Fer cryin' out loud: WHICH LEG IS IT!???

[GGStables]

Hi you guys

I think I read somewhere about how one can tell which leg/foot is hurting by the specific way a horse's head will "nod" when taking a step on it.

Two days ago I noticed my mare's having a really tough time - very gimpy - but I couldn't tell which leg was bothering her?? Am I a complete moron??

Checked her feet, let her walk around = fine. Trot = ouch!
:confused::eek:

[Laurierace]

The head goes up when the "bad" leg hits the ground.

[amdfarm]

Nope, not a moron. I used to have that same problem figuring it out, too, as it's a bit deceiving especially when it's a subtle lameness.

Yep, bad leg = headbob up

[ridenslide]

Ok- I think of myself as a pretty knowlegeable horseperson.This was my idiot lameness story recently. Although, MY horse played Stump the Vet next- I KNEW which leg HE was lame on& what he had done to get that way, just not what leg part was involved & HOW to resolve it!!:confused::confused:
He is ALL better now. Idiot.I digress-

Back to being confused about which leg...

My daughter's horse was SOOOO lame when he FINALLY cried uncle from his RIGHT high HIND suspensory, that he looked like he had a broken LEFT FRONT leg.:(
So..... I hosed it & poulticed it in confusion for 2 days. When he was sound to the left 2 days later & no heat or ANYTHING had shown up, I got REALLY confused. :eek:WT?
We started back he was lame on longe to the right.OK--

2 more days hosing poulticing BOTH FRONT legs- no heat....
Seems ok.

ridenslide jr rides, trots right, ok. trots left--- NOW I saw the problem!!! :no:

Definitely Right Hind- still recovering

[Ghazzu]

The head goes up when the "bad" leg hits the ground.

For a front end problem.
Usually.

For the hind, there may or may not be a noticeable head bob, and it may or may not correspond with the affected limb hitting the ground.

[equusus]

One of my old vets told me:
"Down on Sound" , meaning that the head comes down when the sound leg hits the ground, to help figure out which foot/leg was sore. Easy to remember that way.

april

[lalahartma1]

Good to know!

[BornToRide]

Also watch the legs carefully while someone walks the horse in a straight line. You can usually see which one is not loaded as much.

[Just Wondering]

For a front end problem.
Usually.

For the hind, there may or may not be a noticeable head bob, and it may or may not correspond with the affected limb hitting the ground.

Hind end usually = hip drop on the affected rear leg.

[LarkspurCO]

It can be hard, especially when there are multiple issues.

I have a mare chronically lame in her left hind, so I am accustomed to seeing her move funny -- a very obvious hip drop with an occasional slight head-bob as the right front hits the ground.

My farrier saw her and asked what was wrong with her right front. I replied, "Nothing. It's her left hind." Six days later she hobbled in with an abscess in the right front.

[equinelaundry]

Wrapping the diagonal legs in different colored polo's always helps me - LF & RH in one color and RF/LH in another. My vet thought it was a fabulous idea. I had to come up with something because he's a solid bay and my eyes would get blurry looking at 4 legs that looked exactly alike.

[cloudyandcallie]

In 2001 I had 2 very very good vets disagree on which leg Cloudy was lame.

And they changed their minds, x-rayed, etc. No one ever figured it out and it resolved when he quit jumping so much cause he was too young for hard work.

So it is very difficult even for "experts" to sometimes figure it out, unless the horse is "dead lame".

Soak whichever hoof your horse is lame on, or that you think she is lame on.
If it is a stone bruise or abscess, it will improve after soaking.

[KimberlyInTexas]

One of my old vets told me:
"Down on Sound" , meaning that the head comes down when the sound leg hits the ground, to help figure out which foot/leg was sore. Easy to remember that way.

april

Mine too! :)

[GatoGordo]

Hind end usually = hip drop on the affected rear leg.
I've more often seen a hitch or hike as the horse tries to avoid putting weight on and flexing the affected leg; they may throw their weight forward on to the diagonal front leg, exaggerating the appearance of a hip hike.

Also, if you watch carefully, you may see a difference in the amount of flexion in the fetlock -- the leg that they are favoring will not flex down as close to the ground as the others because they are not putting as much weight on it. I find it easier to see at a walk than a trot, when everything is moving too fast.

I've always found it most useful to think about where the horse is trying to put more weight (hence the head bob down) and where the horse is trying to alleviate the force on the leg (hip hike or head nod up).

Of course, that only works for standing leg lamenesses (where it hurts to put weight on the leg). You also have to look at amount of joint flexion and extension and whether the leg seems to be tracking up smoothly and evenly, which is affected by being on a circle and any sort of crookedness in way of going.

If you are looking at the horse's feet or head and are having trouble matching them to the correct leg, just start saying to yourself "down, up" or "sound, lame" in time with the trot, then look at the overall picture while still keeping the beat.

[Tom Bloomer]

When I am looking for lameness I look at the limbs in motion and focus on anomalies in all 5 phases of the stride. Since the horse's head is isolated from its limbs, I never put much stock in observing head motion to figure out which limb has a problem.

If you study what "normal locomotion" looks like during Impact, Loading, Stance, Breakover, and Swing then abnormal tends to jump out at you when you watch a horse move. It also helps to know which muscle/tendon groups should be retracting or protracting during each stride phase.

Next time you see two vets argueing over head bob interpretation ask them with a straight face, "If you chop off its head, will the horse go sound?" :cool: