BIZARRE ACUTE LAMENESS - input needed

[zelle]

Hello, I am hoping to attach a video here in order to cast a wider net to look for anyone who has dealt with this kind of lameness. Possibly back related but still investigating.
Lameness vet has seen this horse and is coming back next week to do an ultrasound.
I have a 2nd opinion vet coming sooner than that.
The horse looks terrible awful abcess lame and then eventually trots out of it. The video just shows the lameness. I don’t want to keep doing this to the horse where I ask for multiple trot walk trot transitions and she eventually gets sound (5 minutes tops). But she will. Farrier and vet find nothing on hoof tester.
First vet watched her go sound with mouth agape. Decided to do blocks. And decided on the 2nd block that he had localized the lameness. I disagree. Because the horse goes sound as you go. So blocks aren’t really helpful in this case in my opinion. But he xrayed the area where he thought it blocked and found nothing. Plans to return for ultrasound. Meanwhile there is no swelling or tenderness in the target area (lower limb).
I sent this video to another vet who is also stumped and plans to come palpate her S.I. She says injry up there can cause this type of lameness maybe. And she wants to see her before possible hospital referral for better imaging of her back.

What I am looking for is anyone who has seen this before. Surely this isn’t the only horse to have this.
She has a wrap on because of the blocks done many hours before this video was taken
https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipPCiu6AULh_1UUFeTORkeyFe4cl8ys9H2c7pRiX

[islgrl]

can’t see the video

[FjordBCRF]

Also can’t see the video.

[zelle]

PXL_20240724_135747071

OK so google photo links don’t work.
Hopefully this attached .mp4 will work

[Obsidian_Fire]

Has anybody investigated stifles? Sticking stifles, they work out of those. Worth a look?

[ThreeWishes]

Agree about stifles.
Does this horse seem worse after being stalled/confined? And with movement works out of the lameness?

[JB]

This definitely reeks of a stifle issue. Not sticking/catching, this is very non-weight bearing and sticky stifles don’t hurt, they typically bear weight in the fully forward position AND are able to move into that position, but as the leg moves back, the ligament catches and the leg “slips on a banana peel”

[joiedevie99]

I’d be suspicious of a torn meniscus or other cartilage damage in the stifle, or perhaps even a floating chip.

[fivestrideline]

Another vote for stifle injury - loose catching ligaments or UFP don’t usually hurt. Your horse clearly does. That’s classic tear/meniscus injury.

I’d X-ray and ultrasound the stifle for starters. Doesn’t look lower limb to ME (not a vet).

[beowulf]

I agree with others this looks up high, not low and my gut would be soft tissue injury in the stifle. In your shoes I would go immediately to blocking the stifle. I think the hock could also warrant some investigation if you don’t see improvement, it is wringing.

I had a horse with a medial / lateral meniscus tear that presented similarly - he was not able to fully bring the limb forward. He would also show slight improvement the longer he worked, but was still lame.

[Sarah616]

We had a horse that came out of its stall that lame, and definitely got better with movement. Turns out he had a fracture way up high, diagnosed via bone scan as a fracture of the third trochanter of the femur. It’s apparently not common, but it did cause an extremely stilted gait. Does she have any swelling under her belly, along her midline? That was a symptom of this horse. Also interesting to note, this horse did not appear to be in pain except that he didn’t want to move. No fever or muscle shaking, never went off his feed, nothing to indicate a serious injury except not wanting to move after standing for a time.

I do agree with everyone saying investigate the stifle first though.

[NaturallyHappy]

I couldn’t get the video to play very well…I agree it looks higher up and could well be the stifle. We had one w a flipped meniscus who looked a little like that, but would not work out of it. A very good body worker (osteopath) helped him. I would also wonder about a muscle injury…any chance this very nice horse got cast?

[GoodTimes]

My first impression was it’s up high. But after watching it a couple times I’m not so sure. I would wait for the ultrasound before looking higher. There doesn’t have to be a ton of heat and swelling for something to be painful.

[Paint_Party]

To me it looks like stifle, too, especially the way the horse almost tries to canter in order to alleviate the discomfort. Once the stifle “unlocks” the horse can use its leg more correctly. But hey, I’m not a vet. I could be wrong.

Have you xrayed the stifle for OCD? Or any chips? Maybe in a PPE? (Sorry. Been in this movie).

I’m very sorry you’re going through this and hope you get a clear answer soon. Lovely horse!

[zelle]

Yes there is a decent chance she got cast and got out of it herself. This family (I bred this one and several siblings) tends to get cast and not panic and just figure it out. I don’t know why. Sometimes they just lay there until someone comes. They are super quiet trusting horses.

[beowulf]

Did your vet block her hoof?

[zelle]

OCD - it would have to be new or somehow gone undetected when she was young. I had a complete set of radiographs done as a 3 year old looking for just that. She had one removed from RH fetlock and never looked back.

[zelle]

beowulf - blocked hoof and she was not significantly better. The next block up made her better. But she also just gets better as she moves around.

[endlessclimb]

I’m voting a mild suspensory, or stifle issue. My late mare did exactly this and we never found the cause (bone scan, xray, ultrasound - never found anything)

[zelle]

Definitely think the first vet felt her stifles but I will ask the 2nd one who is coming today to see what she thinks. Today I flexed her myself - drawing that hind limb forward and up. She wasn’t that lame today and that didn’t change her at all. So after a night in the stall - here she is -
Just a hip drop and toe drag

Day4afterstallrest