working horses that are not sound

Shavings

Shavings

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ok I am not personally in this station but it came to mind the other day

if you had a horses which had an injury, was rehabbed, and was no longer in ANY! pain


horse was pretty much sound but would some times appear 1, 10th lame

what would you do?


continue to work (remember vet has ruled horse fine and well to work)


or would you give in?

horse is under the age of 10


im unsure what i would do but a fellow livery maybe facing this choice soon and it got me thinking
 
I had a horse who was "unsound" for schooling but perfectly fine to hack and pop the odd little jump on a fun ride, so for me, with the vet's blessing I would work within the horse's ability and comfort zone.
 
Surely unless there is a physical impediment such as scar tissue impeding movement then if the horse is lame it must be in pain. So I would be speaking to the vet again.
 
I am in this exact situation. I think you have to be guided by your vet. Following surgery, rehab etc and then various investigations and treatments, my older horse will sometimes come in 1/10 lame. In her case, the nature of the injury and surgery is such that it was always likely that adhesions would form which could cause a mechanical type lameness and it appears that is what we now have. I can work her sound in the school on her off days... and she is always more than happy to hack out. So the advice I have been given and continue to go with, is to keep her in work, keep her body strong and supple and wait for her to indicate that she's not happy with it.

So far, so good... but her workload is much reduced from what it was pre-injury, she's semi retired and just kept ticking over to stop her turning into an 'old' horse. (she's 20 this year, looks about 10).

Would I do the same for a younger horse...? Depends on the injury and prognosis, and what I wanted to do with a horse. I am lucky to have another that was waiting in the wings, to pursue my competitive ambitions on. So it is no skin off my nose now, for the older one to have a very quiet life from hereon in.
 
My welsh cob had a knee injury in his late teens, and after a few months rest he was not completely sound. At that state we thought that was that, so he got bute on a Thursday and Friday, and I hacked him out at the weekends just to keep him active/give him something to think about... He was sound on bute, but not without.

However after another few months he eventually came sound, and I was able to resume competing/hunting for another few years.
 
My old horse is mechanically lame due to a ruptured hind check that has healed short. He can no longer get his heel fully to the ground and the length of stride in trot is slightly shortened. Although he could hack I chose to retire him for the simple reason that his break over point had altered and his movement was toe first landing which shoved his shoe backwards. It was not fair on the farrier, there is no surgical shoe that could have helped the horse and the horse owed me nothing as he had been hugely successful pre injury. I try not to think about his veterinary bills mind !

He is wandering around, aged 24 costing more than my other 3 put together but I adore him and he is happy.
 
There isn't one answer to this question. My old horse was routinely 1/10 lame because he had arthritis in all 4 legs. He was also in his late teens. He was seen periodically by the vet and physio who both said he was better kept in work. He didn't particularly enjoy schooling because he was creaky and I stopped jumping him but he was perfectly happy out hacking for hours and I still took him for a few days' hunting each season, which he loved.

However, when my much younger horse injured himself last year after a fall in the field, if he kept going 1/10 lame then I would be discussing with the vet. That was a soft tissue injury which was treated and extensively rehabbed. He was under 10 and I rehabbed him very carefully with monthly physio, under vet's supervision. If he went lame again he'd be seeing the vet to find out why and discuss whether he could stand up to the work. He had steroid injections into soft tissue and I was told by vet to work him immediately afterwards regardless of how he felt, to stick to the vet's strict exercise and turnout plan, and he was regularly reassessed by vet and physio. So at that point yes, he was kept in work despite not being quite right. Horse is now fully sound and has been for some time, so if he was found to be sometimes a bit off then I'd get the vet back out for another look personally.
 
Well technically my veteran is not 100% but my vet said to keep riding, if it gets worse or more noticeable then we can re-asses and possibly medicate, but she said she sees worse at dressage competitions.
 
I've seen a few horses that look a bit lame to me in full work and out competing, so who knows!

It obv depends but with certain conditions e.g. arthritis, it can help to keep the horse moving, although often with a reduced workload. My friend continued to ride her navicular mare for many years afterwards, gave her time off when needed, she was on bute, and altered the workload accordingly, although she only ever hacked didn't school or jump.
 
My horse is not sound without medication, with medication he is usually sound, at times uneven. He has arthritis of his front feet. He is semi retired and only taken hacking. This is done on the advice of his vet. He enjoys it and his life is enriched by it. His main job is now to be companion to my other horse, Kevin. I do believe he is better off with the hacking, without Im sure he'd survive but it adds to his life to go out and about. We even occasionally go out for a ride in the box and visit friend to go for hacks. It's all pretty much suited to him and what he is capable of and what he enjoys, which is a long brisk walk and a blast through whatever field or wood we happen upon.

