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Has anyone seen this lameness in hind end?

14K views 59 replies 22 participants last post by  Carriagegirl23 
#1 ·
I got a horse back in September of last year. Basically a rescue situation. She has been lame since then. I have had 3 Chiropractors out and the vet out to see her lameness. NO ONE is certain as to what it is! Everyone has a different opinion. So far I have heard it MAY be her stifle, she might have stringhalt, or her sacrum is out of whack. I would like to know some ideas to I can try to get her treated! It is driving me nuts not knowing what her problem is. My farrier seems hell bent that it is her sacrum. I am including a link to a few YouTube videos I took. I couldnt get any other videos. =( She has gained close to 150lbs since I got her. I am located in Southern California.







It is her back left that is the problem. She is quite short strided on that leg. She is also not sensitive when you do any kind of work to her at all. she stands there for anything anyone does to her chiropractor wise. I just want to get her better!!!
 
#2 ·
Wow she is all sorts of crooked back there! My first guess would be something is out of whack/ displaced, sacrum seems a good place to start, but if the Chiropractors have ruled that out, have you thought about testing for EPM?
 
#3 ·
Lameness in hind end

Hi there, I don't think this is a lameness. I think your farrier is on a good track. It looks to me as though her pelvis has been rotated (perhaps from a fall?) and is simply holding her in that position. This is not common, but it does happen and is very much a possibility. I would recommend Structural Integration or Rolfing sessions for her. They are not too hard to find for horses, and it works somewhat like a mixture of chiropractic/massage, with the horse's connective tissue. I have seen this issue fixed (literally, fixed) with this technique. I hope this helps you! best regards, dressagekid4
 
#11 · (Edited)
First, I am siding with the farrier because I see two things in this horse that my horse with the fractured sacrum has/does:

1. There's a big puffy section of inflammation right in the sacrum area.

1.1 His chiro is on prenancy leave. For now I use this pad on him every day and it has reduced the swelling/inflammation lump by 45%. http://www.backontrackproducts.com/...Blankets/Therapeutic-Horse-Back-Pad-p289.html I really wanted the sheet but it was too expensive and I needed something for this horse five minutes ago. This pad performs miracles, if you're dealing with old back issues; which I think you are.

2. She is always holding her tail out, or slightly up, and I saw her slightly flick it once. That is an indicator of pain somewhere up there. And, by now, as thin as she is, that pain may very well have caused ulcers; ask me how I know that:(

Second: "dressagekid4" may very well be onto something.

Hi there, I don't think this is a lameness. I think your farrier is on a good track. It looks to me as though her pelvis has been rotated (perhaps from a fall?) and is simply holding her in that position. This is not common, but it does happen and is very much a possibility. I would recommend Structural Integration or Rolfing sessions for her. They are not too hard to find for horses, and it works somewhat like a mixture of chiropractic/massage, with the horse's connective tissue. I have seen this issue fixed (literally, fixed) with this technique. I hope this helps you! best regards, dressagekid4
Third: I am sorry, you may have had three chiropractors out but they ALL need to go back to school IMHO --- ALL of them--------------.

Whether or not you've run out of chiro options within your driving distance, I really would take "dressagekid4's" advice and locate someone experienced in Strutural Integration or Rolfing. I'm betting they will at least be able to figure out what is wrong with her, somewhere up in the rump.

Even if you're riding her lightly, it's in her best interest to not ride her at all, until you can figure out precisely what is wrong. I wouldn't work her in the pen either - no lunging, backing, nothing. Let her do, at liberty, what she is comfortable doing:D
 
#5 ·
I feel your pain. Ive got a gelding that went through 3 vets, 6 vets appointments, 4 farriers, multiple diagnosis, prognosis, and treatments before we finally figured out what was going on. Consult a vet who is specialized in lameness and performance horses if at all possible. Its surprising that after 8+ years of school some vets can be really really bad at certain aspects of their job.
 
