“He is lame going to the right”, “My horse has recently acquired a limp in his right fore foot.”…,”I took her xc schooling and the day after she was lame”, “My 10 year old Arab gelding has been kicked whilst turned out and is very lame”…”I recently accepted a free very sore racehorse”, “I bought a STB pacer who has developed lameness.”…
“He is lame going to the right and when going straight just a slight lameness.“…
I have a 9 year old gelding that has been sore on his right front leg for about 2 months now. The vet came out and blocked him from the foot to the knee. He did flexion tests and the horse was no worse. He told me to Butte him for 2 weeks to see if it was mechanical. 2 weeks have gone by and he is still lame. He does not get any better or any worse. The next step the vet stated was to turn him out for 3 months. Do you have any ideas on what this can be caused from. This is my barrel horse and my season is about to start. He is lame going to the right and when going straight just a slight lameness. Is it wrong to want to know a diagnosis and why I am turning him out for 3 months?
Dr. Jack Sales’ Answer:
Hi Jan,
You should expect a diagnosis before you turn him out. If your Vet is unwilling to re-evaluate the lameness and possibly take x-rays to try and determine the cause of the lameness you should get a second opinion. I hope this helps and good luck.
“My horse has recently acquired a limp in his right fore foot.”…
When he walks it looks as though he is trying to keep weight off it. I stretched out both of his fore legs and the limp seemed to go away. Do you have any suggestions on what it could be wrong or what I can do about it? He is in a very muddy pasture right now – He is a Percheron/3yr old/ gelding/ 17.0 hands
Dr. Jack Sales’ Answer:
Hi Erica,
It is hard to know what may be causing the limp from the description but if the horse is in a real muddy area it is not uncommon in those situations for the horse to develop foot soreness from thrush of from the feet getting packed with mud and then drying and the horse walks on the mud packs and puts more pressure than usual on the sole, and can bruise the sole. Keep the horses feet cleaned out as often as possible and try to keep him out of the mud. If the lameness continues or gets worse, you should have a Veterinary lameness exam done. Good luck.
“the day after she was lame, no heat or swelling “…
I have a 22 yr old mare called Smudge, she is fit as a fiddle, gets ridden 5/6 times a week and goes show jumping every other weekend. She has just qualified for trailblazers championships! Anyway, a few weeks ago I took her xc schooling and the day after she was lame, no heat or swelling so I put her out in the field and she came in that night fine. Yesterday I took her xc schooling and she is lame again this morning. Again no heat or swelling so I’ve put her out in the field hoping she will be ok tonight. Do you think she is just stiff or has pulled something? She’s pottering on her off fore leg as if she’s got a stone in her foot (she hasn’t).
Dr. Kimberly Gryl’s Answer:
Lucy:
Wow, good job on keeping your aging mare so fit, and what a great job it sounds like you are doing with her in the showing department. Not many 22 year old horses are jumping at all, much less showing on such a schedule. As far as her lameness, it could be a myriad of things. The two basics are either soft tissue or bone. This sounds more like soft tissue (muscles, tendons, etc), as it sounds like something she “works out of”. It sounds like she’s getting stiff overnight, but then after a day of moving around, she seems to recover and does fine. It may be worth having your veterinarian do a lameness work-up to try and pinpoint a problem area, hopefully while it is in its early stages, before it becomes a full-blown injury. On the flip side, you could try a few days of Butte around the time that you school xc, and see if that offers her enough relief. Good luck.
“My 10 year old Arab gelding has been kicked whilst turned out and is very lame”…
He’s almost unable to bear any weight at all on his left front leg. The vet was called last night and suggested it may be nerve damage. She gave him an injection and a course of Bute and advised box rest. Is there any other treatment you would suggest to aid his recovery – e.g. steroids, physio etc?
Dr. Jack Sales’ Answer:
Hi Diane,
If the injury is mostly due to severe bruising of an area of the leg, then the anti-inflammatory and analgesic action of the Bute will be very helpful. The time will also be helpful in slowly ridding the body of the swelling. If there is noticeable swelling of a particular part of the lower leg, use of leg linaments or a furacin sweat may be helpful in relieving the swelling and pain a little more rapidly than just rest alone. If it is the upper leg, linaments can also be helpful. These can usually be found at your local tack shop and their are often many different brands that are available. If improvement is not seen within 4 or 5 days, a re-evaluation of the injury would be in order.
