Stiff but Not Lame Mare

[Kenedy_S]

Hi,

I catch ride a 12 year old mare who occasionally has issues that we can’t seems to nail down. Every once in a while she gets so stuck and stiff in her gaits and becomes extremely reluctant to to pickup the canter and will trot with a really short stride. She isn’t off or lame, just stiff and uncomfortable feeling. She’s a very sweet congenial horse normally, and will eventually do what you ask if you are persistent, so it doesn’t seem like a behavioral issue.

She is a horse that requires a long slow warm up to get her going. Her saddle seems to fit well. The farrier has hoof tested her feet twice this week, and found nothing.

Her owner is reluctant to go straight to the vet because the issue isn’t severe and usually resolves on its own in a day or two, but it will recur every other month or so. Does anyone have any suggestions for things to check before spending a fortune at the vet?

She does occasionally kick the wall in her stall at other horses, but I feel like if she was sore from kicking, it would present as lameness or unevenness since it is only with one leg?

Could she just be cramping and uncomfortable from hormonal issues?

[candyappy]

Continuing to push a stiff and uncomfortable horse to do work when you have no idea what might be wrong will probably have you finding a lameness issue in the future.

Reluctance to canter and short strides at the trot even on occasion ( but happening regularly) is something that needs to be addressed by the vet. Could be mineral imbalance, related to her stall behavior or something else entirely.

I would want to know.

( QUOTE)
I catch ride a 12 year old mare who occasionally has issues that we can’t seems to nail down. Every once in a while she gets so stuck and stiff in her gaits and becomes extremely reluctant to to pickup the canter and will trot with a really short stride. She isn’t off or lame, just stiff and uncomfortable feeling. She’s a very sweet congenial horse normally, and will eventually do what you ask if you are persistent, so it doesn’t seem like a behavioral issue.

She is a horse that requires a long slow warm up to get her going. Her saddle seems to fit well. The farrier has hoof tested her feet twice this week, and found nothing.

Her owner is reluctant to go straight to the vet because the issue isn’t severe and usually resolves on its own in a day or two, but it will recur every other month or so. Does anyone have any suggestions for things to check before spending a fortune at the vet?

She does occasionally kick the wall in her stall at other horses, but I feel like if she was sore from kicking, it would present as lameness or unevenness since it is only with one leg?

Could she just be cramping and uncomfortable from hormonal issues?
( OUOTE)

[Kenedy_S]

If it were my horse, she would have gone to the vet long ago. When she feels like this, she gets time off. It originally appeared that it could have been a behavioral issue, but we now have reason to believe it is not, so she does not get ridden when she has these issues. Usually after a day or two off, she is completely back to normal.

[Groom_amp_Taxi]

Is it a quarter horse or does it have quarter horse breeding? My mind went to HYPP or possibly some form of tying up - though tying up would be more likely to happen after exercise. Most likely, however, would be some manifestation of arthritis.

[Kenedy_S]

@Groom&Taxi

Is it a quarter horse or does it have quarter horse breeding? My mind went to HYPP or possibly some form of tying up - though tying up would be more likely to happen after exercise. Most likely, however, would be some manifestation of arthritis.

She is a paint. Unregistered. So I assume she has quarter horse bloodlines.

The issue occurs exclusively when ridden, and it occurs in the beginning of the ride. There is no correlation between working hard and her being stiff.

[Groom_amp_Taxi]

In that case, I would certainly want to test for HYPP. Here are a link with some good info -
https://aaep.org/horsehealth/whats-hype-over-hypp

[SummerRose]

Is tying up a possibility?

[cedarlake]

When she gets stiff does she begin to have labored breathing or begin to sweat profusely? While these 2 symptoms don’t have to be present to equal tying up, they are good indicators. The few that I have seen actually tie up during work became extremely fatigued and labored due to the pressure of work.

When one was on the walker he began to sweat and breathe heavily even though he was only on for a few minutes. We took him off immediately and the next day was diagnosed.

Does the mare also get alfalfa? This can trigger it if they have legitimate HYPP.

Also, spending a “fortune” is really based on many factors, but a main one is how quickly you notice the problem and get them in… just a thought.

[jonem004]

Unless it’s neurological, stillness=pain. Pain= lameness. Someone mentioned tying up, which I could see from the description, and the owner would definitely want to know.

What’s a lameness workup? Last one I did was $300 including sedation and ultrasound to diagnose the soft tissue injury. seems worth it to know.