#9 ·
While I can't comment on what may be wrong with your horse, I will say that my mare has had a mystery hind end thing since I got her over a year ago. I had been through vets, chiro, massage therapist and trainers...nobody had a clue what was wrong. She was diagnosed yesterday from another vet that it is a very mild form of stringhalt. Most videos you see are of the extreme cases, not mild ones. I'm not saying that is what it is, just letting you know that what you see for stringhalt is usually the more extreme versions.
 
#10 ·
I would think it's worth a try to use a Chiro. I was kind of thiking the lameness looked high to me, stifle or even hip/pelvis. I would think a "realignment" might actually make him look worse at first because he's been off for so long but then would feel much better. The question is, how severe is the damage and is there arthritis. (I would make that assumption and do some sort of glucosomine or joint treatment).

The EPM thought did cross my mind as well because when he turns it looks almost neurological but then just at the walk it looks like a lameness issue.

Do you have any trot videos?
 
#12 ·
No trot videos right now... But from what I can see it is only her walk that is affected. Then if she is at a gallop it is a little bit hard for her to stop.... I may have videos from her riding evaluation. We didn't know her background when I got her but from her issues we know she has DEFINATELY been abused. My vet and one of the chiropractors I have used said it was ok to ride her, but not to push it. So I only ride her like once or twice a month for now. She loves to run while turned out and while riding. Lol! And another issue she has is she will NOT tie. PERIOD. She has actually pulled back and literally flipped over not wanting to tie. It's not random either. It's ONLY when you walk her up to something you can potentially tie her to .i.e. a hitching post, a gate, a patience pole, etc. if she thinks you are about to tie her, she doesn't wait.... She drags you backwards at a speed equivalent to that of a canter and doesn't stop for 300-400 ft if there is space there! It's crazy how a horse with a lameness in her back end can do this! Looking for videos now! ;) sorry got off track!
 
#13 ·
here are a few videos of her being ridden 3 weeks after i first got her. we didnt even know if she was trained! we were told it was her feet making her limp since her feet were sooooooo long they we splayed out in a V formation. This was before we knew it was something in her hip. She was being a little hard headed in the round pen too. LOL. All the head nodding is due to the bit. She hates bits! You couldn't touch her head with out trying to rear on you. She rides in a Hackamore now. I dont ride her at all like this since I found out it was a possible rear end injury and not her feet. She had her feet done the day before these videos were taken. =)







Like I said these videos were taken back in September. I have had many different people come look at her since then. Even had an equine massage therapist out to rub her down. I got Ginger for free. She was locked... LITTERALLY locked in a 8x8 stall. Master lock to open it. I went to look at her and said talked them down from 500 to free since they had basically been neglecting her. I even called animal control since she was in the same conditons as many of the other horses. They fed her a half a flake of cheap hay a day. She now gets 3 flakes of alfalfa/grass mix twice a day and a pound of Purina Ultium Pellets once a day.... 1/2 a pound at each feeding.
 
#14 · (Edited)
Only watched vids and read up to dressagekids post and I highly suggest Structural Integration, also commonly known as Myofascial Release. Combined with chiropractic it will help most any alignment issue.

Think of it this way: if the joint pops out and the muscles reset around the now out-of-alignment joint, when the joint goes back in, because the fascia has literally moved (the fascial tissue is a thin layer of tissue that basically holds everything together), the joint isn't going to stay put. It's like trying to keep juice in a bottle with the lid off. Put the lid back on and it will stay put!

If all else fails, xrays and ultrasounds. I would guess it is an SI or stifle issue. Her stifle looks almost locked, but hind leg problems are so incredibly hard to figure out. Could also be her Psoas muscle has locked and unfortunately it is too deep to be reached by any human hands. I don't remember how that is fixes but should be easy to research.

