mystery lameness...any ideas

[dalpal]

I've had my boy on Lubrisyn now for about a week and a half...just finished the loading dosage this weekend. He has been super soft in his back and jaw since we started.

Anyway, I wanted a friend of mine to hop on today to see if she felt what I was feeling (since she has ridden him in the past) or if I was imagining it.

She comes into the ring while I'm warming up to the right and says...."He's off, do you feel it" And I couldn't feel anything....She said, He looks like he's off in his rhythm in his rear legs.....I'm thinking maybe he's cold. He is old, and it has been cold. So I cantered him a bit, when we came out of the canter, she said he looked better....but when I asked him to stretch, it came back. We went to the left, no problem. Back to the right, problem. Only happened when he was stretching.

So, still not feeling alot, I asked her to get on, so I could watch. The same scenerio. I could see it on the ground, but she couldn't feel it in the saddle. It looked like a slight delay in the right hind leg.

Not mechanically lame, but off. She asked him to canter and he didn't want to at the right...pinned his ears, but did it.....we stopped.

We thought that perhaps he was just tight and needed to pee....but he didn't immediately pee when I took him in.

Ugh, just worried....I just put my mare in full training to hopefully sell and this is going to be my #1 for the next while....so I got a little anxious as he has only been off a handful of times in the three years that I've owned him and these were due to things like abcesses, a cut, etc....something that was obvious.

I have him on Lubrisyn and MSM.

Anyone have any ideas on this type of lameness.....a slight delay of the hindleg...and this is the first day he's ever shown this.

[dalpal]

Oh wanted to also mention..that she also agreed that he felt really soft in his jaw and back..much more so than the last time she rode him.

He didn't look like he was guarding any particular part of his body either. Wasn't carrying a hip uneven or anything like that either.

[goeslikestink]

dont ask on bb as it can be anything call a vet and get the right diganoise stop the guessing
its been going on to long

[dalpal]

Thank you dear, it's been less than 12 hours....do you really think that I wouldn't call a vet.

For pete's sake.

Now if someone else has any suggestions please let me know.

[sublimequine]

Thank you dear, it's been less than 12 hours....do you really think that I wouldn't call a vet.

For pete's sake.

Now if someone else has any suggestions please let me know.

Ignore her. :rolleyes:

As for any ideas, sorry I can't be of much help, I'm really not great at guessing lamenesses. It could be something so simple as he twisted or torqued it during turnout, or something totally off the wall that only your vet would guess.

If if makes ya feel any better, my mare's not sound right now either.. but she hasn't been sound since, oh I don't know, June? :dead:

Muscle injuries suck. Hope that isn't what your guy is facing. :lol:

[dalpal]

dont ask on bb as it can be anything call a vet and get the right diganoise stop the guessing
its been going on to long

Wow...it's been going on since 2pm this afternoon.....wow, I didn't realize I was procrastanating by giving it at least 48 hours to work itself out. :confused:

[NCSue]

I can already guess the order of the phone calls. No concerns that you wouldn't call the vet. My first thought was SI. How long since last saddle fit? Then of course it goes from there to hip/stifle. Do you know how to check his SI?

Congratulations on the softer jaw -- boy that can take time -- and back. A big achievement with a TB.

Hey let us know what it turns out to be and hopefully it's just one of those old man glitches that won't interfere with life.

[dalpal]

Ignore her. :rolleyes:

As for any ideas, sorry I can't be of much help, I'm really not great at guessing lamenesses. It could be something so simple as he twisted or torqued it during turnout, or something totally off the wall that only your vet would guess.

If if makes ya feel any better, my mare's not sound right now either.. but she hasn't been sound since, oh I don't know, June? :dead:

Muscle injuries suck. Hope that isn't what your guy is facing. :lol:

Thanks, the ignore advice is great...LOL! I do try, but sometimes can't help myself to idiotic posts. :lol:

That's what we think/hope too.....he goes out with my mare and they are in their blankets now that it's around 30 degrees at night....maybe he did something last night while they were out.

Fingers crossed it'll be worked out in the next 48 hours.

Your mare sounds like my dog....she has something going on to. Goeslikestink will be relieved to know that I took her to the vet within the first 24 hours...started with adequan injections..did nothing...took her back...did xrays....CLEAN...clean in her neck, shoulder, leg and foot. Yet she is limping. Did antinflammatories/rest for a week..slightly better. Now I have her on Lubrisyn and MSM too...she is getting better...but slowly. Vet thinks it's soft tissue injury. Oh, and I had a massage person look at her too....he couldn't find anything other than tightness. So I know what you are going through with your girl.

thank you...much appreciated.

[dalpal]

I can already guess the order of the phone calls. No concerns that you wouldn't call the vet. My first thought was SI. How long since last saddle fit? Then of course it goes from there to hip/stifle. Do you know how to check his SI?

Congratulations on the softer jaw -- boy that can take time -- and back. A big achievement with a TB.

Hey let us know what it turns out to be and hopefully it's just one of those old man glitches that won't interfere with life.

Hey Sue,
Nah, doesn't look like SI....looks milder...but I could be wrong.

[sublimequine]

Thanks, the ignore advice is great...LOL! I do try, but sometimes can't help myself to idiotic posts. :lol:

That's what we think/hope too.....he goes out with my mare and they are in their blankets now that it's around 30 degrees at night....maybe he did something last night while they were out.

Fingers crossed it'll be worked out in the next 48 hours.

