Hi, Can a hind lameness look like a fore lameness ? I mean, at trot for example, if thé left hind Is off, could that look like that thé thé horse is off right fore? Tia
Not typically, but depending on what actually hurts I guess it could (minus the obvious head bob). Do you have a video?
No, i do not have one, WE were looking Yesterday AT a Friend s horse which has an injury on his left stifle and no issues on thé front legs normally but hé was trotting just a tiny bit short with his right front and no head bobbing
Depending on what the lameness is, it can either make both fronts short-stride, so he doesn’t really look lame, or it can make a stride difference if he’s taking on considerably more weight to compensate for the sore diagonal OR same-side hind
IME, front end lameness are more likely to make the hind end look actually lame, but in reality, you can’t have one end off-kilter and have the other end totally normal.
I would expect a stifle injury to affect how the front end moves.
1 Like
Our vet taught us to look for the foot that bears the most weight when they are moving. The other one has the problem. It is much easier than trying to remember if the head pops up when the lame one hits the ground, no wait that’s the other side… are you sure? no, yes. Whatever.
He demonstrated it at a healthcare clinic. A woman limped in with an obvious knee injury. Her friend helped her get on the stage. He didn’t say much other than asking what we noticed. She walked back and forth across the stage a few times. We knew she was lame.
She landed heavier on one side - the one without the knee brace. It’s the same for our horses.
I started watching all the “I think my horse is lame” horses. I watch the horse and concentrate. The one taking more weight becomes apparent even if it’s very subtle. The vet challenged me several times with other people’s horses. I got it right. I can see other problems such as JB describes. It helps when you are considering treatment options with the vet.
It’s a good place to start, and It’s pretty easy to get good at it. My horse has significant lameness on the left front. I’ve been able to see more as it has deteriorated. That helps when I’m describing problems on the phone with the vet.
1 Like
That IS very interesting. I looked to many tutorials just be able to learn how to be better detecting lameness but there are always putting extrême examples. But subtle lameness it IS still very difficult for me
For hind end lameness, which IMO is the harder one to see -
I was taught to look at the top of the croup at the trot. If there’s lameness, it will not be rising and falling evenly. Start saying “up - up - up” with the higher side until you’re in a rhythm with the legs, then keep saying it as you look down at the footfall. The leg that’s landing/carrying when you’re saying up is the lame one. The “up” is them unloading it onto the other leg.
Has worked for me. YMMV.
