Sudden lameness on left front foot?

[beau159]

I feel like I am (unfortunately) pretty well-versed when it comes to lameness but even this one has me stumped.

Horse is Dexter, who is a 15-year-old Quarter Horse we have had for 5 years. Sweet little guy but does have lots of issues that are managed. He does have navicular changes on x-ray which have stable pretty stable since we’ve owned him. He does also have fusing hocks, along with nearly dying (not exaggerating) just about 2 years ago due to a hock infection (he punctured himself on something in the pasture, which we never found). He had all last year off on pasture turnout to allow him to heal from the hock infection. I started riding him again this year, slowly and lightly, to see how that hock would hold up. By some miracle, it hasn’t bothered him at all! I did get his hocks injected this spring before I started riding, gave him Osphos, started him in Pentosan, and have been giving him Equioxx daily. I kept him barefoot most of the year, as I wanted to see how he felt on his front feet. It wasn’t bad at all but I did decide to finally put front shoes on him just a few weeks ago, as he’s a little ouchy on gravel. I chose to start with regular shoes b/c in the past, I didn’t feel it made much difference for him to do pads.

So that’s his history, which he has been doing AMAZING. I was actually able to run him on barrels for the second time last weekend at a small horse show and he WON it. He feels great! Surely never thought I would get to do that again on him, after his hock infection but horses are just amazing.

So the new problem:

PLEASE NOTE I ALREADY HAVE VET APPT SCHEDULED. (Just want to hash ideas around.)

On two different rides the last two weeks, we were about halfway through the ride and all of a sudden he stops and puts his left front foot in the air and won’t put weight on it. First time we were loping when he did it. Second time we were trotting. I immediately got off both times and felt his leg, lifted up his hoof to check for a rock — nothing. I let him stand for a moment, then hand walked him for a bit, then got back on and walked. And perfectly fine after that and we finished our ride. (Really strange.)

Yesterday for our ride, he did it again. Same exact thing. Except this time LATER in the ride after, we had about 1 1/2 miles to go for home and I asked him for a trot and he was limping. So I got off and walked him home the rest of the way.

I can’t see anything wrong with his leg or hoof. He has gotten abscesses in the past and I’m thinking that’s got to be it? I don’t know anything else that could be intermittent and SUDDEN and weird like this. Possible his navicular could be bothering him more but I would expect a dull limp more often with that; not so sudden that comes and goes.

Of course, Dexter being Dexter, he’s the type of horse that would have ran all the way home limping, had I asked him. He’s such a good horse. Tries his little heart out.

Thoughts? Ideas? Experiences?

I’m totally behind on uploading my videos to YouTube (for his winning barrel run over the weekend) but here’s an older photo of the sweet boy in question.

[JB]

It could definitely be an abscess that is moving around a bit, sometimes painful, sometimes not.

It could be related to the recent shoeing, maybe a nail got a little close and it took awhile for some infection to set up.

It could be a collateral ligament in his hoof, or suspensory, both of which can cause intermittent lameness depending on where the damage is, and how the hoof movement is aggravating it

So, it’s good you have your vet coming. Fingers crossed it’s just an abscess!

[beau159]

@JB

So, it’s good you have your vet coming. Fingers crossed it’s just an abscess!

Vet doesn’t come to me. Going to her, LOL. But she’s good. We’re set up next week Friday as that was her next available.

I’m hoping for abscess too. The other scenarios don’t make sense to me, with how it’s sudden and then disappears.

I did text my farrier too (I’m lucky to have an amazing farrier) and he too thinks its unlikely its a misplaced nail - I would think that would be bothering him all the time but who knows I guess.

My vet’s husband is a farrier as well so it’s handy for him to glance at things like that if need be (a good one too!), while we are there.

[JB]

@beau159

I’m hoping for abscess too. The other scenarios don’t make sense to me, with how it’s sudden and then disappears.

IME, some soft tissue damage is more likely than an abscess to show up intermittently. That doesn’t mean abscesses can’t do that, but all else equal…

Have you palpated the structures in the back of his leg? Both weighted, and unweighted. If not, do that and see what you find.

[IPEsq]

I’ve had this happen before, and from what we could tell, he’d just been trimmed too close. The trainer had his toes backed way up. Also occurred shortly after a shoeing. It was like he just would sting himself and be super dramatic for a minute then ok. We just gave him a couple weeks off to grow some foot, and he was fine.

[IPEsq]

Also adding horse I mentioned had been recently shod for the first time in a long time but I don’t think it was his first shoeing…actually, at first he pulled shoes a lot, which is why I think they altered the trim to change the breakover. He passed a PPE not very long after this was happening, so while I don’t remember if they had a vet out right away (not my horse, I just exercised him), he was vetted sooner than a soft tissue injury would have resolved (especially since he went back to jumping etc.), and nothing major was found.

[beau159]

@JB

Have you palpated the structures in the back of his leg? Both weighted, and unweighted. If not, do that and see what you find.

Yup. And have been watching his legs like a hawk. There’s nothing.

[beau159]

@IPEsq

I’ve had this happen before, and from what we could tell, he’d just been trimmed too close. The trainer had his toes backed way up. Also occurred shortly after a shoeing. It was like he just would sting himself and be super dramatic for a minute then ok. We just gave him a couple weeks off to grow some foot, and he was fine.

Not that it can’t happen (because it can) but my farrier is pretty good. In the 9 years I have been using him, there’s only been one time he trimmed a horse too short (horse was barefoot) and it was a horse I only had few a few months (to sell for my aunt) who had been too long in the first place when I took him in to start riding him. Probably was just too much of a change right off the bat when he was long to begin with.

Horse has smaller feet anyway, size 00 in shoes.

I had shoes on him 2 years ago, and had pads on for a while too for the navicular, but I really didn’t notice much with the pads.

One of those things where maybe the shoes have absolutely nothing to do with it, but it’s certainly coincidence that I’ve been noticing it now. Or… I have started riding him harder now that he’s got his shoes on … could that be it?

So many variables.

[Bluey]

We had one horse decades ago do just that.
Vet found a floating chip in his hoof, that we assumed broke off first time he did that, later the rare time he did it had wedged into a joint enough to sting, then dislodged again.

We turned him out, chip was reabsorbed? and he was fine after that.
Vet felt lucky we even saw the chip, said it had to be just right to see it in the x-rays, or that on and off lameness would have been a puzzler.
I expect today they would go in there with an endoscope and fish it out of there.

He also was a horse that would have walked on three legs if he was asked to.
Some are really tough and so very willing.

Hopefully your horse will be ok soon.

[beau159]

@Bluey

We had one horse decades ago do just that.
Vet found a floating chip in his hoof, that we assumed broke off first time he did that, later the rare time he did it had wedged into a joint enough to sting, then dislodged again.

Wow, that’s crazy! I’ll have to look back on my notes if I x-rayed his front feet this spring. I know we xrayed the hocks but I am pretty sure we didn’t do the front feet because I wanted to see if his hock was going to hold up in the first place. But we’ve got older ones to compare to.

It’s a double edge sword for the horses that try so hard. They’re really the ones that will hide pain because they’re so willing to try for you. This is really icing on the cake for me that I get to actually ride him like this again. I was simply hoping he’d feel good enough to pack my kids around. Bonus that I get to have some fun on him again. He’s such a cool horse. Not the fastest; but fun nonetheless!

[JB]

@beau159

Yup. And have been watching his legs like a hawk. There’s nothing.

Awesome, that definitely points to something in the foot. Now it’s a matter of whether it’s abscess, or a collateral ligament issue, or something else entirely (which can include a fractured coffin bone)