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Slight lameness in my OTTB; What would you do to figure it out?
Topic Started: Jun 8 2007, 06:07 AM (365 Views)
Trialbyfire
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So we've just started riding my OTTB broodmare and she is slightly "off" in her front right. It looks like a foot issue, not shoulder. She doesn't seem to be in any pain, no heat, no bruises that we can see, etc. It looks almost like she just doesn't extend far enough, not that she's favoring it in a painful way.

When tracking right ("bad" foot on the inside) she shows no lameness, both legs look even and comfortable. When tracking left ("bad" foot on the outside) it is noticeable. Many strides look ok but often it just looks a little short-strided, a little "off".

I know that she has odd feet and they had been neglected before I got her. The farrier reports that they are almost perfect opposites -- one grows too much heel and not enough toe, one grows too much toe and not enough heel -- so he's been working at trying to balance them (and they were very wacky when I got her).

My hope is that this lameness is a balance issue, and we can address it with the farrier and look for improvements. However, not having ANY history on this mare and her track career...we don't know if there is anything wrong with that foot -- it could be anything (or nothing).

Would you get the vet out for a lameness eval and x-ray first? Or would you try the farrier approach and then go with the vet if no improvement?

I will say the first time I ever noticed this (have owned the horse since November) was after her most recent farrier trim - about 6 weeks ago. But it doesn't mean it wasn't there and I just didn't notice.

Advice? :sigh:
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DairyQueen2049
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DRAGON BREATH. DRAGGIN' BUTT
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Okay, I am not a vet, trainer, bla bla bla.

Sounds like she is just learning to use herself - if the feet were opposites she was doing something different with her legs - standing more on one, whatever. As the muscles now get used those feets will change, so will the muscles - and we all know what happens when we put an unused muscle back to work. OWWWW!

Go gently and slowly.
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Trialbyfire
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Believe me, we're going slow. I have a 19 year old boy riding her and I lectured him long and hard about what it's like to be an old fart and try to get back into shape. :P I was afraid he might want to go faster than I thought she would want to, but he is in agreement that she's not in very good riding shape at all, and doesn't even want to think about cantering her yet. So far he's trotted her for about 5 minutes max with walk breaks in the middle....about two trotting sessions for each training session so far.

I hope you are right and this is really just about learning to use herself again. As an oldster myself, I really can realte to this (been battling plantar faciitis for a couple of years now), so hopefully if we take it slow she'll come around.

I'm bummed about the possibility that she has some old injury, but I am going to have the farrier come a week early and give her a long hard look and see what he thinks. If no improvement or if anytime it starts to get worse, I'll definitely have the vet out. Luckily my regular vet is my clinic's lameness specialist, so he already knows her and we can fast track to find out if anything else is going on.
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Ann
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You might try a short course of bute to see what happens. If the horse is sound on bute, then it's a lameness issue not a balance issue. If she is not sound on bute, then it's probably something other than lameness. Bute is inexpensive, and you'll likely know more about the mystery lameness after just 2 doses. Good luck! Hope you figure out the puzzle.
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Trialbyfire
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:shoot: Well, of course! What a great idea....I already have bute so this should have been a no-brainer!

I have the farrier coming soon anyway...but maybe I'll give this a try before he touches her feet just so we can consider only one thing at a time. Her feet *are* odd; the trainer and I looked long and hard at them yesterday and really did notice how they don't seem to match. They look like they're from two different horses!

But, bute is a great idea before we go any further. My lame pony was on 1 gram morning/1 gram at night for a while before her hock injections; now she's on 1/2 gram twice a day. So maybe I'll try one gram at night, one in the am, and have him ride her mid-day?