Your mare sounds like my dog....she has something going on to. Goeslikestink will be relieved to know that I took her to the vet within the first 24 hours...started with adequan injections..did nothing...took her back...did xrays....CLEAN...clean in her neck, shoulder, leg and foot. Yet she is limping. Did antinflammatories/rest for a week..slightly better. Now I have her on Lubrisyn and MSM too...she is getting better...but slowly. Vet thinks it's soft tissue injury. Oh, and I had a massage person look at her too....he couldn't find anything other than tightness. So I know what you are going through with your girl.

thank you...much appreciated.

Man, your dog and my horse should start a club. :lol:

Good luck with your guy, here's jingling it works itself out, or is at least something simple and easy to address. :)

[dalpal]

Jingles your way too.

NCSue....If it doesn't clear itself up in 48 hours I think I'll get a call into Greg Wilder and have him look at him first. He is excellent at body work/finding things.

[grayarabpony]

It could be anything -- have you tried testing accupuncture pressure points and flexions?

[NCSue]

Jingles your way too.

NCSue....If it doesn't clear itself up in 48 hours I think I'll get a call into Greg Wilder and have him look at him first. He is excellent at body work/finding things.

How's the big boy? Thought of you & Cooper today while I was playing with my big, old fellow. Love these older TBs. Tell me about Greg Wilder in a PM when you get a moment.

[Watermark Farm]

Get a good bodyworker out who knows anatomy well and can evaluate muscle health. I wish I had done this back in January when my 22 year old competitive dressage horse started looking "not quite right behind" after a slip in pasture. Long story short, a very slight uneven-ness behind came and went, we kept showing. Then in August he became severely lame. I'm now facing an SI/lumbar type injury, no definitive diagnosis as of yet, and I want to kick myself for not dealing with the issue when it was smaller and could have been resolved more easily.

The book "Beating muscle injuries for horses" sat on my shelf all this time. I wish I'd taken it out and done a better job of being a careful owner.

[EqTrainer]

I remember Coopah fooling me once with an abcess.. looked just like a stifle. Maybe it will be one again, I will cross my fingers...

[poopoo]

Here's a novel idea - try Bute for a few days and see if he can work through it. Try doing your own flexion tests - I bet it's in his hocks. Maybe you just need to get them injected.

[BornToRide]

Could be all sorts of things - muscles, joints, subluxations, abscess brewing, tendon issue, even possibly EPSM or some mineral imbalance etc.

[jetsmom]

He's not WEARING SHOES, is he????????????????????????????????!!!!!!!!!!;)

[dalpal]

Here's a novel idea - try Bute for a few days and see if he can work through it. Try doing your own flexion tests - I bet it's in his hocks. Maybe you just need to get them injected.


Why is Bute a novel idea? Not all horses stomach bute well. I've got him on MSM for an antinflammatory and giving him a few days of rest with Robaxin. If it is muscular, this should at least let me know. If the Robaxin doesn't work, then I'm calling the vet chiro to come in to look at him.

NCSue...I gave him the weekend off to rest and was going to see how he was today, unfortantely, the vet came early (by about 3 hours) today to flost teeth and he was too sedated to see how he was doing.

So hopefully I'll get a chance to check him tomorrow.

[dalpal]

He's not WEARING SHOES, is he????????????????????????????????!!!!!!!!!!;)

ROFL...I must have missed something on a shoe thread. Yep, he wears four shoes. :lol:

[jetsmom]

Shoes are EVIIIIILLLLL. Because shoes are metal, the gravitational pull affects the horse's feet. Due to the uneveness of the density of the Earth, this will make the horse appear lame. You need to pull the shoes immediately! Pulling the shoes will make your horse sound, cure cushings, eliminate colics (due to getting rid of the magnetic pull of the shoes on the horse's internal organs), cure your aging Husband's Erectile Dysfunction problems (the magnetic pull from the shoes pulls DOWN, if you know what I mean...), and give your horse a sleek, shiny coat (because you eliminated unnecessary metals poisoning your horse, by seeping thru their feet.

[EqTrainer]

Why do people act so wierd?:confused:

[BornToRide]

Ah, another very blissful person :yes:

[dalpal]

Well, Eqtrainer...I think you get the gold star.

It's been raining and nasty this week and the footing in the indoor was groomed too deep:mad: So, I just gave him this week off.....lunged him today and it does look to me as if he just doesn't want to put that right back foot down....I asked him to canter (since he wasn't mechanicallylame) and he didn't want to, and he took a few steps and came right out of it.

Eqtrainer has seen this horse before when he has abcessed...did it quite a few times last winter, which is why we put pads on his front feet. And to me it looks similar to what we witnessed last winter.

He was pointing his right toe when I put him in the crosstimes....No heat, no swelling, no pulse.....but his right foot had that abcessy smell to it when I cleaned it out.

So I called my farrier and he is going to come out tomorrow at 10am to see if he can find anything in his foot.

I am hoping that it is just an abcess.

Eqtrainer....since our weather seems to be dry, wet, dry, wet....do you think that IF it is an abcess that I should just have Thomas pad him all the way around for the winter?

Also want to mention that when this horse started abcessing last winter...we had a blood panel pulled to see if anything was off and it came back normal. He gets a good diet of Progressive Senior, Lin Pro, Tractguard, and Envision...his hay is an orchard type.

If anyone has any advice on a horse prone to abcesses...I'm all for suggestions.