I quit riding other people’s horses because so many of them were lame and the owners would call it “stiffness” or “unevenness”. I don’t enjoy riding a lame horse, so I just won’t do it.

[J-Lu]

Do the riders give this mare a warm-up that includes real stretches? I mean, real flex/bend inside and then gently outside over the back in a forward way to have her move over her back and release tension? If you catch ride this horse, I assume there is at least one other rider - would that rider be making her stiff or unconfident enough to stiffen up?

There are a lot of factors that can cause a horse to stiffen up. Is this a sensitive mare or a “dull-minded” mare normally? If she’s “dull”, I’d think pain. If she’s very smart and sensitive, I’d think behavior.

I disagree with tying up. I rode a mare who had bona-fide episodes of tying up and you wouldn’t recognize that as “just being stiff” and having them work out of it in the ride.

[RedHorses]

It does sound like it could potentially be related to her reproductive cycle. The alternate month could be related to which ovary is producing. One might have trouble releasing the follicle. I would expect a rectal could confirm or rule that out if done on a day the mare was having the problem.

[Dr_Doolittle]

What about arthritis?

Often horses develop arthritis as they age, which results in them moving stiffly until they warm up. (I’m the same way… )

Would the owner be willing to have a workup done, have the mare flexed, possibly x-rayed? Cosequin or Adequan or Pentosan might make her more comfortable if indeed she is having some overall stiffness from arthritis; seems a more likely reason than tying up for what you describe (though it couldn’t hurt to check for HYPP!)

[findeight]

If it’s only when ridden as far as you can tell, she’s got a sore back. If she improves after time off, she’s telling you something. Would, personally, decline the free ride on a compromised horse. Stiffness and discomfort with short striding = time for the vet. She hurts.

HYPP normally doesn’t manifest like this, only when ridden and disappearing with rest. But arthritis in the back, SI and hocks sure does. And you can treat arthritis to manage the pain, try her on 1 gram of Bute a day for 3 days and see if it helps.

[JB]

PSSM is where I’d be testing first. Start with Type 1 since she’s known to have stock breeding. Then look to Type 2 if that’s negative.

What’s her diet? You could assume Type 1 to start, go low NSC and high fat and see what happens. If that doesn’t make a change, then instead of high fat go high protein.

[Palm_Beach]

@Kenedy S

Hi,

I catch ride a 12 year old mare who occasionally has issues that we can’t seems to nail down. Every once in a while she gets so stuck and stiff in her gaits and becomes extremely reluctant to to pickup the canter and will trot with a really short stride. She isn’t off or lame, just stiff and uncomfortable feeling. She’s a very sweet congenial horse normally, and will eventually do what you ask if you are persistent, so it doesn’t seem like a behavioral issue.

She is a horse that requires a long slow warm up to get her going. Her saddle seems to fit well. The farrier has hoof tested her feet twice this week, and found nothing.

Her owner is reluctant to go straight to the vet because the issue isn’t severe and usually resolves on its own in a day or two, but it will recur every other month or so. Does anyone have any suggestions for things to check before spending a fortune at the vet?

She does occasionally kick the wall in her stall at other horses, but I feel like if she was sore from kicking, it would present as lameness or unevenness since it is only with one leg?

Could she just be cramping and uncomfortable from hormonal issues?

Do you do any groundwork before getting on? Will she step underneath herself and yield the hindquarters comfortably and promptly? Can you bend her all the way on the ground? Yield the shoulders? Do you do any of this when you get on? This is a 30 second check list of how the horse is feeling mentally and physically prior to climbing aboard. There is a big difference between “can’t” and “won’t,” and you need to differentiate before you get on. Just because a horse is sweet doesn’t mean she won’t be lazy and sweetly disobedient at times. I suspect you are just climbing on and kicking forward before checking out all the body parts and seeing how well they each respond to your cues.

[S1969]

@Kenedy S

Hi,

• she gets so stuck and stiff in her gaits
• becomes extremely reluctant to pickup the canter
• will trot with a really short stride.

She isn’t off or lame, just stiff and uncomfortable feeling.

How is that not lame? Sure sounds like “lameness” to me.

That said - it could be so many reasons. Arthritis, PSSM, sore feet, Lyme disease, etc.

She really needs a full lameness eval and you can start to eliminate some things.

[findeight]

When it’s not your horse and you don’t control how it’s managed, it’s hard to act on any suggestions involving managing the problem. Don’t know what to suggest OP do other then talk to the owner until they do something.