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Discussion on Abnormal Canter Gait
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Member:
njen
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Posted on Monday, Aug 27, 2012 - 3:27 pm:
At the canter my horse moves both his back legs at the same time. He sort of looks like a running giraffe. I have not cantered him under saddle but he is doing this in the field. We injected both hocks in May after pain issues and he was much improved. Then he had bad thrush and toe bruising in his front feet and we put shoes on a few weeks ago. He's just now recovering from that and he is trotting soundly. What could be the cause of the odd canter?
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New Member:
icey
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Posted on Monday, Aug 27, 2012 - 3:48 pm:
unless your horse is one of the 4 beat gaited breeds, this is the normal way of going, a canter is a three beat gait and the only variation is the right or left lead of the gait for the front legs.
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Member:
lbrnm
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Posted on Monday, Aug 27, 2012 - 4:15 pm:
Umm, no, it is not a normal way of going. Yes, the canter is a three beat gait, but a diagonal pair (front and back leg) share one of the beats, not both back legs.
In a right lead canter (where the right front leg is farthest reaching), the horse will push off with his left hind leg, then the right hind leg and left front leg will land together, and finally the right front leg will end the stride.
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Member:
lbrnm
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Posted on Monday, Aug 27, 2012 - 4:19 pm:
Jennifer,
I wonder if your horse could still be having pain issues in his hocks? Did you add shoes all the way around, or just on the fronts?
Nicole
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Member:
njen
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Posted on Monday, Aug 27, 2012 - 4:50 pm:
Just on the front. It's weird because he's trotting fine under saddle now.
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Member:
jhyrick
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Posted on Monday, Aug 27, 2012 - 9:02 pm:
I had a horse that did the same thing (though she never did it before she went to a trainer after she was sold). I bred her, so I knew it wasn't normal. Turns out she had flipped over a couple of times, and was never treated. You could even see the atrophy of the right gaskin versus the left. I bought her back.
4 months of chiropractic and she is doing great. No more funny canter and just won a Jr Horse Hunter class at a regional competition.
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Member:
njen
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Posted on Tuesday, Aug 28, 2012 - 9:32 am:
Excellent JG!
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Wednesday, Aug 29, 2012 - 9:39 pm:
Hello Jennifer,
Not being able to watch the horse's way of going it is difficult to say anything that may be useful. Yes, horses with significant hind limb lameness often bunny hop, pushing off with both hind legs together, when they want to accelerate. But these horses are not sound at the trot. I remain uncertain what might be wrong, if anything, and what might be the proper treatment. Have you had a veterinarian look at this and what was their thoughts?
DrO
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Member:
bluejean
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Posted on Wednesday, Aug 29, 2012 - 10:10 pm:
I have a saddlebred gelding that does this sometimes, more often when not ridden regularly. For him it is because his haunches are really tight and with consistent work particularly over poles really helps this and it goes a way.
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Member:
divamare
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Posted on Wednesday, Aug 29, 2012 - 11:26 pm:
If it were me, I would have a vet do lameness exam with a flexion test. My mare didn't look lame at the trot but was lame at the canter. After a flexion test however, she showed lame at the trot. Best guess was stifle, but without blocks, etc., it's hard to accurately say. Also, she had toe bruising on both fronts due to "over weighting" the front because her hind was sore, weak. Good luck, let us know what you find out.
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New Member:
halter
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Posted on Tuesday, Sep 18, 2012 - 10:28 am:
 Whoa Nelly! Dr. O said it! I hope you've talked to a vet by now. How is your horse's back?
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Member:
rtrotter
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Posted on Tuesday, Sep 18, 2012 - 11:32 am:
I just had to comment on this thread, as I have just gone thru a similar situation with my now 4 year old pacing gelding.
He has always had a very odd way of going( on the pace at speed) and I always suspected back issues from an injury resulting from falling out of a trailer on the day he was delivered to me. He has been in and out of race training for the past several years due to the same gait problems(and attitude problems). Last year, I turned him out hoping that age and time off would help him.
I started back with him in March, he seemed much better attitude wise, much more willing to do things and seemed to be coming along pretty well.
