What's wrong with my horse?! tripping, lazy...

[Hollyhorse]

I'll try not to write an essay! The horse is a 5 yo irish sport horse 16hh gelding from Ireland I've had 4 months, bought from a sale. He was very green when I got him (clearly had been backed a few weeks before the sale!) so we re-backed him and he transformed from this panicky short-strided unsure boy to being very forward-going and confident with huge bouncy paces!! He was coming along really well, accepting the contact and got really excited when the poles came out

However he then gradually became lazier and lazier and his paces went from looking very flashy to looking straight and 'ordinary'. He was the same on the lunge and after a few days off no difference and competition mix made no difference, neither did poles. I gave him a few weeks off over christmas but while a little more forward he's still the same.

He feels lazy and his trot feels a lot flatter and unexciting, whereas he did feel bouncy and covered a lot of ground. The walk has changed dramatically and he just won't cover any ground, he's taking tiny strides and if asked to move on he just jogs. In all paces he's also tripping in front and slipping behind all the time - not major like he falls on his knees but he continually feels like he's almost losing his footing - like he's footsore or losing balance.

His general temperament hasn't changed, he's still eating fine and seems happy. The only thing I have noticed is in the last month all the hair on his shoulders have rubbed away despite wearing a bib under his rug and it's actually rubbed to the skin - it's really raw. Also, the hair on his neck which has grown back since he was clipped in october is really rough and a funny colour and very dull, whereas the hair on his bum (that wasn't clipped) is a rich colour, thick, soft and shiny.

We've had two vets out the last week to do some vaccinations etc and they've both looking at him trot up, turn on tight circles and reverse etc and both declared him sound!

If anyone has any ideas of what might be wrong I'd really appreciate it as I'm at a bit of a loss and I don't want to ride him when he feels so horrible and might be in pain!

 

[Halfstep]

My first thought would be foot balance - get a good farrier to have a look at his front feet and see what they think. Second thought would be navicular or something around the coffin joint or inside the foot.

 

[Hollyhorse]

He's actually got fab feet! Our farrier used to shoe for a top vet practice and does really well at shoeing competitions so I don't think it's that...

Hadn't thought of navicular but that would make sense

 

[Baileyhoss]

i would ask for some bloods to be done, general loss of perfomance could indicate something viral?

 

[Marchtime]

As I see it you have a few options. Get some bloods done - this could all be a virus as they are common in younger horses. It would explain his coat and his lack of energy.
Secondly you could try a bute trial. Try him on a reasonable dose of bute everyday for a week. If his stride returns to how it was you know it's lameness and you can talk to the vets. If it doesn't you know the issue isn't pain related. The coat may be unrelated and just down to the time of year.

 

[only_me]

sounds like a virus - does he get tired quickly when you are riding him?

shortnening of stride indicates that he is either sore or uncomfortable somewhere - could he have an ulcer? one of the symptons is "loss of preformance"

i would get bloods done and have him scoped

 

[Louis]

Alsochange his rug as a tight rug could be making him very sore through the houlders

 

[Hollyhorse]

The first vet actually did take a blood sample to check if he had a virus or something and it came back suggesting a muscle problem so the vet came back to do a second blood test after hard exercise, however this came back normal...!

When I told the vet that I was convinced something was wrong he suggested the bute trial so I've been riding him this weekend and will start him on bute next week to see if there's any change.

Louis - that's a really good point about the rug - we have a couple of horses that are the same height but vary in length and a number of different sized HW outdoor rugs - he's the shortest so gets the smallest rug which just about fits him but is on the small side, I shall change it and see if that helps, thank u!

 

[paulineh]

My top endurance horse although was working fairly well he was not himself. Short stride, generally off colour.

While on walk exercise (after a knee injury) he tided up. Being a big muscular chap I put him on to Selenium and Vit E also I put him on to the Hilton Herbs Cleavers/Marigold herbal mix.

Since doing this he is now back to be a forward going horse with a spring in his stride.

It is worth a try

Have you had his back looked at. If the first blood test came up with a muscle problem the he could have just swicked his back in the field.

 

[hellybelly6]

I think a foot imbalance too and at 4, he is likely to be growing out of rugs very quickly!

I also think blood tests would be helpful.

Having come from ireland, to a sale and then to you, it is very likely he could have a virus.

 

[sally2008]

I would suggest that it could very well be foot imbalance too. It affects the horses whole way of going and your horse is obviously trying to tell you that something is not right. This may be controvertial but here goes anyway - although your farrier has a good track record in shoeing compeitions they are largely based on shoe making - however well make a shoe is, if you put in on a foot which is not correctly balanced, you are still going to have problems.

 

[alsxx]

Sounds like a foot balance problem. Having recently been there myself, and my vet said my girls feet looked fine, but xrays showed another story. Foot inbalance affects their whole way of going. Just remember with a bute trial, if nothing changes it does not mean the horse is not in pain.

 

[eveshooter]

Hi, probably stating the obvious but as you have already had his bloods done the obvious things to check are teeth, saddle fit, foot balance. Failing that, get a physio in to give him the once over.

X

 

[Fransurrey]

Classic signs of Low Grade Laminitis, OP. Short, choppy strides, jogging instead of trotting, tripping. Could be due to imbalance, could be due to the hard ground. Is he more willing to lengthen going uphill? Does he shorten to the point of frustration going downhill? Caudal heel pain (same symptom as Navicular) would show in a LGL horse, as the horse walks predominantly on the heels, resulting in pain there, too! Hope he's ok.

 

[ChocoCornflake]

QR- Could also be something as simple as his saddle needs checking? A poorly fitted saddle - or even one which is just a bit off will have a huge difference as he will not want to open through the shoulders, especially if there is already some soreness from rug rubs.
Also have get him checked by a decent vet recommended osteopath.

 

[CBAnglo]

I would be inclined to have the bloods taken again.

I am going through something similar with my boy who also cam over from Ireland. He has had the works done on him including bone scans etc and nothing has been revealed which would explain his behaviour. He has been treated for KS but the severity wasnt such that it would actually impinge on him when ridden.

They need to be in a period of work for the muscle to break down properly. Mine has had so much time off that I have now had to start riding him again to bring about the stiffness.

I have also put mine on ecchinecea and started the NAF selenium and vit e supplement.

 

[checkmate1]

My first thought is bloods, second due to tripping and not moving aswell is osteopathy, esp as he has worked so hard in past 4months?

 

[Andalucian]

[ QUOTE ]
Classic signs of Low Grade Laminitis, OP. Short, choppy strides, jogging instead of trotting, tripping. Could be due to imbalance, could be due to the hard ground. Is he more willing to lengthen going uphill? Does he shorten to the point of frustration going downhill? Caudal heel pain (same symptom as Navicular) would show in a LGL horse, as the horse walks predominantly on the heels, resulting in pain there, too! Hope he's ok.

[/ QUOTE ]
Very knowledgable answer, these ares the issues I'd be investigating also.

At 5 he should be bouncing around and full of life, I wouldn't give him any drugs to block pain, nor would I consider anything serious like navicular. What is his diet, including grazing and do you have any photos of his feet. I accept that your farrier is highly regarded, but I've used such farriers before and been disappointed, it can happen.