Horse showing heat in front left

K

Katie333

New Member
Apr 18, 2022
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Can anyone offer me some advice?

I have a horse who has been uneven behind for a year. Her hind right doesn’t step through correctly but it’s not the whole time, I’d say it’s every 10 or so strides. This happened following getting her back into work after her fracturing her hind left splint bone. She was given all clear by vets etc to start riding again. She is much worse on left rein and bunny hops and bucks in canter but is mostly fine in right canter. You see the shortness mostly in trot.

She has had saddle checked, physio, chiro, back xrayed, legs xrayed etc and nothing obvious has shown up.

However today she had a thermal scan on her body and her front left showed up really hot. She had no swelling here but it had a lot of heat and her hind legs showed nothing.

Any ideas what it could be? If she’s done her tendon I would have thought there would be swelling and she’d be very lame on it, but like I say, the lameness is behind?

Thanks I’m advance
 
My vets in Newmarket don’t put much stock in thermal scans unless completed in a clinical setting, ie sealed temperature controlled room, that the horse has been in for a period of time first. They said a slight draft or bit of sunlight can throw them off and give false positives too easily.

Have you had nerve blocks done on the hind? Or maybe consider a bone scan to see where the problem is.
 
Thanks for the response. We did the thermal scan in a clinical setting and I can actually physically feel the heat too. Weirdly no swelling tho?
Also yes she has had various X-rays on hind legs but no nerve blocks!
She had the scintigraphy when at vets 6 months ago and nothing much showed up
 
Tendons don’t always swell much, but I would expect any vet to be able to pick up on that, it could be something unrelated. I’d get nerve blocks on the hind, they can only block up to the stride but that can rule a lot out.
 
I started 2 if my horses on Osteomax after different injuries (one stifle, one had a hoof problem). Both have improved in flexibility, especially the mare with the old stifle injury. I started her on it because of what you describe, short stepping behind on that leg. She has improved a lot and is very near normal. Unless you look at her very closetly and know she had that injury, you cannot see it. Husband says, it's gone and I only see it because I know it's there. Regardless, she's much better.
 
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