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  Discussion on Mysterious Lameness Update
Author Message
New Member:
corfiela

Posted on Tuesday, Dec 11, 2007 - 7:41 pm:

I had posted a while ago regarding my 2 year old German Riding Pony who quite suddenly and for seemingly no reason started experiencing an intermittent lameness in his right front leg.

On Monday I took him to the University of Illinois. He had been very lame, but when I took him off of the trailer, he was pretty much sound. We proceeded with a full lameness exam. He looked lovely after being flexed. It would have been a great day to sell him!

The vet commented that there was nothing to block and that we may as well proceed with the bone scan.

They did that today. The findings were insignificant and offered no explanation for the intermittent, persistent lameness.

I am really at the end here. I am bringing him home and am going to treat him like a sound horse and proceed with backing him.

If anyone has any suggestions or insights, they are most welcome.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Wednesday, Dec 12, 2007 - 7:56 am:

I am surprised they put a sound horse through scintigraphy but otherwise your plan sounds good to me Ann. If the lameness returns you can have the blocks done then.
DrO
Member:
dsibley

Posted on Thursday, Dec 13, 2007 - 7:55 am:

Hi, all! I board the horse for Ann, and I share her frustration with Mac. One day he will be totally sound with no hint of a problem; the very next day he is head-bobbing, three-legged lame. She has not ridden him, so no issues there. Ann has kept a log of his condition to determine whether there might be a precipitating factor, i.e., turnout, etc. There is no correlation. The only absolute constant is when she puts him on the trailer to take him to a vet. He will step off a perfectly sound horse. If I hadn't seen this myself I would never believe it.

Since this has gone on for months now, I doubt it is a deep abcess, and his hoof tests fine each time.

We will keep you posted. In the meantime, it looks as though little Mac is going to be ridden!
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Friday, Dec 14, 2007 - 6:21 am:

You would think such a odd history would give you a list of rule outs. One thing that comes to mind with such an intermittent problem is the possibility of a muscle cramp. We had a TB dressage horse once that would do this following long work outs and vigorous massage would ease the hard semimembranosus muscle belly. The biggest clue to localization and diagnosis was the remarkably shortened stride. Maybe something to check for next time it happens. Following the next episode, muscle enzymes might be interesting, were they run at the university?
DrO
Member:
corfiela

Posted on Friday, Dec 14, 2007 - 8:36 am:

No, there was no blood work done. The vets I worked with thought two things -- a bone cyst that builds up pressure and then relieves itself or some sort of pinched nerve. They suggested that I video tape him on a day where is lame and bring him back for more x-rays in 4-8 weeks to see if there are any bony changes. I will keep this in mind the next time he goes lame. It's the first alternative theory I've been offered. Thanks!
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Saturday, Dec 15, 2007 - 11:10 am:

I have never seen a report of a bone cyst behaving that way Ann. The pinched nerve theory gets bandied about quite a bit but I don't know of any pathology report that supports this happens other than perhaps of the nerves coursing in and out of the spinal cord. I don't like it as a diagnosis because it cannot be diagnosed or treated.
DrO
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