Could hill work and hind leg lameness be related?

[Spirit_Rider16]

Alright, here it goes...

I've been doing more hill work with my horse recently to try to build up his hind end. He's been on lighter work for a while now, due to kissing spine and a few other chronic problems, and I've noticed his hind end and top line are losing muscle - which is to be expected with what he's been doing, but I hoped to counteract it.

However, one of his other chronic problems, arthritis in his left hind, seems to be bothering him more in the past few weeks. He's favoring the leg more, and it's causing some swelling in the right hind. We're treating it now, but I'm curious as to whether or not doing more hill work could cause the increased soreness in his left hind. My thinking is that he's going to push off harder with his hind legs going uphill, as well as flexing the joints more. I didn't think of it when the vet was out, and since I won't see him for a while, I thought I'd ask you all and see if you have any thoughts!

[Janet]

Sounds like a reasonable conjecture. I'd cut back on the hill work and see what happens.

[midnightride]

i love hills for my guys, but you do need to be VERY careful... i always walk down- never trot or canter unless competing or hunting.... and keep the reps light, your guy seems to have lots of issues so you may want to back off the hills for a few weeks and then just walk up once for a few weeks just to let him adjust to the work, if that goes well try adding reps up... a number of years ago my aunt and i used to ship to a mountain to ride and my old mare with bad hocks had to have bute to handle the rides... best of luck, just take it slow.:yes:

[In_]

Hill work and hind end weakness typically have an inverse relationship. Hill work, when done properly, builds the muscles in the hindend and back. It is often prescribed to combat weak stiffles. It works to improve muscle by requiring those muscles to activate more - meaning an increased demand. An increased demand means increased demand on the joints as well. So -arthritis could be irritated if the progression was done too quickly.

How long and at what speed are you working on the hills? Are these gently rolling hills or something more serious?

[Spirit_Rider16]

Thanks for the responses, guys. I'll be cutting back on the hill work for now, or at least making it less demanding. I've been doing about 15-25 minutes of alternately walking, trotting, or cantering uphill, always walking back down. The hills are not too steep, but it's definitely been a work out for him, especially since he's not the most fit he's ever been in his life. :)

I probably don't have much choice about cutting back at this point anyway, since I live in Massachusetts and winter is coming! ;)

[Petstorejunkie]

not finger pointing at you, but one thing i notice is that horse folk (myself included) tend to forget that horses are athletes, and that when building a new body, you go through pains and changes.
if you were to start working out on the stair master regularly, there's a very high likely hood that you are going to gimp around work and moan and groan til your body adjusts... same thing with horses.

I've found that following the better/worse rule works well for me. Keep doing what you are doing, journal symptoms. if things get better, keep at it, if things get worse it's not working and it's time for a change.

[Foxtrot's]

Best tip yet - keep a journal. I find I am hopelessly bad at remembering the when and whats. What happened a week ago in my memory could be a month ago in actual fact. Training, shoeing, worming, teeth, shots, vet treatments, etc.