If i had a horse that was not in pain and was happy in his work, even if he was slightly mechanically lame, i'd carry on quite happily following my vets advice. I would be unsure why anyone would be giving up on such a horse, unless they were doing high level competition. Then I would find the horse a happy hacking home, as long as it was suitable and loan it out.
 
If vet says ok then would follow their advice. Obviously if lameness increases would rethink.

I'm not 100% sound and still work quite hard! If am in lots of pain I pop the occasional Nurofen.
 
I've been mulling this over a lot recently after a friends horse was found to have a range of issues although she is not obviously lame.

So many people have young horses with issues and don't have the facilities/finances for them to live out their days in a field. I think if obviously worse when ridden or deteriorating lameness or just obviously lame then definitely not. And I wouldn't try and compete/work to a decent level a less than 100% sound horse. Would I try straight line work e.g. hacking, hunting, fun rides, team chasing? Possibly yes.

In a lot of the eventers biographies they talk about sending less sound horses hunting etc. I think you have to be work to what they can do and appear comfortable with.
 
It would entirely depend on the situation and veterinary advice. You don't want to create more issues through the body/balance of the body by working a horse who is mechanically unlevel as they will compensate somewhere, which may throw up more problems down the line, even if the original source is no longer painful. I guess that is why horses like this are mainly recommended to only do light hacking work if kept in work, rather than anything more, as their bodies will tolerate straight lines better than circles.
 
Slightly different, I've worked a lame horse as part of rehab he wouldn't walk in hand (piaffed) but would walk under saddle both Physio and vet said ride him to rehab his tendon injury (worked well and he came sound after 8 weeks of graded walking.
 
The first horse I took home from work was mechanically lame. He had slipped the tendon off of his hock. It had reset on the side and so he just moved more string halty than anything else. Sound in walk, 3/10 lame in trot unless he was tapped on adrenaline then he was perfectly sound doing a big Flicky trot lol! He was never sore or in any pain.

He could have gone on to race again but he wasn't the world's best racehorse so there was no point. I reschooled him for showing bit he found it far too exciting and so he retired to be a field ornament.l at the age of 8yo. He lived out 24/7 and became like a native. He was put down 2.5years ago due to a totally unrelated field injury. I'd had him for a month shy of 8 years. Bless him, I still miss him and his quirky ways and his massive love of oranges!
 
My opinion would depend on two things. The diagnosis and is the horse happy being worked.
Working a horse that's lame that hasn't had a full vet work up is stupid, you have no idea if you are causing long lasting damage, Working, by that I mean hacking or competition within their limits, a horse that has had assessment and treatment and the work is loaded in relation to what the animal finds comfortable and cause no further damage is completely different.
I work with human sports physio's and a lot of treatment without surgery is using correct exercise and posture to enable the body to 'scaffold' the injury.
I am lame at the moment, can walk and enjoy it, mucked out four stables, it but wouldn't want anyone forcing me to run
 
Nicnac said:
If vet says ok then would follow their advice. Obviously if lameness increases would rethink.

I'm not 100% sound and still work quite hard! If am in lots of pain I pop the occasional Nurofen.
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Ditto. In fact I am worse if I don't exercise because things seize up. I have bad days and good days but it doesn't stop me riding, walking the dog, etc.
 
My gelding is mechanically lame behind after a hock injury. We were advised that it was causing him no pain and to keep him in light work to help control his weight etc.

We did so for about a year, doing a bit of showing and intro dressage (his lameness was actually never picked up on and he actually did quite well!!) but he started to show soreness in other areas from where he was compensating.

The vet said just to give him 1/2 a bute per day and he could carry on, but he Just seemed as if he'd had enough so we cut his workload down to just hacking out in walk a couple times a week which he loves and that's what he's been doing quite happily for the past 3 years 😊
 
One of ours broke his knee and took a long time to come right. We kept taking him back to the vet, for x-rays, and the vet said to walk him and get straight into canter with no trot work. It took a long time and a lot of effort by my then partner, but he came sound, and was back competing, until he damaged himself in an unrelated fashion. He is currently on the mend from that, so we will see if he comes right.
I always discuss with my vet, but we have had a number of occasions where the advice has been to work through.
 
I wouldn't give in but I would probably leave it in the field to rest for longer and to hopefully heal. Not sure I would be OK riding a horse I know is lame, however slight.
 
