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  Discussion on Walking with front feet crossing over
Author Message
Member:
Jewel318

Posted on Thursday, Apr 13, 2006 - 12:51 am:

I have never seen this before but there are actually 3 horses at my stable with this problem. They appear to walk normally until saddled and ridden then when they walk they cross over each step. One of the horses is 29, the others are 10 ish. Could this be a back problem?
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Thursday, Apr 13, 2006 - 7:48 am:

That is odd Julie, try this experiment: ride them in a halter with lead ropes and bareback. Report back the results.
DrO
Member:
Jewel318

Posted on Friday, Apr 14, 2006 - 1:28 pm:

We tried it with and without a saddle or bridle didn't seem as bad but still did it.
Member:
Chole

Posted on Friday, Apr 14, 2006 - 3:26 pm:

The only time I have seen any of my horses cross over in the front is when they were bitten or had an injection near the tip of the scapula. It makes them VERY sore and they do not want to put any weight on the front leg corresponding to the affected shoulder tip. You could try 1 or 2 gm of Bute once or twice per day for a couple of days and see if it resolves. This regime worked for me. Of course, if you have an abcess brewing in that area due to an injection, they may be sore longer and you might try mixing Furacin with Panalog and DMSO and applying topically to the site. Best of luck! Chole
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Saturday, Apr 15, 2006 - 9:22 am:

Hmmm, it seem unlikely that 3 horses are all having injection reactions but is this a recent change following injections?

Since it is not your tack the next thing I would examine is the trimming, are the horses feet well balanced, particularly from side to side? For more on this see Care for Horses » Hoof Care » Trimming and Preparing the Feet for Shoes. If that checks out OK you probably just have 3 horses that wing in naturally, it is common. What breed are these horses?

If you wish to pursue this you should have a careful lameness evaluation done, just to be sure there is not a lameness or neurological issue.
DrO
Member:
Vickiann

Posted on Saturday, Apr 15, 2006 - 11:42 am:

Dr. O sounds right on with the suggestion about the feet. I've had a horse walk with his front legs either banging together or crossing over at every step due to poor farrier work. I've also had a horse "paddle out" with the front legs due to poor farrier work. As soon as I had the horses trimmed by a different farrier the problem was eliminated.
Member:
Jewel318

Posted on Saturday, Apr 15, 2006 - 11:41 pm:

Hmm well that was a good thought but one of the three horses has a different farrier than the other two. When we first noticed the problem in the older mare (29) the vet looked her over and said she thought it could be a problem in her withers, like kissing spine? And that makes sense because she is really old. But the other two are not very old one belongs to the same lady so that could be a tack problem. The other one had a tack problem but she bought a new saddle last year and he still does it. Maybe we need one of those saddle fitting clinics. but like I said they do it without a saddle or bridle.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Sunday, Apr 16, 2006 - 8:33 am:

You could have more than one problem Julie, or maybe both farriers are trimming for problems, or as stated before: perhaps this is normal for these horses and you have no problems at all. Since we cannot see the horses we can only give suggestions that you need to follow up on by examination. Many horses have kissing spines but only the rare one causes problems and while that may change the gait, usually one of vague hind limb lameness, most times back pain would be the primary symptom.
DrO
Member:
Jewel318

Posted on Monday, Apr 17, 2006 - 11:33 pm:

Thanks everyone for your input. I think it could be that they are unrelated problems. Vet will be out this spring for herd health and I plan to ask again about all of them.
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