ok in april my mare went lame in her left front leg the day after a jump off. Her lameness only shows on the right rein - shes sound on the left. It worsens and improves in different paces/ground condition. X rays showed nothing, there is no chance of it being laminitis/thrush etc etc. One vet block froze her leg and thought the problem was between her pastern and her knee. The other one thinks its a thing called muscular paralysis in her shoulder.
Currently she is out to grass with shoes off.
There is no heat/cuts/swelling in her leg - shes a half bred so is nimbly enough boned.
After spending thousands of euro on vets and still having no proper diagnosis of the problem im wondering can anyone out there contribute any input into whats wrong with her? Ive been around horses all my life and never came across anything like this. My plan is to leave her to grass until the end of the year, but would be willing to try bio-energists etc to bring her back to work sooner. Thank you
2006-08-17 01:42:23 · 15 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Other - Pets
Yeah funchy shes lame without tack.
Peaches - its definately not her feet.
Thanks guys
2006-08-17 02:05:35 · update #1
If she came up lame after jumping, I would suspect a suspensory ligament injury.
If she is lamest on soft footing that would confirm a suspensory or or other soft tissue injury. If she lamest on hard ground it's probably skeletal.
The one vet thinking it is between pastern and knee also fits suspensory.
2006-08-17 03:02:57 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
Generally "between the pastern and knee" means a suspensory ligament problem, there isn't much else there except for splints.
But both splints and bowed/strained tendon are usually easy to spot!
I'd like to know what part of the leg motion causes the pain-
she's lame at the trot and the canter going right?
Makes me think that the reaching forward is okay (unless you feel her stride is shortened) but stretching back may be the problem.
I'd maybe try a massage therapist and chiropractor in combination. Tell them both the vets' diagnoses.
(even better if you can get massage/chiros who are also vets!)
If the problem is in the shoulder it may be strongly linked to the vertabrae or a rib out of alignment, and might respond well.
and if it's suspensory then it must be slight and it should like the warming attention massage gives.
I'm glad you can give her some time off, rest helps so much and so few trainers are ready to do that for their horses.
2006-08-17 04:09:26 · answer #2 · answered by ladders_to_fire 5 · 2⤊ 1⤋
I have a thorughbred and the SAME EXACT THING happened. However, it only lasted a week. My vet didn't find anything either. I took it into my own hands and I started my own therapy. I would walk him out on trails bareback and slow trotting bareback. I would walk him through the lake and just do everything relaxing.I finally took a lesson on him and my trainer told me that everyone at my barn thought i was retarded because I was helping my boy by walking him out bareback and swimming with him in the lake, and me thinking that it would help him. After my lesson my trainer wanted me to try something.. she called it extreme trust. She wanted my to jump a 2'3 vertical bareback. Now, at this point I was thinking my horse is gonna kill himself. It was all trust and he flew over it perfectly. Then I kept thinking that it was the tack that was makin him go off. But i read a book that was about curing syndromes in horses that no one else could, and I figured now that it was the trust between us. Soounds corny & im not spiritual.. but I think that whats helped him.
Try it.. may work! Lol.. sounds like crack but, seriously. Try taking it slow.. bareback. My horse is a nut and he is perfectly calm with me on him, bareback.
Hope she gets better!
2006-08-17 13:24:22 · answer #3 · answered by pinkink : ] 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I can't believe so many people recomended a chiropractor! How scary is that! I knew a really nice horse that was a little sore one day at a horse show, they used a chiropractor - and the horse never went back to work again. Massage therapists can be just as scary - check references.
Acupuncture is a different story - I'd absolutely invest in a good acupuncturist. It may just take time. And it may never be better and you have to look at your horse not wanting to bring her back sooner, but for her to be comforatable. Be grateful for the time she gave you and thankful that she's a mare and can give you more. It's a reall bummer, but you have to not be so selfish with your desires to be an effective horseperson.
2006-08-17 04:42:01 · answer #4 · answered by _aihlie_ 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Can you definitely guarantee she hasn't got laminitis because being out at grass would not help this... Try massaging her skin and muscles to see her reactions, then you'll know exactly where it hurts. Also her legs should not be very hot, compare with her other legs if you aren't sure what temperature they are supposed to be. This should help you to identify where the problem is and narrow down the possibiities of what she could have.
2006-08-17 14:21:21 · answer #5 · answered by cooljumpingmare 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Disclaimer: I am not a vet. :-)
I'm thinking it's a spine/back issue maybe but it's a total guess. Shoulder lameness is extremely rare (horses don't have attached shoulder joints like we do). Maybe a pinched nerve up on that side? It would also make sense since the lameness is much worse when she's bending to one side but not the other.
Is she lame in the roundpen w/o tack?
2006-08-17 01:59:08 · answer #6 · answered by Funchy 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
can't add much more than what's been said already but i agree it definitely sounds like extension of the left is the main seat of the problem...in the absence of a clear diagnosis you are right to rest her and treat the symptoms....massage can sometimes work...hydrotherapy may be a great relief to her if you know of a centre nearby....good luck....she's lucky to be in your hands i've seen horses worked to distraction through problems like this
2006-08-17 07:48:05 · answer #7 · answered by uplate 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I have used a chiroprator for my horse. He get really bad chipped hooves because it has been so dry this summer and that causes him to trip on the long trot and cantor After he sees the ferrier and the ferrier adjusts his back of the hooves he sees the chiropractor and she gives him a workout the tripping and the stiffness seem to disappear.
2006-08-17 01:51:46 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
hmm..i don't know how much you want to be spending on diagnostics, but my friend had a horse who had unexplained lameness that wouldn't go away and they had an ultrasound and a nuclear bone scan done. They also had the vet do electroshock therapy to help speed the healing.
2006-08-17 02:43:22 · answer #9 · answered by horsecrzy13 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Have you tried any alternative therapies? If it is muscular a massage therapist will be able to tell, and should be able to resolve this in one or two sessions. If it is skeletal a chiropractor should be able to make adjustments in a few sessions a well.
2006-08-17 03:25:15 · answer #10 · answered by Sharingan 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