Thanks for your input!! :one:

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Irish Ei's
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No PPE films on those feet???
My Smartblood was rock solid sound and even and I x-rayed every possible joint.
So now, I have a good, unaffected foundation Library to refer back to....
I also wouldn't bute before a Vet visit. Call the vet if she's still off on it after Trial by bute.
Bear in mind that bute will also relieve any no-visible swelling or stiffness....
She probably will go sound on it..False hope...
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Ann
We're on a bridge, Chaaaaaaaaarlie!
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I agree with Irish -- I think she'll be sound on the bute. But at least that would answer your question about whether it's a balance issue. It'll be interesting to see what happens with a few days on bute and then what happens when the bute is discontinued. When my TB does something stupid and hurts himself, he often needs a few doses of bute to help him -- then he's fine. Maybe you're mare will be fine after a few days on bute too. :luck: :luck: :luck: Keep us posted.
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Trialbyfire
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No, no PPE anything - she was owned by my neighbor and temporarily boarded at my barn when we bought the house. The neighbor fancies herself a TB breeder but this is the condition this mare was in while pregnant:

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b6ce3...36108QcuHDNyxaO

In this picture she's nearly a month overdue and technically owned by me (I had asked to buy her several months earlier and actually paid for her as they *needed the money* to buy hay); she was under lease until the foal was weaned but I begged to get her back at my barn because I was afraid she would die. I ended up taking the mare, her filly, and a companion mare and filly for 5 months just to make sure she got enough to eat (almost 100% at my expense... :angry: ) I just love this mare. The fact that she seems rideable is a bonus, and somewhat unexpected (although in my heart I *knew* she was rideable)....but clearly we never knew if she was entirely sound. Which is ok....we have no major performance expectations for her....basically a backyard pleasure horse and hopefully keep her sound enough for that.

I agree that it might be worthwhile to have x-rays, especially of the two front feet that are sort of wonky looking to begin with. I think a bute trial for 2 days might be useful just to see whether it's the trim and/or whether the trim is affecting her - even though obviously something else could be wrong. I'd love to have the bute trial and see her just as off on that front right just to confirm that the trim is a problem....Although as I said - she's got wonky looking feet and hasn't been in work for a long time, so we pretty much know we need the farrier to take a "new" good look at her and maybe even watch the tape of her moving to see the extent of the "gimp."

Thanks so much for the input. I'll let you know how we make out! :)
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CBoylen
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Lame on the outside of the circle tends to either point towards heel pain or soft tissue. I think I would have the vet come block out the foot at least to rule out any suspensory issues. If the foot blocks out whether you want to take radiographs and see what's going on, or just mess around with the shoeing, is totally up to you. But if it doesn't block out you know you're dealing with something higher and need to get a bit more involved.
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Irish Ei's
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Grab mane and kick on!
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Trialbyfire
Jun 11 2007, 09:35 AM
No, no PPE anything - she was owned by my neighbor and temporarily boarded at my barn when we bought the house. The neighbor fancies herself a TB breeder but this is the condition this mare was in while pregnant:

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b6ce3...36108QcuHDNyxaO

In this picture she's nearly a month overdue and technically owned by me (I had asked to buy her several months earlier and actually paid for her as they *needed the money* to buy hay); she was under lease until the foal was weaned but I begged to get her back at my barn because I was afraid she would die. I ended up taking the mare, her filly, and a companion mare and filly for 5 months just to make sure she got enough to eat (almost 100% at my expense... :angry: ) I just love this mare. The fact that she seems rideable is a bonus, and somewhat unexpected (although in my heart I *knew* she was rideable)....but clearly we never knew if she was entirely sound. Which is ok....we have no major performance expectations for her....basically a backyard pleasure horse and hopefully keep her sound enough for that.

I agree that it might be worthwhile to have x-rays, especially of the two front feet that are sort of wonky looking to begin with. I think a bute trial for 2 days might be useful just to see whether it's the trim and/or whether the trim is affecting her - even though obviously something else could be wrong. I'd love to have the bute trial and see her just as off on that front right just to confirm that the trim is a problem....Although as I said - she's got wonky looking feet and hasn't been in work for a long time, so we pretty much know we need the farrier to take a "new" good look at her and maybe even watch the tape of her moving to see the extent of the "gimp."

Thanks so much for the input. I'll let you know how we make out! :)

OK...In this case, I'd really do films.
You have litle or no history on this good girl.
Time to find out what you've really got working for you and working against you.
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