Doug Mclean Report post Posted January 5, 2009 This horse that I'm talking about has been giving me fits for several years. We raised the horse so he doesn't have a history that we didn't give him. I think he will be 8 years old in the spring. We started roping calves on him a year ago, and he was really coming fast. Then as we got further into the summer we started losing ground with his training. I never could find a sore spot on his back and he was never lame, just acted like he didn't want to stop and take a jerk. This summer I tried heeling some steers on him with somewhat the same results. When you first went to the arena he would be fine. The longer you roped ( 45min. or more ), then he would start to get short on the left hind leg. Take him back to the barn and unsaddle and in 15 min. he was plumb fine. I swithched saddle pads. Started with a 1" felt pad that was split all of the way down the back and a kodel blanket. Then I went to a solid 1" felt pad and double navajo on the bottom. The saddle is one that I have ridden for 10 years and have ridden a number of different horses with no problems. Even this horse seems to go fine in the pasture. We had one of the best horse chiropacters in the area work on him with no real change. It has to be a pinched nerve, not sure what we can do!! What brought this conversation about, was my boy pulled the shoes off of him the other day and he was pretty ouchy on the left hind. Just looking for some ideas or if anyone had any similar experience. We didn't take the saddle apart but from all testing on hard surface we can't get the tree to give. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jwwright Report post Posted January 5, 2009 Hi Doug...............sorry for your troubles. I would suspect stifle or maybe hock problems with this horse. I would suggest you have a good equine vet, who has much experience with equine limb situations, look the horse over well. JW Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mulefool Report post Posted January 5, 2009 (edited) I was going to suggest stifle problems, too. We have a gelding that had problems at about 4years. For a long time he was just "off" but nothing obvious. Had some chiro adjustments. Eventually he came up with a full blown locking stifle and we think that may have been the problem all along. May not be your problem, but just a thought. Eventually had to have them injected and he's been fine since. Chris Edited January 5, 2009 by mulefool Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HorsehairBraider Report post Posted January 5, 2009 Can you figure out the seat of lameness? If it's low down in the hoof, I had a horse that did that once and turned out he had an abscess there. Just a small one... but once we drilled in there and drained it he was fine. I guess he got something very tiny stabbed up there that caused it but who really knows... As for stifle problems, I've got a mare that had that on BOTH hind legs but I knew it was her stifles, when I picked up her hind feet they would sometimes lock and she'd be uncomfortable. In her case she grew out of it - once she turned 5 the tendons and ligaments hardened down enough that her stifles are fine now. You would never know she had it, she traveled fine and I worked her hard. But, that horse still will not jump in or out of a trailer. I had to make her a ramp. She remembers how bad it hurt to jump, and is afraid. Now that her stifles are fine I can start to train her in the spring to jump in and out and again. My point with that story is, if they remember getting hurt, sometimes they'll want to avoid what caused the pain even after the pain is gone. I'd suggest a vet too, as they can see if the stifle joint is looser than it should be, or causes the horse discomfort. It's a little like our knee joint, and I think anyone can relate to your knees causing you trouble. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Doug Mclean Report post Posted January 6, 2009 Thanks everyone for the feed back on the stifle problems. When these horses were sore in the stifle, were they sore to touch and also was it off and on? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Randy Cornelius Report post Posted January 6, 2009 You said he was ouchy when you pulled the shoe? Seems like it may be a foot related problem. I would start there and work my way up. As an old horseshoer I like to start at the foot for any lamness problems. Could be nivicular but I see that mostly in the front feet. But that is not to say that it cannot be in the hind feet. I agree you need to start with a good horse doc, have the foot exrayed and go from there. Randy Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HorsehairBraider Report post Posted January 6, 2009 Thanks everyone for the feed back on the stifle problems. When these horses were sore in the stifle, were they sore to touch and also was it off and on? I've had a couple of horses with stifle problems, and yes, it can be off and on. I found that feeding alfalfa could make it worse, so I made a point to feed a lower protein hay and that seems to help at least some of them. None that I know of are sore to the touch all the time... they would be occasionally, but for that mare I was talking about I used to rub her stifles down with liniment after ever workout and she never flinched from that. Slow exercise, such as walking up hills, helps these horses. But first you need to determine the seat of lameness because it might not be a stifle problem... like Randy says, pulling the shoe and having the horse be ouchy is sort of suspicious, so personally I'd be looking lower down... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kfiretwo Report post Posted January 6, 2009 This horse that I'm talking about has been giving me fits for several years. We raised the horse so he doesn't have a history that we didn't give him. I think he will be 8 years old in the spring. We started roping calves on him a year ago, and he was really coming fast. Then as we got further into the summer we started losing ground with his training. I never could find a sore spot on his back and he was never lame, just acted like he didn't want to stop and take a jerk. This summer I tried heeling some steers on him with somewhat the same results. When you first went to the arena he would be fine. The longer you roped ( 45min. or more ), then he would start to get short on the left hind leg. Take him back to the barn and unsaddle and in 15 min. he was plumb fine. I swithched saddle pads. Started with a 1" felt pad that was split all of the way down the back and a kodel blanket. Then I went to a solid 1" felt pad and double navajo on the bottom. The saddle is one that I have ridden for 10 years and have ridden a number of different horses with no problems. Even this horse seems to go fine in the pasture. We had one of the best horse chiropacters in the area work on him with no real change. It has to be a pinched nerve, not sure what we can do!! What brought this conversation about, was my boy pulled the shoes off of him the other day and he was pretty ouchy on the left hind. Just looking for some ideas or if anyone had any similar experience. We didn't take the saddle apart but from all testing on hard surface we can't get the tree to give. doug, look higher up in the hip area, had a cutting mare that would do what your describing, we got the mare after the fact, so we didnt no her complete history, chased the pain for a yr before an old time vet seen her work, and pointed out it was her hip giving against the pressure once the pressure was taken away she was fine, but it made her feet touchy, from shifting her weight on her back feet from one to the other. they used cortizone shots i believe to ease her pain Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mulefool Report post Posted January 7, 2009 Our gelding ended up having it in both stifles and it was on and off. The first time we realized what was going on it locked and I came home to find him frantically trying to run dragging his hind leg. Once you backed him up and it popped back in he was just a bit gimpy on it. At that point it was sore to the touch, but not til then. It seemed pretty dramatic but the vet wasn't that bothered and said often times they grow out of it and to try a very specific conditioning program. It seems like in many cases the key is proper conditioning, although eventually for our horse that wasn't enough. I guess I would have your vet do a work up on yours, and maybe a chiropractor, too. Chris Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Newfman Report post Posted January 27, 2009 I agree with the others on the Vet suggestion. An x-ray would be a good idea as well. A good Equine vet can palpate in just the right spot sometimes to find a sore area. Plus they can manipulate the leg properly and perform blocks to narrow down the true location of the source of discomfort. Basically, once they determine the region, they numb (nerve block) the most distal part and see if they still respond to the painful stimulus. If they do, they block higher. This continues until the manipulation of the leg no longer gets them a response of discomfort. That is where the source is. Hopefully it is simple. Corrective shoeing, suppliments, rest and relaxation and not something too serious. Good luck to you and your horse buddy. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