Then we started training and the old set of problems started cropping up again. So I decided about a month ago to get one of the vets who I consider one of the best diagnostic vets on the East Coast, to look at him. BTW, he also does chiropractic work. I felt that if he did need to be adjusted, I could trust this vet.
After a very simple exam, no flexion tests, no blocks, just a cap from a needle run down his spine( which by the way DrOpped this colt practically to the floor behind). So, obviously a pain reaction! We took him into his stall and proceeded to adjust his pelvis and his back.
I could tell we hit the spot because of the way this horse reacted after it was done. He relaxed, he started licking and moving his mouth and the look in his eyes changed. He also stood square for the first time in years. That was part 1. Part 2 of this treatment was an internal blister to his acupuncture points with Mckays.
I was told to take him home and jog him. This makes the internal blister work better by spreading it around(normal internal blistering procedure for standardbreds)and to keep him on his normal training schedule( he was due to train the next day).
The training session the next day, was like night and day, no hitch to his giddy up, paced as smooth as you could ask for, finished strong. It was like I had a different horse.
He has gotten better and better, since that day and trained very well this past Sunday. He even surprised me. To the point I feel that he is ready for training in company, which we will be doing this week. Previous to the treatment, he was not safe in his pacing gait, and now he is.
Some things that I do to help him maintain his soundness.
1) He does not jog with a headcheck
2) He is given a hot bath to loosen up his muscles
3) I maintain a consistent flat surface in his stall.
4) he gets turned out most mornings for at least an hour before he does any type of exercise
5) I have reduced the amount of towing I do and prefer to jog him instead, allowing him to stretch and use his back more
5)If it is chilly out in the morning, I put a Back on Track blanket on him to keep his back warmed up.
6) He gets jogged a little extra before he trains to warm him up a bit more.
We will see how this progresses, and also see what the vet says at his recheck, and more importantly how my horse reacts to the needle cap test, the next time.
All the best
Rachelle
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Wednesday, Sep 19, 2012 - 5:01 pm:
Hello Rachelle,
That is quiet a remarkable story. While I have seen this procedure done with the needle cap, I have never seen such remarkable results.
For more on what we know about Equine Chiropractic Practice see HorseAdvice.com » Member's Services » The Lounge: Kick back and relax. » Alternative Medicine and Epistomology » Chiropractic.
DrO
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Member:
rtrotter
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Posted on Thursday, Sep 20, 2012 - 10:53 am:
Dr. O,
I have used chiropractic treatments on my horses(and myself for years)with some pretty amazing results. Not in every case, but in most cases.
Using the needle cap just about pinpoints the problem holistically without flexion tests and blocks, so that the correct problem is treated.
Before, I took my horse to see this vet, I was convinced it was his hock or curb (from the fall out of the trailer)causing the back issues because the hock itself is malformed and the curb is what made me stop with him last year. But the acupuncture points told a different story as there was no pain reaction at all for his hocks or curb. Also in the ensuing weeks, I have not treated this horses hocks/curbs with anything and I trained him this morning and he was as safe in his gait as I could ask him to be, despite the additional animal traffic (deer) on the racetrack). He went his miles exactly as asked and we are now set to train with other horses on Sunday.
Rachelle
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Member:
njen
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Posted on Tuesday, Oct 2, 2012 - 3:27 pm:
An update: I have had the vet out. After this discussion he became lame on the right front. She blocked his heel and he went 90% sound right away. She also did x-rays and found nothing to indicate navicular or other issues in the hoof. She diagnosed him as having heel bruising (to go along with his toe bruising which seems to have resolved). In consultation with the farrier, we put on bar shoes and he's slowly getting better. I can walk him under saddle but he's still sore at the trot. Interestingly, a week or two before I had the vet out I lunged him at the canter and he was fine both directions. I haven't seen him do the giraffe thing since. Maybe it was a fluke or we're figuring out his pain issue (I hope!).
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Friday, Oct 5, 2012 - 7:49 am:
Glad to hear this is appears to be working out Jennifer.
DrO
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