# Lame only at the trot?



## Shoupie

A few weeks back I posted about my horse being lame on his front left foot, I thought due to severe dryness. Now his hoof moisture level is back to normal but he is still lame at the trot, not at the canter or walk and he doesn't bob his head all the time just off and on. It's driving me crazy because there is no swelling, puncture wounds, thrush, trauma, etc to indicate where this is coming from. He is healthy and happy otherwise, moderate weight, never foundered has shoes on at the moment but is usually barefoot. I'm going crazy trying to figure out what could be causing this, I don't have the money for x-rays and he's just a pasture pet/light trail horse but the farrier is coming out soon to pull his shoes off so I'll ask him then. Does anyone have any ideas on what the heck could be wrong with this guy?


----------



## RideBarefoot

not saying it's what it IS, but I've seen Lyme present as intermittent lameness.

also have seen a $30,000 A circuit jumper dumped because he was off on the front, and no one could figure it out. Two rounds of Gastroguard and he was back sound.

just two thoughts...


----------



## Lisa in WA

Navicular?


----------



## beccachow

Lisa, you read my mind. That was my first clue with Jessie, he was intermittently lame at the trot in the beginning. Hopefully it isn't this, and is something easy to fix, maybe an abscess under the shoe?


----------



## where I want to

If you can get the farrier to check his hoof soreness with hoof testers, that is a start. Also wash off his sole and check carefully for any bruising or discolored spots.
Have you done flex tests? You only need a friend to trot him off to do that. Does he point at all with that foot, although I had a mare with bilateral trouble that stood with her weight back on her rear rather than point.
Is he more lame when lunged and better on the straight? Is he better on hard ground and worse on soft or visa versa? Is he better after a couple of days off or worse?
There are lots of investigations left to do before call for the vet.


----------



## southerngurl

You might also post good pictures of the foot. You can tell if the hoof is likely "navicular" by looking. Need clean solar shot, heel shot and side shot. You can also post how he stands and even a video of him moving. I'm not good at picking out lameness from videos but others are.


----------



## Shoupie

Ugh!! No, I didn't even think about navicular cause his risk is so low. ack

He never comes up lame after exercise it only seems to pop up when lunging, hard or soft ground. I haven't noticed it when riding at the trot because it is so slight. I'm trying to think back but I believe he only shows his limp when he's tracking counter clockwise, so with his left facing inwards. I honestly can't tell if he's pointing his toes hopefully a vid will help me nail it down he has such a fast normal trot its impossible for my rather untrained eye to tell.

I will post some pictures and try to take a video tomorrow if I can wrangle up a helper.


----------



## where I want to

Another to check is his lateral cartilage (sp) for side bones. Why is he so unlikely to have navicular?


----------



## GrannyCarol

Keep in mind, as has been mentioned, lameness in the left fore may not come from his feet at all. Be sure to consider from shoulder on downwards and even his digestive tract! Pain can travel from where it starts and show up in odd ways. Good luck!


----------



## Shoupie

Well here are some horrible photos and a super bright video but hopefully you can tell something from them, if not I'll try again tomorrow when I have help and it's not so darned bright.









standing sort of square









his heels are cracked around the frog area and slightly red(but I think that's because his toes are so long and he's striking with his hind legs)









left side









right side for comparison









pic of his left fore early this summer when he tore a small chunk off (how his toes look when they're properly trimmed)

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNcfPR6Yhy4"]vid of him on his left side[/ame]

Now take into account that his feet are overdue for a trim by about a week and his front toes grow like weeds when they have shoes on, my farrier went on vacation out of state and won't be back till next weekend.

Also he had enough pep and energy to play I'm going to show off while you try to catch me this afternoon when I brought him in for his bath.