Best of luck!
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ETA: Info for you on Psoas muscle:
Picture of location (as you can see, it runs through the back and stifle area down the leg: a damages or otherwise disturbed muscle could cause a strange gait) http://sreinhold.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/horse_anatomy.jpg (possibly similar to sciatica, though that is a nerve)
Nice blog explaining a lot about placement, use, disfunction, etc: http://sreinhold.wordpress.com/2010/02/16/what-lies-beneath-the-riders-seat-the-horses-psoas-muscles/
 
#15 ·
Had a chance to watch the round pen video: She drags her visibly stiff right hind as well as the left. You can see her hoof dragging a bunch of sand as she moves and she swings her whole leg out, the right far more than the left.

My guesses are:
- Psoas muscle/s
- Sacroiliac injury, misalignment, tightness, etc
- Pelvic fracture
- All of the above

She clearly has problems in the spinal area. Pinpointing will be the key. If it doesn't show up through palpitations or xrays, get an ultrasound as it could be the psoas. If it is a fracture, stay off of her. If it is a misalignment, stay off of her. If it is a muscle problem, be gentle. She came from an 8x8 stall: she needs a LOT of gentle progress to build up her muscles. Imagine standing in one spot all day and then trying to go for a jog; your hips and knees would be very stiff! Give her time, and per medical advice to work her, do a LOT of ground poles, cavaletti, and stretching. Build her topline up so she can carry herself and use her body properly, even if she is only a trail horse.
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#18 ·
I'm going to get a chiropractor out here that I was just recommended by a few more people. And my farrier actually recommended him too. His name is Dr. Phillip Pinto in Newhall, CA. Maybe he will be better for my girl. He practices on equines, canines, and people too! Everything I've read about him seems good! I hope he can figure it out! I'd love to work her a little bit instead of keeping her as a pasture pet. But whatever she needs now will get done. She's too sweet of a horse to just let her go to waste. Lol! I have other options to ride though so she's cool. She gets turned out of her 12x36 ft stall every other day in a paddock to do what she wants. It's amazing how far she has come. When I first got her, it took HOURS and I mean hours to catch her. She would pin you in a stall trying to kick you. Wouldn't come anywhere near you to even get petted. Now she puts her head in her halter for you, walks up to you for petting and brushing (or course treats too) and its just nuts!
 
#16 ·
I'm guessing hip or pelvis. Are you thinking this is an old injury? It old take a year to heal an injury like that. I would definitely look into some arthritis type joint supplements. I'd even consider having her blocked to rule out stifle and positively pinpoint the back.
 
#19 ·
Show us her back feet. Take pictures from the ground on concrete or a mat. Make sure the feet are very clean. Also, stand her up square on the concrete and take pictures above her from the back looking up her spine towards her head and her confo from the back (tie up her tail) and a side confo shot. Make sure she is square and standing how she is comfortable and on a level surface.
 
#28 · (Edited)
I too feel there's something going on on her right side, besides the way the hind leg was moving, she prefers to turn her head to the right and from what I was seeing her right nostril was pulled higher. Have you checked her front hooves? Why I ask is because of the path of the nerves. Pain in the front travels up the leg then one route goes to the poll and the other towards the wither's area, along the back to the hind leg. Usually when lame on the front the horse will bob his head upward, yet downward with the hind. The bit is not why she's headbobbing as your reins were loose when you lunged her under tack.**A friend had been given a mare that was chronically "stiff" in the rt. hind and continued for several years even with regular trimming. She found a good farrier who correctly balanced the old girl's hooves thro trimming only, and she was immediately sound. It was her front that was causing the issue yet she'd never been seen to limp on the front.
 
#29 ·
I have called the new chiropractor... He seems to think it is a combination of her poll and her sacrum. My horse was a Mexican horse and he said that right there tells it all. That they were severely brutal with her and she will have numerous problems. He will be working me into his schedule within the next week. He is apparently a super good chiropractor and thinks highly of my farrier. I'm so glad she my get better!!! ;) yay!!!!
 
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