I decided to retire mine. Purely because he seemed to stop enjoying it.
I did ride him on Bute at one point. It was recommended by the vet to keep him mobile and he seemed to enjoy it. As in ears pricked walked out and jig jogged. When I found myself having to push him on (even though at this point he was sound on no Bute) I knew it was time to stop.
 
rachk89 said:
I wouldn't give in but I would probably leave it in the field to rest for longer and to hopefully heal. Not sure I would be OK riding a horse I know is lame, however slight.
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I think it depends, older horses or horses with certain injuries can be a different ball game.

One of my horses is older, and gets stiff if not worked. He sometimes comes out a bit stiff and short, and works through it to move sound. He has a number of known issues, and the main thing that helps him is keeping a good layer of supportive muscle over his injuries. This means even though he's retired from competing, I work him 6 days a week to a structured plan, to keep him strong. This is with guidance of vet and good body workers.

My rule of thumb with horse an older that isn't strictly sound is

1) Does the horse want to work, and does the horse improve with work once warmed up.
2) Does the horse come out better the next day for the work (if not then it was a bad idea)
3) Learn to read your horse, and learn his limits, and what helps him and what is too much find a work plan that works for him.

Sometimes good careful structured gymnastic and hacking work can do wonders for scaffolding injuries and allowing a return to good movement.

Not working a horse that then gets stiffer and weaker can be every bit as unkind as working a horse and keeping it strong and supple.

On the other hand my younger horse felt unlevel in school few years ago, was a tendon and ligament junction injury, he had full rest, field rest, and months of walking rehab. So of course you need to know what the injury is to decide what you can work through and what needs rest.
 
wingedhorse said:
I think it depends, older horses or horses with certain injuries can be a different ball game.

One of my horses is older, and gets stiff if not worked. He sometimes comes out a bit stiff and short, and works through it to move sound. He has a number of known issues, and the main thing that helps him is keeping a good layer of supportive muscle over his injuries. This means even though he's retired from competing, I work him 6 days a week to a structured plan, to keep him strong. This is with guidance of vet and good body workers.

My rule of thumb with horse an older that isn't strictly sound is

1) Does the horse want to work, and does the horse improve with work once warmed up.
2) Does the horse come out better the next day for the work (if not then it was a bad idea)
3) Learn to read your horse, and learn his limits, and what helps him and what is too much find a work plan that works for him.

Sometimes good careful structured gymnastic and hacking work can do wonders for scaffolding injuries and allowing a return to good movement.

Not working a horse that then gets stiffer and weaker can be every bit as unkind as working a horse and keeping it strong and supple.

On the other hand my younger horse felt unlevel in school few years ago, was a tendon and ligament junction injury, he had full rest, field rest, and months of walking rehab. So of course you need to know what the injury is to decide what you can work through and what needs rest.
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^^^^ *like*
 
Years ago when I was a teenager I had a pony. She had hock arthritis as a 10 year old and injections made no difference so the vets gave her the ethanol treatment to fuse the joint.

There were complications and she ended up fusing a joint with movement in it. After a year off she was left mechanically slightly lame. Very slight but it was there.

She hunted several seasons and showed locally including championships, it was mild enough that judges didn't notice. Or they were crap!

It was purely mechanical though she just didn't have the same range of motion in that joint but was pain free.
 
My horse is currently lame, He has artiritis of the spine and some sort of injury to his SI joint. (at 7 yrs old)
He is well medicated for the arthritis and that doesnt seem to cause him any bother. The SI joint injury has left him lame behind but advice from the vet is to get him working, build up the strength in his back end and go from there.

before I lamed myself in november he was in a good level of work and very nearly completely sound. Then I fell down the stairs and destroyed my ankle so he has been given the time off as no one else was able to work him. He is now quite lame behind again. When I am able I will bring him back into work like I did last time and hopefully he will come sound again.
 
I am another who thinks there is not a yes no answer to this .
It also requires you define lame I have one who has a mild KS on X-ray he shows no symptom except not doing travers willingly he also has mild changes in one hock but has no lameness when ridden .
Another has mild bone spavin and a stifle issue ( following a kick ) he gets a lot of vet support and enjoys his life .
I think there's no right or wrong in all this personally although clearly riding horses limping from pain is not on.
Personally I don't work on with horses who go lame young I won't waste my life training lame young horses if it's not an issue they will recover from I PTS .
Older friends with years of training and experiance I work on with .
 
Both my horses and my husband are lame. In fact if you saw all 3 walking down the road its the bald bloke that you'd probably call the hunt out for! After an injury to his ankle as a child he's never been sound - but that hasn't stopped him hiking around the Himalayas and various other mountainous locations.

Both horses have known problems and exercise is done in conjunction with advice from vet and physio.
 
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