slightly unlevel

[teabiscuit]

my horse is slightly unlevel when trotting a 15m circle on sand with me on board. the unlevelness appears on the right rein only. i can see it when i trot him on the lunge on the right rein but its so slight i can't tell which leg is the problem.
can anyone tell me whic leg is most likely to be the problem? thanks

[Ross]

My advice is to get the vet out and get this checked out properly.

Ross

[teabiscuit]

0k thanks

[herbyhorse]

is this the only time he's unlevel? or is it on the straight too.

What is the head doing are the quarters level?

unlevel as a term of phrase for lameness means the quarters are unlevel which suggests hind leg or back, are you sure you mean unlevel or nodding?

If in doubt time off and vet?

HH

[teabiscuit]

HH only when on a right hand circle, he's fine on the straight.
the problem is its so tiny that i can't tell what the head is doing when lunging, i can feel it when riding though.
his hind quarters seem absolutely fine when lunged, they both come well underneath him and have full range of movement, so i think its a front leg and i think it will be the one on the inside of the circle (has to work harder), i.e. the right front leg, but would like others opinion on this. he's off work now.
farrier will check him on thurs.
to be honest i'm not sure a vet could pick it up unless they rode him its so slight.
thanks
edited to say i used the phrase unlevel to mean he didn't feel level in his way of going

[Jessey]

I hardly noticed that Bo was unlevel, only a tiny bit, I thought his pelvis was out again, I got a good chiro out and we have since tracked the unlevelness to a stifle problem :(
Not saying that it is anything serious, just that even the slightest little thing, if you are worried by it, is worth having checked.
Our chiro said she didn't think it was worth getting a vet to look at my boy as it was so slight, thankfully I have a great vet and he could see it and has been the best in helping us sort it out.

J x

[herbyhorse]

it is more likely to be the inside leg causing problems on circles, and yes it does sound like a foreleg problem.

good luck in finding out what it is and I hope that it is easily rectified.

HH

[teabiscuit]

umm it is a worry i don't like it when they arn't right and i'd prefer it if it was something obvious. these little things often turn out to be the most troublesome.
when did you first notice Bo's problem? on circles or stops ( i know you do western riding)?

[herbyhorse]

sooo.. frustrating! yes.

Treac can be intermitantly lame in her right hind due to what i think is high ringbone!

but the vet couldn't find anything!

it's so much easier when they are lame because they have soemthing obvious like a kick or cut etc.

wish they could talk!

[Jessey]

Oh I had been chasing his problem for probably 3 or 4 years, but many chiro's, osteo's, massage therapists, vets and farriers could see what I meant but we were never able to pin point it more than just occasional unlevelness and needing his pelvis put straight more often than one would expect from a young horse :rolleyes:
If I ever had an undefined uneveness again in any horse, I would not hesitate to call the Chiro who first defined what Bo's problem was, she couldn't say for sure what the problem was but was able to tell me it wasn't in his back or front end and it wasn't a muscular or tendon problem, it certainly helped narrow the search.
Thinking about it he would start to buck in canter and his stops and spins would get messy and also he would get grumpy on one rein (never lame but just not happy and harder work to get him working well), I would then get his pelvis put straight and he would be better again for a couple of months then it would progressivly get worse again.

J x

[teabiscuit]

thanks for all the advice everyone, it is much appreciated.
i'll give him a week off to see if it improves and go from there. if it doesn't i'll get the vet to have a look.
thanks again :)
just edited to say i don't know of any good equine chiropractitioners in our area - Anglesey, if anyone out there knows of anyone....

[Jessey]

The lady I used was a McTimoney Chiropractor, she was great.
here is a site that shows local ones that do animals, obviously not sure how close this is to you etc - http://www.natural-animal-health.co.uk/Therapists/Clyw-gwyn.htm

[teabiscuit]

thanks for that link Jessey :)