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T O P I C R E V I E W
hazelcat74
Posted - 10 Jun 2011 : 09:51:08 AM I recently bought an unbroken 4 yr old 14.2hh mare, and have discovered she is slightly unsound on her near hind. I found this when I started doing a bit of lunging with her.She looks ok in a straight line but is 1/10 lame in a circle says the vet,who can't see anything wrong with the leg, there is absolutely nothing visible like swelling/heat/injury etc.Also noticed that she always canters on the left leg even on the right rein. Her advice is that it may be due to her feet being unbalanced, they were quite long when we bought her, I had them trimmed by another farrier who shoes some other horses at our yard as we had just had ours 3 days before we bought her. He obviously didn't do a great job but at least removed the excess growth. Our farrier is due next week and is very good so will ask his opinion, but wondered if anyone has any other ideas as to what may be wrong? As she is unbroken it is unlikely to be due to overwork. Wish I'd had her vetted but its done now.
7 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First)
NatH
Posted - 15 Jun 2011 : 09:48:04 AM If she is lame on the nearside hind and nothing is obvious check out the offside fore/shoulder.
Just a suggestion
hazelcat74
Posted - 14 Jun 2011 : 10:06:35 PM Had the farrier today, he says her hind hooves are a bit unbalanced but not enough to cause much of a problem really, she had no trouble standing on 3 legs at any point, hooves are fine, so he is a bit baffled too McTimoney chiro lady who did wonders with my mares's sore back is coming on 28th so hope she may find some answers!
hazelcat74
Posted - 11 Jun 2011 : 9:13:44 PM thanks guys, I have a good chiro who does my mare so am going to ask the vet to OK it for her to look at Rosie as well.Have managed to contact her breeder who says that when sold as ayearling she was sound, of course that is 3 yrs ago now. She can back up ok and tracks up in a straight line but not on a circle. Not sure about crossing the hind legs, but she is a bit touchy about us picking them up, getting better with time but I thought maybe that was more a trust issue as we have only had her a few weeks, but perhaps it is uncomfortable for her to stand on 3 legs. Anyway farrier and chiro will be seeing her soon and hopefully we will at least find out whats wrong and decide what to do next.
mad alice
Posted - 11 Jun 2011 : 10:59:55 AM my darling Sam was terrible lane from the age of 18months. He was unsound in both front legs. there was no visible injury and eventually the vat x-rayed him. He discovered an in balance in both of is fetlock joints. At birth both of his little feet were very crooked and we had to start trimming at a very young age to get his feet looking balanced.if you examined the confirmation of his legs it was barely noticeable that he put more weight down the inside of his fetlocks, thus cause the cartilage to be worn and pinched on the outside. he was sounder in straight lines but very lame on a circle. He had to wear glue on shoes with a lip to encourage him to stand squarely. the problem was that as a yearling and two year old he was very lively and he tended to stand on them and pull them off. Eventually after a few months he was trimmed and shod and the problem was resolved. For most of his life he was sound but always had to wear shoes. Good luck!
Mrs Vlacq
Posted - 10 Jun 2011 : 10:50:25 PM how frustrating - and in such cases it's as likely to be something minor as it is something chronic. If the vet has assessed the structire of the leg and the feet are being addressed then the next port of call is definitely a physio or chiro. She could just be tight after compensating for an injury over winter - a slip or tumble that she could not rest. They will check her range of motion and she will soon tell you where it hurts with a grizzly face etc. Can she walk backwards ok? can she cross her hind legs both ways? does she track up when loose / in hand? Muscle release will help, and physio/chiro will be able to advise on how much rest, and what type of work will help - perhaps steady walking, straight lines and gradients in as low and long a shape as possible, no turn work for a while, might be enough to see her right. Good luck, and try not to panic just yet
Judith S
Posted - 10 Jun 2011 : 5:26:55 PM Might be something out in the pelvis/hips - worth getting checked by a chiropractor or other practitioner.
angelarab
Posted - 10 Jun 2011 : 10:00:59 AM Have pm'd you :-)
McTimoney chiro lady who did wonders with my mares's sore back is coming on 28th so hope she may find some answers!