Horse Lameness

[SBP123]

Hi all,
I do not have a lot of experience with lame horses (lucky for me, i suppose!)
But my mare is currently lame on her front left. She is fine when I bring her in from the paddock, and when I start free lunging her (no tack either so I could rule that out) she seems fine. It’s only after a few minutes when she starts to warm up that the lameness is apparent. And it starts out slow, getting more apparent as she gets warmer.
What I always thought was that the lameness would get better as she warmed up and her muscles loosened up. I suppose it’s different for every injury but I was just wondering if anyone had dealt with a lameness like this before? And what it turned out to be?
It has been a couple weeks, and as stated above she is fine in the field, and when I bring her in, so I haven’t called the vet yet. If it persists I will, just wondering if anyone else has dealt with something similar?

Thanks a bunch!

[asterix]

She’s been lame for several weeks? You need to have the vet out sooner rather than later. An abscess would most likely have resolved (or gotten very obvious), and if it was arthritis you are right, she might be more lame when starting out.
As it is perhaps she is stiff and only once moving more freely is the actual lameness apparent.
In any event you need to identify the problem and how to resolve it. Unlikely to just disappear on its own at this point.

[joiedevie99]

Many lamenesses, including soft tissue injuries, can present like that - but that isn’t really enough detail for any of us to help you out. If the lameness has been going on for more than a week and hasn’t resolved, you need the vet.

[Abbie.S]

Yup, you need a vet. No one here can diagnose, nor should we.

Things to check to give the vet more information included checking to see if there is any heat or swelling, any broken skin on the affected leg, horse’s temperature, any sensitivity in the foot (you can test with hoof testers). But please get your horse care sooner rather than later: it’s already been two weeks, and you don’t know what it is or what damage you’ve further caused by continuing to try and make the horse move.