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RE: [RC] Gait shorter on right side - MargaretTitle: Message Thank you for the
comments/suggestions so far!
Some answers to some of the questions posed... No, I haven't tried a chiropractor look at him. The vets at Davis did not ultrasound him, because they didn't think that they would find anything based on how his gait is only slightly abnormal on the right side. He may be overcompensating...I have worked w/him a lot on a lunge line and while riding on your suggested movements (Have him leg yield to the left; Have him do turn on the forehand; Do circles to the left, keeping your right leg back to keep his hindquarters from swinging out to the right and then spiral in from a larger circle to a smaller one) and it doesn't appear to change the gait. As well, he seems to be able to move easily on either side doing the exercises. He does not show any indication of lameness unless you look specifically at his hooves and where they land while he is trotting in a circle.
This happened about 6
months ago. No part of the hoof came off, and I have talked to his shoer and he
doesn't see, nor do I, any difference in the hooves.
Like I said before, I am at a loss of what to do. I figure I have a few options:
I have to admit that I would prefer to do the last item
(ride him), but I would like a 100% sound horse. As well, I want to take
him on endurance rides, and I am not sure if I would be pulled. Can
anyone give me insight as to when they pull a horse for this type of
abnormality?
-----Original
Message----- From: Margaret
<mslemmer@xxxxxxxxxxx> To:
ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Sent: Sun, 5 Jun 2005
23:28:51 -0700 Subject: [RC] horse's gate is slightly shorter on right side I have never been on an endurance ride w/my Arab, but he is well conditioned for at least a 25/30 ride to start. My problem is that at a trot my horse's gate is about 2 inches shorter on the right side than on the left. This can only be seen on a circle. It is not detected when observing him from the front or back at a trot (per the vet at Davis). I don't believe he has always been like this. I think it happened 6 months ago during a trail ride where he started to lose his right back shoe about 4 miles out. It took a while to come off, and after that he was clearly off (as if it had caused him to step wrong, because his feet are tough and he has never had a problem going barefoot even after having shoes on). Immediately after, I gave him two weeks of stall rest and he no longer was off except for his stride was shorter on the right side. Since, I have tried more time off, and riding while on 2 g of bute per day for 1 week - per the local vet with no change in his condition. I took him to Davis and they said he is a 2 minus on their lameness scale so they couldn't block him. So, we tried injecting his hocks (just to try since they couldn't think of anything else to do w/in reason). The injections did not help. I am at a loss of what else to try. Like I said, the only indication that he is off is on the circle by looking at his stride at a slower trot where his right back foot lands about 2 inches short of where his left back foot lands. This is the same either way he is circling (left or right). He does not appear to be
in any pain (as the bute experiment showed) and he does not get any better/worse
the more I exercise/ride him. Does anyone have any suggestions? As well, since I
have never taken him on a ride and have only been on one limited distance ride
myself, would he be pulled from a ride for this mild "lameness"? This has been
terribly frustrating since he is such a great athlete, so I appreciate any/all
help/comments!
Thank
you!
Margaret
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