Grade 4 Lame and then Sound...

[the_eventing_RN]

Hi all, I took my horse on a field trip for a bit of a break in riding monotony. We do low level eventing and in lieu of competitions, I wanted to get him out. After a good 45 minutes of hill work and nice easy-going trot/canter, I took him over a few jumps. Decided to end with a low vertical going up hill but faced some steering challenge, as he wanted to cut right. Long story short, we spliced the jump, he landed goofy and cut right immediately on his left (unfavored) lead and came up at a walk head-bobbing lame. When I hopped off and lunged him at a trot, it was evident that he was VERY ouchy about something.

He had been wearing back on track boots and didn’t have any perceptible rocks or interference in the shoe of his front right, what seemed to be our problem leg. Back at the barn he was PISSED about whatever pain he was experiencing, and was constantly lifting and pawing the right front. I also noticed the entire leg twitching a bit. I cold hosed it, poulticed, wrapped, and kept him in a stall overnight with some bute and a lameness exam scheduled for that Monday.

I was very worried that we were dealing with a re-injury of his DDFT. He had sustained a small <1 inch tear 5 years prior that kept him on stall rest for 7 months but with a great prognosis in terms of small chance of re-injury. It had been in the hoof capsule, however, and he had exhibited no heat, swelling, sensitivity to touch and had no real sign of injury aside from three-legged lameness at the trot.

Next morning, I hand walked him a bit and he did not seem lame at ALL!!! My trainer had us trot and he was a bit off going left but barely so, and only around corners. I brought up chance of maybe tweaking his shoulder (given the twitching night prior) and after some massages of both his pecks, along his ulnar nerve, and across the shoulders he seemed very comfortable being trotted and exhibited no lameness…

I continued to wrap his leg and give bute the remainder of the weekend but kept him in a paddock. Yesterday (Monday) bute-less he was very sound at the walk and for a brief in-hand trot.

I feel like the LUCKIEST person in the world but I don’t want to get ahead of myself. Going to keep riding limited to walk-only the remainder of the week. Has anyone else dealt with such drastic change in lameness to soundness?

[JB]

yep, though in my case the 3-legged didn’t last nearly that long. Horse was being a dink in the pasture, and from a standstill he bolted a 180. I heard a loud PING and he was immediately 3-legged :eek: I couldn’t catch him because he was still insistent on being a dink. So, I just watched.

An hour later, he was fine, and weeks later he’s still fine.

My guess for him, and your guy, is that the movement caused a nerve to get really tweaked, maybe a joint capsule popped very suddenly (like knuckle cracking) and that can hurt for a short or longer while.

[punchy]

Hopefully it has resolved itself, but you need to wait more than just one day without bute to see, especially if he’s been on it a number of days.

[Cruiser12]

Yep. Ended up being DSLD. Degenerative suspensory ligament desmitis. Off and on unsound like that for a few years, and then off all of the time. Diagnosed as a suspensory ligament injury at first, which it essentially was. Rested for 6 months in a small flat paddock, and stall half days. She was quiet enough not run in the paddock thankfully.
I thought that she was going to be at least trail sound, but she just continued to be uncomfortably unsound.
Hopefully this is not your experience

[the_eventing_RN]

So update, the chiro visited and found that he was VERY tense along the scapula and base of the neck on the right. vet came out to float his teeth and while she was out she essentially told me that if lameness were to develop, start with hoof testers and call her from there (completely disregarded chiro). I had also had a simple lesson with an experienced trainor who suggested that our lateral work indicated higher rather than lower and soft tissue rather than conductive. He came up lame when asked to involve the right shoulder such as square turns going left.

However right after vet leaving, my horse FREAKED when I touched his right shoulder, more the region over the scapula, below the withers. No response on opposite side. Another partner in the practice answered my call and facetimed with me so we decided 2x/ day Surpass (topical antiinflammatory) after she consulted with her partner.

A few days of this and some red light laser therapy over the shoulder later, and Mason was very sound and fluid at the walk. He even took a few nice trot steps in his paddock.

WELL I continued to do some walk riding only, all around the property. Yesterday we did some bending and more lateral work but only movements that did not overexert that right shoulder. This morning I found him in the paddock and he was OBVIOUSLY more short with the right front with no warm up. took him to the arena and had him do a small circle on the lead line and i could hear his footfall lighter with right front. With carrot stretches he could bend to both sides but when asked to reach between his front legs, he flexed right front but not left. Natural stance with right front slightly behind left…

Darn…maybe it is the foot, and now that he is all loosey goosey in the shoulder this is more evident? Im confuzzled. I did update my vet, waiting on response. Also, he has been without bute for almost three weeks.

[Cruiser12]

This is so unfortunate. I am sorry. Can you
do radiographs or ultrasound shoulder?