Babe caught a rock in the hoof, actually stuck in the mud -- bruised her, but getting along okay now, after a few days. But what I noticed was onlookers who seen her limp had a problem diagnosing which leg, or if a back problem (all were horse people) -- Experience necessary here, but thought I would put the signs and symptoms up to refresh the ol memories. Appears there will be a lot of mud and standing water this year, so -- Signs and Symptoms Obvious signs and symptoms of lameness include wounds, tendon and ligament injuries, heat and swelling or other noticeable injuries to a leg or hoof which will make the horse lame. However sometimes the horse is only slightly lame and it is not easy to tell which leg is affected. In this case you have to look for signs which may be quite subtle. When a horse is lame in a front leg or a front foot, the following signs may be seen: •The horse will be reluctant to put its weight on the lame leg. •On moving, the horse will raise its head as it puts the lame leg to the ground in order to keep as much weight as possible off this leg. •When it puts the sound leg to the ground it will put extra weight on it and drop its head down as a result. • This will be more evident when the horse is trotting and may vary from a slight head nod to a pronounced movement up and down of the head and neck. • So if a horse nods its head when the right foreleg hits the ground it will probably be lame in the left foreleg. •The horse may take a slightly shorter stride with one foreleg. •The horse may not place a front foot normally. When a horse is lame in a hind leg or hind foot the following signs may be seen: •The horse may rest the lame leg and not want to take the weight onto it. •When watched from behind, particularly in trot, the horse will raise the hip of the lame leg higher than the hip of the sound leg. • The horses hip will appear to dip when the sound leg hits the ground. • The horse may take a shorter stride with one hind leg. • Limb or foot placement may not be normal. • The horse may catch or drag a hind toe. Hind limb lameness is more difficult to see so an additional test may be required, such as: Turning the horse in tight circles to both the left and the right will show whether the horse is reluctant to take his weight on a particular hind leg.
Posted on: Mon, 08 Dec 2014 16:37:38 +0000
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