I have recently started working with a horse that has a problem with his back left leg. We are not sure what it is and can't send for a vet. It has been going on for a few months now and it has been hard for him. We think it could be a stifle issue but we don't know. He limps at the trot and it makes it worse for him to trot turns. We need help and we can NOT get a vet, the owner of the barn can't afford it. He seems to be slightly depressed from it and I have been doing parelli with him for a week or two.
A Back-Leg Injury
- Thread starter supernora
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michickenwrangler
Loving the herd life
Isi it stiff? Does he have trouble lifting it? Swelling? Can you pinpoint where the pain is? Checked his hooves?
patandchickens
Overrun with beasties
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"Can't send for a vet" always makes me uncomfortable. But I will suppose for the sake of argument here that the perhaps that although the horse's actual owner has no business (IMHO) owning animals they're unwilling to care for properly including investigating sources of chronic pain, perhaps it's a situation where you have no control of the vet end of things but can at least do whatever you can do in terms of making useful mgmt decisions for the horse.
(Although, there must be SOME way for whoever owns this poor animal to get together $50-100 or whatever for a farm call. Cancel the cable tv or something; eat less, or more beans-and-cabbage-and-potatoes. A vet does not necessarily need to do money-costing tests to tell you what the basic problem is likely to be and whether it is the sort of thing that would benefit from work, rest, bute, whatever. Investigating and trying to alleviate pain is IMO one of the basic responsibilities of horse ownership. Ahem)
Anyhow, that said:
If he is lame, and uncomfortable trotting turns, I for one would not be doing any ridden work nor any work faster than a walk (unmounted) until and unless I could get someone out there who could tell what his problem is. Especially if he seems "slightly depressed", i.e. in pain or suffering other problems as well.
Since the only information you have given us is that the lameness seems to be in a hindleg and is worse on turns, which describes probably about half the possible lamenesses that can occur in horses, I do not think it makes sense for me or anyone to be guessing at what it might be.
Some things to look at that might enable us to at least make a flying guess (this is the basic physical check you should do whenever a horse is 'off'):
---pick the hoof whistle-clean, scrub with wet brush if necessary, and look for any foreign objects, or black discolorations on the sole, or separation of white line, or anything else funky. At this time you can also notice whether the hoof feels any hotter than his other hooves.
---is there any swelling anywhere in the limb (compare to the other limb, also compare to other horses' hindlimbs). Look particularly around the inside and front of the hock joint, along the back and inside of the cannon and its associated tendons, above the fetlock at the base of the tendons, the fetlock itself, and the pastern.
---run your heat all over all the parts of the leg, from stifle on down to hoof capsule and heels; do you feel any place warmer than it should be? (again, compare to other hindleg, other foreleg for the lower-leg parts, and other horses' legs)
---if you probe a bit with your fingers, systematically over all the parts of the leg, are there any parts where the horse says "ouch" and pulls away or stiffens? If so, does he do that *repeatedly*, and how does it compare to his other leg(s) and other horses?
---if you pick up that foot and then flex the fetlock and pastern joints as much as you can (within reason, you're not trying to snap his foot off
), does he go "ouch".
---if none of this yields any obvious problem, CHECK ALL THREE OTHER LEGS TOO, as per the above. It is not all that uncommon for people to mis-read which leg is hurting, especially with hindlegs (it is sometimes the opposite foreleg).
---is he more resistant than usual to backing up?
It is possible to get a sense of what structures are likely causing the lameness by watching the horse move, but it is *not* possible for us to get a sense of that from someone's description, so that is not really a do-it-over-the-internet type project.
If you can report back on the answers to the above questions (for just that leg if you find something obvious wrong; for all legs if you don't) then we can make some sort of reasonable guesses.
By far the better thing would be to get the cheapskate owner to pop for a vet. If you can't afford a vet for an animal who's been lame and in apparent pain for some weeks now, well...
Oh, and as I say, he should not be ridden or roundpenned or longed, except maybe at a walk.
Good luck, best wishes to him,
Pat
(Although, there must be SOME way for whoever owns this poor animal to get together $50-100 or whatever for a farm call. Cancel the cable tv or something; eat less, or more beans-and-cabbage-and-potatoes. A vet does not necessarily need to do money-costing tests to tell you what the basic problem is likely to be and whether it is the sort of thing that would benefit from work, rest, bute, whatever. Investigating and trying to alleviate pain is IMO one of the basic responsibilities of horse ownership. Ahem)
Anyhow, that said:
If he is lame, and uncomfortable trotting turns, I for one would not be doing any ridden work nor any work faster than a walk (unmounted) until and unless I could get someone out there who could tell what his problem is. Especially if he seems "slightly depressed", i.e. in pain or suffering other problems as well.
Since the only information you have given us is that the lameness seems to be in a hindleg and is worse on turns, which describes probably about half the possible lamenesses that can occur in horses, I do not think it makes sense for me or anyone to be guessing at what it might be.
Some things to look at that might enable us to at least make a flying guess (this is the basic physical check you should do whenever a horse is 'off'):
---pick the hoof whistle-clean, scrub with wet brush if necessary, and look for any foreign objects, or black discolorations on the sole, or separation of white line, or anything else funky. At this time you can also notice whether the hoof feels any hotter than his other hooves.
---is there any swelling anywhere in the limb (compare to the other limb, also compare to other horses' hindlimbs). Look particularly around the inside and front of the hock joint, along the back and inside of the cannon and its associated tendons, above the fetlock at the base of the tendons, the fetlock itself, and the pastern.
---run your heat all over all the parts of the leg, from stifle on down to hoof capsule and heels; do you feel any place warmer than it should be? (again, compare to other hindleg, other foreleg for the lower-leg parts, and other horses' legs)
---if you probe a bit with your fingers, systematically over all the parts of the leg, are there any parts where the horse says "ouch" and pulls away or stiffens? If so, does he do that *repeatedly*, and how does it compare to his other leg(s) and other horses?
---if you pick up that foot and then flex the fetlock and pastern joints as much as you can (within reason, you're not trying to snap his foot off
), does he go "ouch".---if none of this yields any obvious problem, CHECK ALL THREE OTHER LEGS TOO, as per the above. It is not all that uncommon for people to mis-read which leg is hurting, especially with hindlegs (it is sometimes the opposite foreleg).
---is he more resistant than usual to backing up?
It is possible to get a sense of what structures are likely causing the lameness by watching the horse move, but it is *not* possible for us to get a sense of that from someone's description, so that is not really a do-it-over-the-internet type project.
If you can report back on the answers to the above questions (for just that leg if you find something obvious wrong; for all legs if you don't) then we can make some sort of reasonable guesses.
By far the better thing would be to get the cheapskate owner to pop for a vet. If you can't afford a vet for an animal who's been lame and in apparent pain for some weeks now, well...
Oh, and as I say, he should not be ridden or roundpenned or longed, except maybe at a walk.
Good luck, best wishes to him,
Pat
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