dealing with them. vet said that she will have good days and bad days and when she has the bad ones, just give her some bute and she should be fine.

fingers crossed that will be the case!
 
Well, that's interesting! Squidgey sounds just like a bog spavin. When they occur with lameness it could be caused by OCD lesions - you might want to consider x-rays to see if that is the case. Although if the horse has "bad hocks" anyway it might not be worth it.
 
When I started reading this post, I wondered if your mare had an upwardly fixating patella. This might account for the reluctance to lift up the one leg and also for the odd way of going on your hack.

As the vet has been and said it is bog spavins, I wasn't going to add my bit in, but then thought I might mention it for future reference! It is a weakness in the ligaments of the stifle that improve when the muscles of a young horse build up, so if bog spavins settle and she still is reluctant to lift leg, you could bear that in mind.... just a thought, ignore for now...
 
Thanks for that. I am not convinced it is bog spavins. i thought they would be much more noticeable. I am just going to keep an eye on things and work around it for the mo. she has never been lame and enjoyed kicking and bucking so it can't be too serious!

thanks for your advice
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Have you considered putting her on a good joint supplement it wont do her any harm and will help maintain and improve what movement she has.
My silly horse kept bucking with really bad hocks i wonder now if this was a reaction to the pain.The good thing is he appears to be on the mend.Took him for his first walk out in 6 weeks he grew to about 18 hands Im only 5 2 lol but behaved well considering .Whimpered like a puppy in excitement.
 
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