lame in one ring but not the other

[mothermucker12]

so the trainer called the vet because our guy was NQR...trainer rides him in the indoor to show the vet, and he's fine, no lameness detetected...next day trainer rides him in outdoor ring and he's off big time, we take him to the indoor and after about 4 trot steps he's fine again.
what do you think is going on? trainer believes outdoor ring has better footing...horse has always preferred indoor ring... its really confusing.
so horse is with trainer getting ready for local medal finals while daughter is away at college, i spoke to the vet and told him about the outdoor ring experience....asked if he thought we should try pads....he say go ahead and try it...just got vet bill...$ 225 for standing there and watching the horse go around, for maybe 20 min-1/2 hour....that's was all he did....
i'm in the wrong business!!
so anyway what do you think is going on?? WWYD???
BTW trainer has another horse my daughter can use, but we both believe you should ride the horse you qualified on...but this year we may not have a choice...

[JB]

What are the different footings?

There was another thread relatively recently about a horse who was lame in a bluestone ring, but not a sand ring (or vice-versa) which ended up being something like an abcess.

[LOVE*MY*NAGS]

Just a guess......is the outdoor sand deeper?

[Gideon]

I would think the outdoor ring would be harder footing.:D

[Renn/aissance]

MM12, I respectfully disagree with our trainer on this point. ;) Based on how our two have always gone I believe the indoor to have better footing. Amigo will some days be head bobbing in the outdoor and sound enough to win the hack in the indoor. Tip also prefers the indoor, although the difference is not as big with him. I think in the heat, the outdoor footing bakes on top and gets hard.

[atr]

With my recent experience, I'd be very suspicious about suspensory issues with this--I've discovered how different footing can mask/show up soreness very obviously--deeper footing or footing with more slip to it will cause it to be obvious, whereas hard footing may not show it up so much, or indeed at all.

So, I'd be looking to do a more careful diagnosis, and if it is, treat it quick before it gets any worse.

[mothermucker12]

MM12, I respectfully disagree with our trainer on this point. ;) Based on how our two have always gone I believe the indoor to have better footing. Amigo will some days be head bobbing in the outdoor and sound enough to win the hack in the indoor. Tip also prefers the indoor, although the difference is not as big with him. I think in the heat, the outdoor footing bakes on top and gets hard.

i think the indoor is better too....

[mothermucker12]

With my recent experience, I'd be very suspicious about suspensory issues with this--I've discovered how different footing can mask/show up soreness very obviously--deeper footing or footing with more slip to it will cause it to be obvious, whereas hard footing may not show it up so much, or indeed at all.

So, I'd be looking to do a more careful diagnosis, and if it is, treat it quick before it gets any worse.

that was my first thought as well, he tore an upper front 5 yrs ago...had vet come out and rescan a couple of weeks ago, nothing...and the indoor is much softer, outdoor is harder

[Renn/aissance]

Based on what I feel riding in that ring (and running through it) and the fact that you've already looked at and ruled out a suspensory issue, I'd be very interested to see how he feels when he is wearing pads. For both our horses, when they feel off in that ring, it is feet.

[sublimequine]

I'd get the vet out and trot the horse on both surfaces for the vet to see. This really could be a MULTITUDE of issues.

My mare had a shoulder injury, that was always worse in deeper footing. The last time the vet was out to do a lameness checkup on her, I trotted her in the indoor. Lame. Vet hemmed and hawed for a minute, then asked me to take her out to the paved driveway and trot her again. She passed with flying colors on the hard pavement.

So it could also be a muscular thing. You really can't tell.

[tpup]

Is the horse shod? Could it be thin soles or sole pain? My horse was lame on our outdoor barefoot. Shod him and voila - all lameness issues went away. He was better on grass and soft sand barefoot but still not as good and happy as he is shod. He had very thin soles. The outdoor was harder, had little rocks bumping his soles, etc. Just a thought.

[mothermucker12]

he's shod up front

[JB]

http://www.chronicleforums.com/Forum/showthread.php?t=218848&highlight=lame+sand

This is the thread I was thinking about. But, abcess was not the diagnosis - seemed to be unknown at the point.

Anyway, it was an interesting thread :)

Maybe the OP will come back to update the outcome :)

[Gry2Yng]

Typically, lame in deeper footing but "okay" in hard foot - soft tissue injury.
Lame in hard footing but "okay" in deeper footing - feet or joints.

Warms up - joints, gets worse with work - soft tissue.

In any case, if the horse is showing lameness in ANY kind of footing I would get a full work up. Something that may only require a few weeks of rest could be seriously injured by continuing to work the horse.

[Fharoah]

I would have him evaluated in both rings both on the lounge and possibly undersaddle, also a smooth ashfault and do flexions. You may be smart to video him off, if it is intermittent this could be helpful.

[mothermucker12]

thanks for the link JB

[RockinHorse]

I would probably have the vet come back and watch the horse in the ring where it was lame.