“He was muscle sore bilaterally hind. He had 3 warm legs & ankles”…
I recently accepted a free very sore racehorse, legally 3 but his teeth say he is more like 2.5. He was muscle sore bilaterally hind. He had 3 warm legs & ankles. I treated with Epsom salt soaks and DMSO. Now he is 4 weeks on stall rest and we are down to one front ankle still warm and he is definitely lame on it. He gets an aspirin boils every night as well as Ulcer Guard, He likes the soaking of his leg. He is a very sweet horse to work around and I would like to rehab him. What else can I do? I am off work due to surgery and have 8 weeks unpaid leave- so having the vet over is not an option at this point. We took his shoes off and left him bare.
Dr. Kimberly Gryl’s Answer:
Rubicon:
Until you can get a veterinarian to examine him, you can just continue with your TLC home care. DMSO is an anti-inflammatory and will likely help him feel better. He really needs x-rays to assess what is happening internally. Until them, you should limit his exercise, in case he further injures himself. Stall rest with limited turn-out will probably be best. Good luck with him.
“I bought a STB pacer who has developed lameness.”…
The trainer took him for X-rays and they noticed that he was lacking cartilage in his foot/ankle area but nothing that would not allow him to race. Did shockwave therapy and stall rested/hand walked for 2 weeks. Started back jogging slowly and no visible problems to speak of. Also swam for 3-4 days in lieu of jogging prior to race day. Race day comes and everything looks good. Load him in trailer for 20 min. ride to track. Unload from trailer and he is lame and cannot go. Take back to stall and have vet do an ultrasound which shows nothing even after being read by others.. Did a nerve block test and results were as follows -foot, ankle & stifle still showed lameness. When knee was blocked no problems. Trainer then painted his leg and says area behind knee & leg “blew up”. Just started on glucosamine and chondroitin supplements and he is confined to stall rest for next several months. Trainer seems to think it his check ligament. Was wondering if anything had maybe been overlooked or if there is something else you could recommend. Even if horse is no longer able to race, he has such a nice disposition it seems a shame to have to put him down as the trainer is suggesting might be the case.
Dr. Kimberly Gryl’s Answer:
Rich:
Your horse’s lameness sounds like a tough one indeed. I do not have experience with lameness in STBs specifically, but I have seen a lot of lameness cases in general. It sounds like you’ve been very thorough, with the nerve blocks, x-rays, and ultrasound. I think the next step is to have a nuclear scan done. This injects a radioactive dye into the horse’s body, which circulates and is picked up by a special camera. It is completely harmless to the horse. It has 2 phases – a bone phase and a soft tissue phase, and will pick up locations of any lesions involving either of those tissues involved. Not all highlighted regions are necessarily problematic, as especially young horses in training can have “active” sites on nuclear scan, however can be normal for that horse in that stage of work or training. It will, however, help you determine and narrow down your problem areas, and direct you to focus on those respective sites for further diagnostic testing or therapy.
The only drawback to the test is, because it is highly specialized, you will likely have to haul to a specialty facility or (more likely) a veterinary university to have it done. Either way, a specialist should read it and make the final commentary, and then share information and opinions with your treating veterinarian.
I never recommend euthanasia until other all options have been discussed. Even then, if the horse can remain comfortable to be a pasture pet, without going back to work, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that and no need to euthanize. Most STBs have wonderful dispositions, and make excellent pets and even kids’ horses, or companions for other horses. Good luck. Please let me know what you decide to do and what you find.
“When he turns a sharp, turn, he picks his feet up unnaturally high. “…
I have a barrel horse. When he turns a sharp, turn, he picks his feet up unnaturally high. I mean he isn’t lame and rides fine, but it looks unnatural. Do you know what might be wrong?
Dr. Kimberly Gryl’s Answer:
Fallon:
It may be that your horse has nicked or stepped on himself in the past, and is leery of doing that again, therefore he picks up his feet really high. I wouldn’t worry about it unless it becomes a problem (i.e. lameness). It’s probably just how your horse is.
“Or, could it be some form of a hoof ailment?”…
I noticed yesterday my horse Daisy a 7 year old mare was limping. I checked her right rear leg and noticed she had what looked like a cut about 3 inches long just above the right side of the hoof. It was swollen and felt a little warm to the touch. I washed the area and some of the skin peeled off. I applied an antiseptic spay and medicated salve. I put her in a barn stall to keep her from having to walk to much on it. The one vet that I trusted has passed away. And almost all the vets where I live do not want to work on large animals just dogs and cats. Do I keep up what I am doing? Do I need to try to find a vet? I have never really had any problems before like this so is there anything else I need to do? Could it be some form of a hoof ailment?
Dr. Jack Sales’ Answer:
Hi Sherry,
Cuts don’t always cause a horse to go lame, so there may be more of an injury than just the cut. If the lameness does not go away over the next few days, I would suggest that you try and find a Vet to look at the Mare. A tetanus shot would also be in order with any cut on a horse if she hasn’t been vaccinated within the last 6 months. Continuing to keep the wound clean and treating it with antiseptic dressings is very helpful to the healing process and should be continued. I hope this helps and good luck.
