# Stiffness in the back end - UPDATED



## lupinfarm (Jun 11, 2009)

Today we went down to bot worm Luna and noticed she seemed lame, at first i thought colic or founder...normal gut sounds, normal pooing, normal everything, also she showed no real signs of founder. She seemed very stiff and lame, i thought it was her back legs at first, she did a huge sliding stop the other day and she had some blood on her hoof but i figured out that was actually from a bug bite because she hasn't let me near her to spray her (today she did, so now she's on a fly spray scheduale). As she walked she seemed unable balance, and upon closer inspection it looks to me like she may have a clubfoot on her front left, high heel and very upright whereas her right is normal. 


Essentially, my actual question is .. does a clubfoot if left untreated or unnoticed create a considerable amount of pain in the joints? thus rendering the horse lame/stiff.

i'm calling the farrier as i type this hoping to push her appointment so we can get her in this weekend. i should also add that she's been lethargic but i'm right now putting on the fact that she's been getting bitten to death out there by flies, skeeters, horse flies, etc. because she wouldn't let me fly spray her. now she's fly sprayed she should get some rest from the bugs. could lethargy also be attributed to the clubfoot and extra work getting around?

UPDATE so we had her trimmed, farrier said to soak her foot in warm water with epsom, we did that for two days and she appeared to have a knick in the front of her hoof after that, which I want to say was an abscess because the heat is gone in her front leg and she seems fine there HOWEVER she is VERY stiff in the hind legs, has trouble moving out but when she gets walking and grazing she seems fine. She's lethargic but it has also been VERY hot here, she is a lot more active in the evening when it has cooled down. 

I'm trying to get the vet out, but they're fairly booked up... and I haven't been paid yet. I was looking for possible causes, osteoarthritis and just plain sore stuck out to me but it could be any number of things. She took a severe sliding stop last week, right into the fenceline and went right down on the haunches which may have either aggravated an already existing condition (arthritis maybe?) or caused an injury. I didn't feel heat in the back legs yesterday, but I will be checking around her hocks later on which is where the stiffness seems to be.


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## patandchickens (Jun 12, 2009)

I've replied to this topic on BYC, but (just thinking belatedly of this now, and happening to be *here*...)

...have you actually checked for heat in all 4 hooves, cleaned them thoroughly and searched for foreign objects esp. in the fronts, and if you have experience with using/interpreting hoof testers that would be valuable to do too. 

I guess in my other replies I was kind of assuming the basics had been attended to, but then I thought, maybe I should mention it just in case it slipped through the cracks somehow, since you do not actually mention the results of those things. 

Good luck with her,

Pat


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## lupinfarm (Jun 12, 2009)

Yep we checked her, she is hot in the front coronet of the one foot that is longer, none of the others are hot. No foreign objects, but she could have bruised it or have an abscess. She's a bit swollen in the coronet area as well on the one foot, we'll keep an eye on it until we can get the vet in next week. I really do appreciate your advice Pat, even if I don't seem like I do! We just prefer not to gravitate towards the worst case scenario right away.


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## Countrymom (Jun 15, 2009)

Club foot is something from birth that has to be kept up with.  It shouldn't cause her major trouble with balance as she has had this all her life.  It can cause discomfort if she hasn't been trimmed recently.  She could have strained herself in working and needs time off.  

If the unbalanced walk continues or shows signs of getting worse, call your vet imediately.  Have her tested for EPM.  

See link below...
http://www.in.gov/boah/files/cp-3499.pdf


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## lupinfarm (Jun 16, 2009)

Countrymom said:
			
		

> Club foot is something from birth that has to be kept up with.  It shouldn't cause her major trouble with balance as she has had this all her life.  It can cause discomfort if she hasn't been trimmed recently.  She could have strained herself in working and needs time off.
> 
> If the unbalanced walk continues or shows signs of getting worse, call your vet imediately.  Have her tested for EPM.
> 
> ...


Her front foot appears fine now, I think it was an abscess which can cause the foot to grow abnormally fast as well. I noticed a knick on the front of her hoof when I bathing it the other day and now she seems fine on the front feet. She's still VERY stiff in her back end if not wobbly, however I was reading that this could be as a result of numerous issues, all the way from osteoarthritis in the hock joints to pulled muscles from a very severe sliding stop she took the other day. 

Once she gets going and moving she no longer seems stiff and sore, its only when she's been standing for a while. I get paid this week hopefully so I can have the vet out, unfortunately this vet is different from the ones we're used to dealing with and she expects to get paid onsite rather than like our old vet who would bill us (we moved far away).


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