Would not having a regular routine make a horse lame?

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Lill

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As above?

Friends horse lives out 24/7 (coming in over night in next couple of weeks though) and is not ridden on regular days, it varies because of owners work and this horse keeps coming in lame with no sign of why this could be....

ETA he is a 17hh WB
 
If he was only ridden odd days and came in lame following that then yes, however I don't feel that just a lack of routine in general would lame a horse.....
 
Thinking it might be arthritis...? last winter it was due to mud fever but over the summer of course this doesn't really apply.
 
I'd be getting the vet in myself as intermitten lameness could be caused by just about anything. Obviously if the horse gets ridden once a week and then galloped and jumped hard for 4 hours it isn't going to do it any favours but it shouldn't cause lameness like that unless there is some underlying problem going on.
 
Shouldn't make it lame IMO. Only if others have said its happening at certain times like only AFTER its been ridden or only when its NOT being ridden (possibly athritis and gets stiff when not worked) etc. But lack of routine wouldn't CAUSE it. My horses don't get ridden daily - they are ridden depending on the weather / ground conditions so its very random but Ive never had any probs.
 
No i did not think that was the cause of his lameness either. He is ummm 14yo ish i think give or take a year as i can't remember exactly! When ridden its usually 30mins schooling/1hr lesson on flatwork or maybe jumping some grids xpoles once in a while.... nothing strenuous.
 
crikey, that sounds like a fair bit of work for a horse only being ridden intermittently. if he's lame after work, then the work could be exacerbating/causing the lameness.
if he's sound at the mo, i'd say if at all possible give him 2-3 wks of constant slow work (walk 30-50 mins a day, for e.g.) every day, and see whether he stays sound. if so, step it up slightly to include schooling, lesson, bit of jumping.
 
He gets ridden around 3 times (roughly) a week when he's not lame... i didn't mean doesn't get ridden regularly as in he gets ridden once every 3 weeks sorry should have made that a bit clearer!

His lameness seems to be (So far as we can see) pretty random. For example he was lame um 10 days ago for no apparent reason but completely sound on Wednesday and Saturday when he was ridden!

Its usually one of his front legs he favours.
 
It might be worth keeping a diary of what he does each day and his level of soundness over a period of 2 or 3 weeks. I did that when my horse was on and off lame with no pattern and it was very useful when it came to explaining what was happening to the vet.
Other than that I agree that the lack of routine would not cause lameness but it could be linked to having periods of work of rest.
 
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