“he is 4 weeks on stall rest and we are down to one front ankle still warm and he is definitely lame on it. “…
I recently accepted a free very sore racehorse- legally 3 but teeth say he is more like 2.5 He was muscle sore bilateral hind shoulders with heat He had 3 warm legs-ankles. I treated with epsom salt soaks and dmso, now he is 4 weeks on stall rest and we are down to one front ankle still warm and he is definitely lame on it. He gets an aspirin every night as well as ulcer guard. He likes the soaking of his leg. He is a very sweet horse to work around and I would like to rehab him. What else can I do? I am off work due to surgery and have 8 weeks unpaid leave- so having the vet over is not an option at this point. We took his shoes off and left him bare.
Dr. Kimberly Gryl’s Answer:
Rubicon:
Until you can get a veterinarian to examine him, you can just continue with your TLC home care. DMSO is an anti- inflammatory and will likely help him feel better. He really needs x-rays to assess what is happening internally. Until them, you should limit his exercise, in case he further injures himself. Stall rest with limited turn-out will probably be best.
“My mare is three legged lame.”…
Her hind right leg is swollen from the hock down to her coronet band. It started three days ago with slight lameness and swelling around her fetlock. Now it’s a full blown major swelling up her entire leg and she is extremely lame. If I touch it, she swings it out to the side. Any ideas? Sound like a bug bite? Spider? Infection? (I was doctoring her a few weeks ago for rope burn on her pastern, now almost healed) Thanks so much. I am trying to decide if this is a vet call or not.
Dr. Kimberly Gryl’s Answer:
Kelsey:
This is DEFINITELY a vet call — TODAY. (Hopefully you have called already.) ANY time a horse is 3-legged lame, it is a vet call. **Swelling and pain that severe constitute an emergency.** She could have anything from a hoof abscess to an infected joint (or multiple joints), and if the infection is bad enough in the leg, she may become systemically ill.
“My 5 year old paint gelding continually trips at the trot, & canter……
Hi, my 5 year old paint gelding continually trips at the trot, & canter. About a month ago a friend of mine was riding him & he almost went completely down with her & she is a very petite person. I had talked to the vet when this first happened as he had swelling in his knee the next day. I followed the vets advice on how to treat it, but now that he is still having issues even when just being lunged Im concerned. I have also noticed when he is being led that his knee is hyper-extending to a small degree. He is being fed the same grain taken out & walked daily, but when put back into the area that he is kept the other gelding runs him hard to where he almost runs into the fence. Can you please help me with any possibilities as to what could be wrong with Oreo? He is a rescued horse so I dont know much about his history. Thanks! Alicia
Dr. Kimberly Gryl’s Answer:
Alicia:
Sounds like you may have several possible contributing factors. Not having a history on him prior to your acquisition is always tough when there is a problem. I think it would be a good idea to have your veterinarian perform a lameness exam on him. There may be a subtle lameness that is only visible to the trained eye. If he/she sees a lameness, then that is the point to start a further work-up in a methodical way. If no lameness, then you are both left to look at the more obvious signs, including a swollen knee or other conformationally undesirable part of the leg to help rule in or out other causes. Often times tripping is caused by heel pain, so that may be another site that will be recommended to look more closely at – including x-rays. The other potential problem it sounds like you have is the other horse running your Paint into the fence. It’s possible that this all stemmed from an unseen injury. There are various ways to approach this, but a methodical way is usually the most thorough. I also think that you should separate your horse from all others so he no longer gets picked on, or at least put him in with another who won’t do that. The problem with any kind of group turnout is, though, that you never know what can happen when you’re not looking. This goes for even then they’re by themselves, but at least it is minimized.
“Sometimes he seems lame and other times he’s fine”…
We have a 10-year old AQHA Gelding … 15 hands. He has an issue we are trying to figure out. Sometimes he seems lame, and other times he’s fine. We’ve had him to the vet, he’s been x-rayed … no navicular and no foundering. The vet suggested corrective shoeing with pads cause he seemed tender footed. He tends to bob his head when you first start riding. After riding for a while, he doesn’t bob hardly at all. Do you have any suggestions?
Dr. Kimberly Gryl’s Answer:
Cowless:
Shoeing with full pads is a good place to start – this will help to rule out tenderness on the soles (bottoms) of his feet. If this doesn’t help, more advanced diagnostics may be in order – a nuclear scan or MRI. These intermittent lameness cases are the most difficult and most frustrating to diagnose – be patient.
