Spot The Lameness: Pony Edition

[StormyDay]

So my Mustang pony seems to be a little lame. He is still super happy to work but I feel it when going to the right, and could see it when he was teaching a lesson yesterday.
He is 8, barefoot, and I recently switched farriers from me to the person who used to trim my horse who is out on lease. I’m worried he is taking too much heel and possibly making him lame.
Pony has a fusing right hock, it’s being treated but he is okayed to work through it until it finishes. Main symptom of that is a short canter stride behind; which he is not doing.

Thistle Left Trot

Thistle Right Trot

Thoughts?

[Bluey]

He looks definitely off behind, bet you can feel it riding him.

[Horsegirl_s_Mom]

Who are our best lameness experts? Is @findeight around? I can’t remember who else is amazingly good at diagnosing lameness, but there are some real savants on this forum.

He does look ouchy, but I’m no expert. I can say, he is adorable and I love the name Thistle.

[StormyDay]

@Horsegirl_s_Mom

Who are our best lameness experts? Is @findeight around? I can’t remember who else is amazingly good at diagnosing lameness, but there are some real savants on this forum.

He does look ouchy, but I’m no expert. I can say, he is adorable and I love the name Thistle.

Thank you! He’s a BLM Mustang and an absolute gem.

[StormyDay]

@Bluey

He looks definitely off behind, bet you can feel it riding him.

So he is off behind, but since that hock is fusing it’s kind of a known thing. To me it feels a bit more like it’s up front.

He was X-rayed in that joint and we injected and he gets equioxx now too; before that was done he did some funky stuff that alerted me to that it was bothering him; he’s not doing any of that this time.

[Postandrails]

He looks most ouchy on the right hind, but the left hind doesn’t look 100% either. There are even moments when the fronts look a bit suspicious. He just looks all-around uncomfortable.

I think it is most noticeable in the right hind, but I don’t think that is the only issue. The awkward movement seems like it might fit with a trimming issue.

edit - I originally commented about whether to ride him or not, but just noticed on re-reading that your vet cleared him for riding with the current RH hock problem, so now I don’t know, LOL.

And yes, he’s adorable!

[Posting_Trot]

It also looks like the horse is head-bobbing when going to the right.

I think you’ll have to have the vet do a full lameness work-up, including using blocks, to see what hurts. I don’t think I’d do much more than just walking under-saddle until you get an vet’s evaluation.

Very good horse!

[Equkelly]

It don’t think either hind looks good but also it looks back sore.

[StormyDay]

@Posting_Trot

It also looks like the horse is head-bobbing when going to the right.

I think you’ll have to have the vet do a full lameness work-up, including using blocks, to see what hurts. I don’t think I’d do much more than just walking under-saddle until you get an vet’s evaluation.

Very good horse!

Yes, I think he will be needed a vet exam too. It will have to wait a bit, as I’m right in the middle of moving.
I mainly posted because I feel like if he seems lame up front, I’m probably pinning it down to the farrier change and would rather get that sorted first and then have my vet back out to check his hocks again and see if we need to try something more aggressive for that hock.

[IPEsq]

Right front tracking right.

[Posting_Trot]

With the head-bobbing, I think you may be talking about lameness in the front end. That doesn’t preclude there also being a problem in the hind end. Which is why block would be helpful.

Good luck.

[Marla_100]

slightly shortstriding on RF going right.

[Postandrails]

@Marla_100

slightly shortstriding on RF going right.

I can see this too at the start of the video, except isn’t he head bobbing (dropping) ON TO the right front by the end of the video?

[IPEsq]

I see him bobbing down when weighting the left front (and thus lifting head up when weighting right front). This could also mean RH (thus trying to unweight the right hind when RH and LF are leading), but as said above more likely the front limb.