Mystery weird lameness, talk me off the ledge?!?

[skipollo]

14yo OTTB gelding, okay feet but with thin soles and overall sensitive.

Early August, he came up lame under saddle, but only in to the right and only when cantering and trotting directly after cantering. If we took a walk break, he went back to being sound. He felt very choppy (like a peg leg pirate). If you watched him just W/T in the field or in the ring you’d never know. It felt like it was higher up, not foot related but I can’t be sure.

Gave him some time off, had chiro out, he came around and was sound and fine. Put him back in work, was able to take him to a show, all went fine. He had the week after the show off because I was out of town.

My first day back, he’s head bobbing lame at the trot and canter, worse going to the left. Walking? You’d never know. If you saw him just hanging out in the field grazing or walking around, you can’t tell.

That was 8/27/22 Saturday. He’s seemed to get better but is still lame. He’s still going out every night like normal, obviously not being ridden. At no point has there been any mark, wound, heat, or swelling. He isn’t standing weirdly, and he had his feet done yesterday with no change today. Farrier is not convinced it’s an abscess (neither am I, it could be but I’m not sure?) I checked his digital pulses tonight. Right front is very very faint, like I had to really work to find it at all. Left front was definitely there, it wasn’t POUNDING, but it was definitely strong enough to find and feel easily. I’d rank it a 5-6/10?

He’s not a chubby air fern (so not thinking anything metabolic/laminitis), diet/shoeing hasn’t changed other than being reset yesterday, attitude hasn’t changed. Basically you’d never know looking at him that he was lame until he trots or canters. He’s not an abscess-y kind of guy, in the nine years I’ve had him, he’s only had 2-3 of them, and they always present differently and not like your average abscess. Shod all around, aluminums with leather pads and jelly packing in the front, steel with 3D frog support pads with DIM on the hinds.

Of course I’m a worrisome type of person, so my brain is going into the sneaky stress spiral. He’s not on death’s door by any means, but I’m calling the vet tomorrow morning. If anyone has any thoughts, experiences, insight, etc. it would be much appreciated. My gut feeling says it’s something foot-related, and I’m hoping it’s an abscess because that’s a (relatively) easy thing to deal with?

Tysm!

[lenapesadie]

My older TB had some intermittent lameness going on. Trim hardish keeper type. Tested neg for Cushings. He’s foundered / laminitis. Def get your vet out asap.

[Sarah616]

I’ve had one like this. We treated with injections of the navicular bursa in the bad front foot (known bad x-rays of the coffin bone and navicular, re-radiographed prior to injection), as well as stifle injections. Have you done any x-rays yet, or a vet visit? (Ok re-read I see calling vet in the morning.)
The other thing with pads is that you have to make sure nothing gets under the pads. If your farrier uses an impression material, make sure it’s not too hard, some horses can’t tolerate that.

[Posting_Trot]

My horse just got diagnosed with arthritis in the coffin joint in one hoof. She came up really lame, lame in early July. Vet thought abscess so I soaked and wrapped for a week. No abscess, and horse was still lame although not as much.

Farrier suggested wrapping with Magic Cushion. I did that for 10 days. She looked much better but still off, really noticeable at the trot. At the walk she seemed okay.

Anyway, I had a lameness specialist out and she did xrays of the hoof and the coffin joint was the issue. Likely the arthritis was made worse by some kind of tweaking of some soft tissue, and it was the soft tissue inflammation that had gotten somewhat better while I was soaking and wrapping.

So it makes sense to get a lameness specialist involved, particularly when you’re dealing with on-again, off-again or subtle lameness.

(Just to complete the novel: I had the coffin joint injected with ProStride and, two weeks later, my horse looks consistently sound. Knocking on wood!).

[skipollo]

Vet was out this morning, we blocked both front feet, no change. She’s suspecting it’s coming from his hind end? She suggested xraying hocks and stifles, possibly injecting hocks. He’s had them done several times before, and he’s never had lameness due to his hocks needing to be done, so I’m not sure how I feel about it. This also came on suddenly, not gradually over time.

But at least we ruled out his front feet 🫤

[hybriseris]

Did you only block hooves? These symptoms sound like my mare who strained a suspensory. Completely sound at walk, sometimes whole weeks where she was sound at T/C, but then would all the sudden come up lame at T/C some days. The whole sound after some time off and then lame again also made me wonder.

Would be worth doing an ultrasound depending on how much $$$ you have for diagnostics.

[Sarah616]

Did she only suggest injecting hocks and not stifles? A lot of horses that have what seems like a major lameness at the canter need to have their stifles looked at or injected.

[skipollo]

She mentioned hocks and stifles, but historically his stifle injections haven’t made any big change, but hocks have. He’s never presented as limping lame from any of his hind end ??? though.

And yes only blocked feet, he has no heat/swelling/marks/etc in his legs.

Edited to add I just went down the Google rabbit hole of upper suspensory strains……when the vet calls me to schedule the next appt I’m going to bring that up.

[Warmblood1]

With the intermittent lameness, the stabbing gait, sound at walk but worsening after work, my first thought was stifle. I have a mare that has stifle issues but she never really had a profound response to injections.