Where is this horse sore?

JustMe22

JustMe22

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Hello!

Hoping you guys can help me identify where my horse is sore - I took a video of him with my phone whilst I was lunging today and would love some opinions. If it continues I'll get a vet, but am first waiting on the back lady and the physio, who arrives back from holiday next week.

First off, I realise it isn't pronounced at all. However, he is definitely definitely not quite right somehow.

He's a 9yo TB ex racer. He's had the last 2 months pretty much off work due to my operation, with a bit of lunging (very occasional!) and free jumped once or twice but very small, just a 70cm upright to keep his interest when I couldn't hold a lunge line (elbow operation).

I started riding him recently, and it has been non-stop bucking, ear-pinning, kicking...he flat out refuses to go forward and will just porpoise on the spot and buck. Whip makes no difference, nor do spurs..any leg/forward aid he really pins his ears and objects, and completely sucks back. It's a bit better on the lunge - but I think this is more because I have more driving power. He really gets grumpy about left canter, and has had previous issues with right SI, he pulled those muscles by jumping out of his paddock 5 days in a row and galloping up a rock hard road. We sorted that though, but he's had a bit of soreness there on the odd occasion ever since.

I gave him another few days in the field thinking maybe he'd pulled something, and this was lunging today..after some warm up. The movement does improve after warm up, but it's still not right at all. It's not "lameness" as such, but almost like he's stiff or something. Sorry for quality - off a blackberry and its surprisingly hard to lunge and film! :)




On this post: http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=475453 are videos of him 2 years ago, with me riding after the first elbow surgery! Again, I was not asking for a lot there given it was my first ride, so it doesn't really show his full movement but gives an idea I think!

And here: http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=591883
are some pics from a show earlier this year, they might help too?

Anyway, ideas very very welcome!
 
I found it a little difficult watching the videos, as felt a little dizzy.:D
I think your horse looks mildly bilaterally lame behind. Also doesn't look like he wants to step under in canter with inside hind, esp on left rein and looks stiff through his back. Would suspect SI / back / suspensory ligaments? I would definitely get a physio out, but suspect there is more going on. Hope you get to the bottom of it, but think he is telling you he is not happy.

Are you in SA by the way?:)
 
Yes I am in SA :)

Hahah sorry about the video! I will try and get someone who isn't the lunger to video next time :D

I have a bit of a sinking feeling its something slightly more serious than just a muscle pull, but he is a massive drama queen..as in he had a bruised foot once and we suspected suspensory tear he was that lame

My first thought was SI as well, given he's had a couple of (very mild) previous issues.

Sigh! Hahah thank you for replying though :)
 
My boy did somthing similar after a jumping clinic. He hadn't jumped for a bit only the odd fence and although we didn't do a huge amount he was very odd after. He felt just wrong behind and not forward. I had the vet who said that he wasn't using his back end at all and to do a bute trial. This made no difference and so had osteopath who thought that he had just over done everything and needed time. I did carry on riding (vets advice) and he would slowly got better and better with work. He had also been seen to gallop 10m circles in his field the day after clinic!! This didn't help matters. He didn't show any resistance to being worked though just very stiff. I now do lots of lateral work in walk to get him going.
 
Noodlebug said:
My boy did somthing similar after a jumping clinic. He hadn't jumped for a bit only the odd fence and although we didn't do a huge amount he was very odd after. He felt just wrong behind and not forward. I had the vet who said that he wasn't using his back end at all and to do a bute trial. This made no difference and so had osteopath who thought that he had just over done everything and needed time. I did carry on riding (vets advice) and he would slowly got better and better with work. He had also been seen to gallop 10m circles in his field the day after clinic!! This didn't help matters. He didn't show any resistance to being worked though just very stiff. I now do lots of lateral work in walk to get him going.
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So did it ever improve fully? Never found out what it was? I do lots of lateral work in walk anyway as a general warm up, but he's very very resistant, unlike yours. The lateral work, oddly enough, doesn't seem *as* affected.


soulfull said:
The stop and buck along with resistance to go forward describes perfectly horse who had ulcers.
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We have wondered about this before, but the amount it costs to scope we never got it done...it just seems odd that he was totally fine until very recently, it's like someone's flipped a switch and turned him resistant, grumpy, sore, stiff...will look into the possibility of ulcers if the chiro finds nothing, at which point we'll get the vet anyway!

