Very subtle- intermittent lameness, suggestions?

[Amber.905]

Hi! I need some ideas on what to do:
About 1.5 months ago out of the blue my horse become lame. It wasn’t very obvious, it’s almost as though he looked footsore. At first- I thought abcess. I started soaking his foot with time off… still not much of an improvement- so I had a nerve block done on his foot and he went sound. Now- its hard to say if this was conclusive because this lameness is subtle, and not every step…
Next- I went to a different vet (and of course the day I took him he was sound!)

Vet wasn’t really sure… I made him take xrays and they were clean… Vet recommended shoes and previcox for a few weeks. After I put shoes on, the horse was better.

Fast forward to 1.5 months later. Horse has been going really nicely- we have worked hard days and easy days with an occasional break. The other day I stepped on him- he was lame again. Same ‘type’ of lameness as before but a little more of a headbob than last time. We did a flexion test on lower limb- and ya got a bit worse.
He was lame for two days (got his shoes reset the next day) and by the 3rd day he was sound. (I just wanted to see)

Booked a vet appointment for another nerve block… but i thought no point in going if I couldn’t see lameness, so cancelled that.

I will try and get a video if he goes lame again (i know hard with diagnose with no video)

But I am worried. Should I work him? Not? Work doesnt seem to bring the bouts of lameness on. Anyone think its connected? Next steps? Thanks…

[beau159]

How old is your horse?

What breed?

Can you post good pictures of his feet?

Is it both front feet that are affected, or just one?

This is how my Red was when he was diagnosed with heel pain, due to bursitis. It’s in both front feet but worse in the left. He was never really “lame” but I could tell he was a little bit off at the trot. To start with, we did a wedge pad with a shoe. That worked for a while. Now I usually keep him on Equioxx during the regular riding season, and inject him when he needs it. I was going to try ProStride for him this time this spring, but he came up with an unrelated injury for the year, so I guess I’ll have to wait to try it.

If your horse went sound after the first and lowest nerve block, and xrays are clean, then it is probably something going on with the soft tissue in the hoof.

A good lameness vet should pick up on his problem, even when he is having a “good day”.

[kashmere]

Yes, that sounds to me like something in the feet: could be issues with the navicular bone itself, could be soft tissue injuries in the surrounding ligaments etc.

You said you got x-rays and they were clean - what did you get x-rays of? Feet? Fetlocks? What was blocked? Usually to help diagnose navicular issues/heel pain the back half of the hoot is blocked. If the horse goes sound you can be relatively certain it’s something in the navicular region.

This is something you want to get a handle on and start treatment/support for as soon as possible. Often it can be managed quite well (my horse has changes to the navicular bone and is sound, happy, and working with just some custom footwear and good farrier care).