Undiagnosed hind end lameness

[RemarkableOwl21]

Yesterday my 10 year old gelding came in from field lame in his left hind end. Very lame at the trot, not noticibly lame at walk except when turning and going up a small incline. The vet was at the barn so I had him take a look. I noticed some slight swelling around his left hind ankle, but nerve blocks ruled out the hoof and ankle as the source. Vet did not have time for further diagnostics yesterday, but horse is on stall rest with bute for now.

Today I took the horse out for hand grazing. He is still preferring to cock his left hind leg to keep weight off. I also noticed a soft popping that seemed to come from the left hip area and could be heard just after the horse set down his left hind foot when walking forward.

Any thoughts on what could be going on? Thank you in advance.

[Abbie.S]

Without further veterinary work-up you’re just going to get a bunch of internet conjecturing, but just from the description you gave it sounds entirely likely that there is something going on with the horse’s stifle.

How old is this horse? Upward fixation of the patella or a meniscus/cruciate ligament injury both come to mind as both can show up with that popping sound as the horse loads the affected leg. Both also present with exacerbated lameness when the leg is under load on an incline or in a turn.

[IPEsq]

Could have slipped and broken his pelvis. I’ve seen the lameness range from severe to obvious but not that bad. But could be a bunch of things up high.

[joiedevie99]

When is the vet coming back to continue blocks/x-ray?

[RemarkableOwl21]

Thanks for your ideas on what it might be. He’s 10.

I was planning on giving him a few days of bute and stall rest and then see how he is before having the vet do further blocking/x-rays. The popping sound makes me nervous but I cannot say for certain it is new – maybe it’s been there and I just haven’t noticed. I’ll update here as I find out more.

Thanks!