Why do the horse gods hate me?

[SanguinePenguin]

I lost my 4yo on Christmas Eve to a pasture accident, my replacement 7yo injured a mystery tendon/ligament a month or so after I bought him, and while on stall rest, stuck his leg through a gate necessitating many stitches, and now my 3 month old is acutely lame with some kind of mystery issue. And YES, I have seen the vet (multiple, multiple times).

So here’s the question (other than why do the horse gods hate me?): after noticing some “boxy-ness” in the filly’s joints, noticing a TINY, intermittent lameness, and fearing the onset of DOD, we spent a long time balancing the mare’s rations in the hopes that we would slow the growth of this large TB X Belgian Warmblood filly. Suddenly, though, she’s acutely lame. Three-legged, hopping lame on the right front. No heat, no swelling. Nope, not an abscess either. Headed to the vet today where she was ever so slightly off (of course) and rads revealed nothing other than very, very slight bony changes, so vet believes it’s either that she whacked herself on something and has a bone bruise, or she’s having some growing pains. She’s cleared for turn-out and light work alongside mom when I ride.

I bring mare and filly home, relieved that she’s looking better, and turn them out in a very small paddock. Several hours later I feel like lunging my mare and LOVE that the filly is looking great! However, when I start to lunge mare to the right, filly is all of a sudden lame again. REALLY lame. I quit, take them in. She’s OK, but not comfortable. I mean WTF??? Still no heat, no swelling. She’s just lame.

WHAT WOULD CAUSE THIS??? Should I take her back in and have her knees x-rayed? I’m waiting for the vet to call me back, but I thought maybe some of you who’ve had lots of foals could chime in. TIA.

[EventerAJ]

I think I would quit exercising the mare and try to keep the foal quiet. I wouldn’t stall rest or confine them, but manage their living situation to be as peaceful as possible with no forced exercise.

The only sudden lameness I’ve experienced with a (TB) foal was due to an abscess. Went on/off with varying severity for two weeks, vet came out to x-ray, and initially thought the filly had fractured her coffin bone. Farrier took a look at the x-ray and determined the “fracture” line was actually an abscess tract running up the toe. Soak/wrap and a little specific digging, abscess popped and filly was fine. Went on to sell for 6-figures at a 2yo sale.

We used to have one or two foals (out of 10) get knobby joints and a little physitis. Covered knees and ankles with poultice, maybe cut back on feed a little, but none of them were lame or obviously sore. They all grew out of it and rarely had x-ray issues.

[SanguinePenguin]

AJ, we put hoof testers on her and got zero reaction. How did you know there was an abscess? That’s the only thing I can imagine this being, but I’ve soaked and prodded and I get nothing from her. Vet wants me to keep her confined until he can come out to see the lameness recreated in my environment, because she wasn’t that bad at his office. I turned them out in my yard for a few hours tonight and she was definitely tender-footed. I wish so badly I could do something for her, or at least knew what it was!

[Laurierace]

Why would you lunge a lactating mare? Just leave them be for now. As far as the foal goes try to get some video of it, it’s possible you were seeing something different from what the vet checked while you were there.

[kookicat]

Some horses don’t react to hoof testers. It depends where the abcess is. It’ll probably pop out of the coronet band rather than the sole. (this is based on my very non scientific experience)

I’d keep both of them quiet and on reasonable footing. My vet likes hardstanding for abscesses because he says it can help things to pop.