----------



## malinda

He looks like way more than a week overdue. Maybe he needs to be on a shorter shoeing schedule. Besides his toes being long, his heels are also very long and beginning to be underrun. The heels need to be trimmed way back so his foot is back under his leg. I hope that is what your farrier does. Also ask him to put the hoof testers on him to see if he finds any soreness in the foot. I didn't get to watch the video because I'm logged in on my phone.


----------



## where I want to

OK- I can't see the video either (slow dialup.) But in the picture where you are holding up his foot, the quarter at the bottom of the picture is way higher than the top quarter. You are right about his being overgrown. In fact his heels have overgrown the shoe. You can tell that there is uneven pressure on his feet by the fact that his coronet band is raised at the heels. 
I think that before you look further, that at least a good trim is needed. That may be all that is wrong.


----------



## RideBarefoot

I could eventually see the video (out in the boonies). He's not landing properly in his stride, nor is he tracking up. Several times in the 15 second walk portion he was stumbly. I agree with above, address the biomechanical issues first.

He's a cutie- what a sweet face!


----------



## jill.costello

I did not watch the video, but from the pics there's an awful lot of crumbly, dry sole; I'm not usually one for alot of sole-paring, but shaving down enough to create some sole relief (as well as a good trim and re-set) may help. Too much old sole may seem to be "protective" in theory, but in reality can sometimes make contacting even slightly rough or stony ground very painful.

I agree, he's long everywhere; his heels are so long they are starting to angle forward (underrun), and I don't agree with the angle I'm seeing currently. Farriers, jump in here, but if the OP's farrier is going to continue keep the horse shod, should the shoe be perhaps a size bigger? I never like to see hoof bulging out and over a shoe anywhere....


----------



## RideBarefoot

I think OP said she was going to have the farrier pull his shoes. The shoe size isn't the problem, it's that his foot is not underneath him, as malinda said. That creates stress all the way up the entire bony column. It looks in the one pic (side shot, LF)that there may be a bit of sidebone developing. Both medial hairlines show unbalances.

It would be interesting to see pics after shoes are pulled and a fresh trim, as to how the farrier addresses the heel and toe lengths.


----------



## Shoupie

I didn't know there were so many farriers on here, I'll post pictures of his feet when they get trimmed so you guys can critique my farrier's work, its hard to find a guy that knows what the heck he's doing out here. 

The farrier had to leave his front feet a little long because his hoof wall was still growing out from an injury earlier this summer(that's the overgrown part you see in the side shot of his left fore) but his shoes were supposed to get pulled at 4 weeks, now its 6 and 1/2 and the guy's still not back from vacation.... grumble grumble.

As for the possible sidebone in the left fore, its not a hard protrusion its soft almost like a windpuff and I can push it all the way down without him pulling his foot back. Any ideas on what it is?

Thank you for all the advice so far, hopefully all he needs is a trim and maybe a better farrier.


----------



## malinda

Where in north CA are you? I'm in Arcata this weekend.


----------



## Tiempo

Yup, I'd like to see him with his heels under him better.


----------



## Shoupie

I'm about 500 miles south of where you'll be, the nearest big towns are Fresno and Bakersfeild if those ring a bell.


----------



## southerngurl

His heels are in the middle of his feet, he has no heel support and he has thrush.  IOW, his heels hurt! He may not have navicular, but he is working on developing it with his toe first landings. He's avoiding the back of his feet, which is where all the energy dissipation is supposed to occur (VERY important). Toe first landings causes the deep digital flexor tendon to be snapped tight in both pulleys of the navicular bone and pastern joint, this causes friction under the navicular burn and heat, which has been shown to cause navicular changes.

He needs a correct trim that works towards getting those heels back where they belong and he needs the infection in the frogs healed up. You can do 30 minute soaks 3 times a week in 1/4 cup lysol to 1 gallon water, was well as daily hoof picking. Application of raw honey is also good, I have found it works pretty good for thrush. You could use it on your non soaking days. Be sure and get down in all the cracks and crevices when picking them out.

And I agree, get him on a tighter schedule, he's going too long.


----------

