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Hind Limbs Adducting in Trot

With the disclaimer that I am NOT a vet: From what you’ve described, I would assume SI is sore. If the suspensories are doing OK, I would start a gentle-on-the-body yet aggressive-in-focus strengthening program. Daily walking hills, backing up, then backing up hills. Stretches prescribed by a massage/chiro/vet, tailored to his personal issues - ‘waking up’ the muscles before work and teaching him that he can have this range of motion now. Long (15-30 minute) walk warm-ups over various types of ground - rocks, mud, grass, really anything you have access to. When he’s good and strong, not adducting at the trot (ie looks sound), you can progress to lunging long and low, naked or with side reins and an exercise band around the hindquarters to engage the core/haunches. If he loosens up with a canter, he can have a circle or two to get things moving - but no more. Start short - like 4 minutes of lunging and done short - and move up to 20 or so minutes over the course of a month or two, then adding canter a minute or so at time over the course of another month or two. Then rinse and repeat under saddle. If any backsliding occurs (starting to look lame/adducting), rest for a few days until he looks ok, then start back at a lower level he can handle and move back up. It’s long, frustratingly slow process but I’ve had 2 horses successfully come back from SI injuries with this method.

An SI injection may give him the comfort to be able to start moving correctly enough, but remember that it’s the strengthening that is necessary to fix things. SI injuries need a cradle of muscle etc. to stabilize them, and they will likely need that stabilization for the rest of their life - atrophied toplines on a horse who previously had an SI injury is a huge red flag that they may become sore again. He should also, if possible, be turned out 24/7; a large pasture with rolling hills is ideal.

The hooves will also need to be correct for this rehab to work - constant strain from incorrect angles will be difficult to combat and could lead to further tendon/SI issues.

I would NOT try to ride him through the leg swinging. I had a trainer who claimed my mom’s horse’s head bobbing/slight off-ness was a result of the way he was being ridden (‘rein lameness’). He was actually injured, and he was ridden in a way to mask the symptoms - eventually he was seriously lame, and lots of vet/diagnostics later found it was SI. Daily stretches, hill climbing, etc and he’s the soundest he’s ever been (knock on wood) and looks INCREDIBLE when he moves. There was immense pressure from the vet and barn owner to inject hocks. We didn’t, which was good because his hocks are fine. Gotta save those injections for when we need them :slightly_smiling_face: (he’s 15 this year and shows no sign of needing anything). I personally would not inject hocks without a solid, hock-specific diagnosis.

There’s another horse at that barn who had similar ‘rein lameness’ that has been ridden/masked for years, and that horse is SORE. You touch her back and it collapses. She’s being held together with injections and previcoxx, which IMO is a terrible solution and unfair to her (I am not against injections in all circumstances, but I am against them being used to nurse a horse along and mask a problem so you can get one more show season out of them before dumping them quietly on the local classifieds).

I have a mare with chronic scratches (white legs and a barely-handled-not-trimmed-for-the-whole-summer-broodmare = years of untreated scratches when I bought her). I’ve been treating them, but given her history I’ve never been aggressive treating it, so I’m still squashing down the last bits of infection (it’s worse on her hind legs). She started recently having issues with holding her back feet for the farrier. She’s pretty stoic but if you pressed hard enough she was slightly sore over her SI, as well as tight through her hamstrings. I had the massage/chiro out; while she needed some adjustments she wasn’t ‘broken’ so didn’t need extensive rehab. She’s not perfect yet, but her hamstrings are soft, she’s no longer sore over her SI, and she’s accepting gentle stretching of her back legs. I would be surprised, if the scratches infection isn’t horribly irritated/weeping/bloody, that those would be the cause of the adducting.

I wish you luck in this rehab! It will be painful for now, but hopefully he will come back stronger and better than ever :slightly_smiling_face:

Attempting to “wake up” this thread to maybe gain some insight. Mine is adducting on one leg only at the trot. He’s tracking up great, not moving short. He visually needs to muscle up which I’m working on. Poles and more poles since it’s flat where I live. He gets inconsistent full lead changes, but will sometimes land a jump disunited. Usually if he has enough impulsion and good balance on my part, we have no issues. But he also has been gunning it down the lines. Again, not sure if a pain issue or a green/balance issue as I’ve found if I ride the lines a certain way, he keeps it in check.

I’m interested in @Clover5’s quote above because mine is prone to bad scratches (one really bad case where he lost a lot of hair on a front leg due to fungus. This past shoeing cycle, he had a TON of growth - so much so that I had to get the farrier out 2 weeks early. The particular hoof on the adducting leg wears funky (flattens on the inside). He’s also 5.

I had the vet identify the adduction and it’s just on one leg. Flexions negative. But he’s always stood toed out behind. So, in addition to the farrier, I have bodywork and chiro scheduled, but I’m impatient and a worry wart - what are the odds he just needs a trim? Corrective trim? Just body work and chiro? The vet isn’t too worried yet and recommended the chiro work before we started a deep dive, so that gives me hope.

Anyone have a horse adduct on one leg?

I’m not who you asked but I’ll chip in anyway :sweat_smile:He’s 5 and needs muscle - odds are these are baby things and he will grow out of it! I’m a worrywart too though so I get it. If anything I would back off the jumping and really focus on flatwork and polework (maybe some gymnastics thrown in for variety). You don’t want to create a rusher.

As far as the trim, it sounds like he’s flaring on the outside rather than “flattening” on the inside. This can be a trim issue, but can also be due to stance and tightness farther up. Usually, IME, it’s both. Some people shoe behind for this as well.

Do you keep a riding journal? Do you note things like which side felt funky, tack changes, which lead he swapped off on, stance, growth spurts, etc? I find I can read back and see that my 5yo was being weird on the left, and now is weird on the right, but at one time was weak and weird all around (he’s VERY green). In some ways that’s comforting to know that it’s likely just baby growing things.

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This is the answer I was hoping to hear! Again, I’m going to get some additional professional eyes on him, but the vet and I agreed that he visually needs more butt muscles. I’ve started doing in-hand pole walking on days I can’t ride to help.

So, best case scenario, it’s just a strength and conditioning issue. I’ve started going down the SI problem rabbit hole, and let me tell you - it’s doing my brain more harm than good. When we know about so many possibilities and care so much, it’s so easy to convince ourselves our horses are dead lame and feel defeated.

Funny enough, I’ve bought a notebook with the intention of journaling but have failed to actually use it. Is it too late for resolutions?

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I use the notes app on my phone! Way easier. Usually I jot things down while I hand graze after a ride, or in the car before I leave. If I wait until the night or next day, I find the details get lost. But, something is better than nothing!

It really helps. And if you DO need the vet, you can give them exact dates you noticed something!

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Equilab has a spot for notes if you’re tracking rides. Having the tracking info plus notes is super helpful

There are several potential reasons for it. SI issues are on the list for sure. Also, does he move the other leg normally or is it moving abaxially? If that is happening, then the other leg might be moving wide to get out of the way, and in that case it may be the other leg that has an issue. Hard to guess without seeing the entire picture.