Ilovefoals said:
He moves like a mare I had who has damaged both hind suspensories.
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Not what I was hoping to hear! I really really hope it isn't this...

Upon a lot of poking/prodding today, I did find that he seems sore in his hamstring are, on both legs- would that give symptoms like above? As in, could they be confused with a suspensory injury? Or is it more likely that the hamstring pain is a knock on effect?

Obviously will get this checked out by a professional, just to reassure people that I'm not internet diagnosing ;)
 
definitely looks like he's short in his near hind to me, and not really flexing his hock. he may just have a muscle pull, so hopefully vet will be able to sort him.
 
Im sorry, but i see off fore limb as well as bi lateral hind limb lameness on this horse, fore possibly due to the hind problems, but the horse looks very uncomfortable, and if it were mine id be having a vet out for a look to investigate :(
 
Thank you to everybody who had a look :) people at the yard have told me he isn't lame :confused: , so I'm glad to have it validated at least.

Marydoll - me too, first time I watched him I was struggling to decide about that off fore.

I can't find any soreness along his spine, but I'm obviously not a vet!

Will get the vet out :( how i wish he was insured now!
 
JustMe22 said:
Thank you to everybody who had a look :) people at the yard have told me he isn't lame :confused: , so I'm glad to have it validated at least.

Marydoll - me too, first time I watched him I was struggling to decide about that off fore.

I can't find any soreness along his spine, but I'm obviously not a vet!

Will get the vet out :( how i wish he was insured now!
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I hope you get things sorted out and its not to expensive :-)
 
Yes he is back to normal. Vet did say I could look into injections etc. but glad i didn't. He has improved slowly but has always taken his time to warm up.
 
Marydoll said:
How did uour horse get on with the vet, are you any further forward op ?
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Hi :)

Thank you for asking!

Vet hasn't come out yet. I'm waiting for her to phone me back as I type this with a time and date for a consult - there's a real shortage of good vets this side and she's my preferred one, but does more research nowadays. If I haven't heard back from her by tomorrow will call out another vet.

Horse is still lame, however! So no magical improvement on that front.

Will definitely do an update as soon as I know what the problem is - might be helpful to somebody else, you never know :)
 
So an update for any interested parties:

Horse went through to possibly the most respected clinic in the country. Bit of a shambles involving waiting 6 hours, so chucked horse in stable.

He has been totally rested so trotted up more sound. Vet asked about history so I explained he'd had time off etc and was unbelievably resistant under saddle, bucking etc.

Vet then did flexion/trot ups and straight and circle etc etc. said nothing wrong, he's moving freely. I said he was not, he just had big paces when moving normally. Decided we would check him out under saddle and he said, I quote 'the horse is having you on. You need to get a whip and get after him'. Which I did, to prove that it makes ****** all difference.

So decided on x rays of his back, and he has kissing spine in 5 vertebra :( very disappointed, its quite a bad case and I feel like a horrible owner. Now that we have that diagnosis it all makes sense; he's always been very difficult to bring back into work after a layoff, he's had off days where he's seemed sore but I've put it down to saddle fit/jumping out his paddock etc, and he's always always been a very "hard work" ride in terms of lifting and engaging his back..you have to *really* work for it..but he's very quirky so everyone (including super experienced instructor) has just assumed he's a tricky TB.

Very disappointed, quite surprised, and upset with myself. Even more upset for him, but trying to remain positive and hoping the treatment plan sees a return to full work
Anyway, hopefully this helps somebody else in a similar situation!
 
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