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  Discussion on Muscular Imbalance
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New Member:
Okfarmer

Posted on Monday, Mar 22, 2004 - 7:52 pm:

I have a ten year old quarter horse recently purchased. His left front has considerably less muscular development from his arm through the top of the shoulder, so much so that a saddle will tilt to that weak side. Bending around a leg on a 60 foot diameter circle to the left in a trot is hard for him and a lope is unbalanced and difficult. I believe he's sound. He's at liberty in a 3 acre pasture, easy to observe him moving freely in all gates. Under saddle he does fine, with the exception of those left circles and lead though he does stumble in some of my rougher fields. The left front hoof is smaller and has straighter angle than the right. His haunches are strong and balanced. I'm going to assume that an excercise program to develope the smaller side will help this horse. Can anyone suggest some exercises? The saddle fit problem is no small matter, how might I pad him to level out his shoulders? Thanks.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Tuesday, Mar 23, 2004 - 6:32 am:

This lack of symmetry probably stems from an injury to the scapular nerves, see » Equine Diseases » Nervous System » Shoulder Sweeny. If this is so, exercise will only have limited effect and just a general exercise program would be fine. It should be taken easy as there may only be so much that can be done and consider that the performance problems you run into may not be exercised away. Sounds like you nee a seamstress that can sew in extra padding on a few saddle pads.
DrO
Member:
Aewheele

Posted on Tuesday, Mar 23, 2004 - 9:10 am:

My horse has a similar problem only not as pronounced. His saddle does not slip. His right shoulder is definitely less developed then his left. His gait is relatively even, although he tends to lean in on turns going to the right. My farrier has told me that he has a clubbed foot on that side as well. Would the club foot cause this underdevelopment to occur
or is it definitely the result of an injury?

Thanks.
Member:
Nadia

Posted on Tuesday, Mar 23, 2004 - 9:38 am:

My horse had a club foot when I bought him. He had been diagnosed with DJD in that knee - I knew this when I bought him. My farrier said he didn't know what was wrong with him, but he's not putting weight on his RF hoof. He also noted that his muscles on his right shoulder were much less developed. I had his knee looked at by an orthopedic equine vet (great x-rays) - he had a large bone chip/slab fracture of the 3rd distal carpal bone. The bone growth on the chip indicated it had been broken for quite some time (several months, at least). Everyone who saw him work would never have guessed he had this. My guy seems to be a master at moving his weight to his other legs (which is probably causing hocks damage). Just a suggestion to have his knee x-rayed.
Member:
Aewheele

Posted on Tuesday, Mar 23, 2004 - 11:48 am:

Dr. O. I just read the article on Shoulder Sweeny. It seems to stress treatment and prognosis for a recent injury. I have had my horse for 2 years and I believe that he has had this condition since I got him. He had so many other issues when I purchased him that this particular problem didn't become evident until we cleared up his hind end issues. My farrier & the equine massage therapist pointed out the less developed shoulder. He does in fact have bouts of head bobbing, but far fewer now then in the past. As a matter of fact, he has been going really well since I put him on high doses of ChonDrOiton. If he's been stall bound for a long time however, he will come out stiff and bob his head when he starts working. He doesn't really reach with his right front, but his gate isn't uneven. My questions are:
1) Can I have a nerve test done now for such an old injury?
2) Is there a possibility that the shoulder was injured without having resulted in nerve damage and we are dealing with an arthritic condition in his shoulder instead? The reason I ask is since I have put him on high doses of chonDrOiton & glucosumine he is doing much better all around. I would assume that such an improvement would not occur if the shoulder had sustained nerve damage.
Member:
Okfarmer

Posted on Tuesday, Mar 23, 2004 - 9:36 pm:

Dr. Oqlesby
I have had this horse since November of 2003. He has suffered no injuries under my care, the saddle fit issue was noted almost immediately. He rapidly gained weight on rye grass pasture putting a layer of fat on around the withers, which I assumed was the problem. If I read the Sweeny article right we would look for an injury and atrophy as a result. The article did not say that an injury could occur resulting in atrophy, the atrophy proceed to a certain point and then stop with the result of the horse having a functional but less muscled shoulder. The difference between right and left front is most apparent in the arm muscling as it joins the shoulder. By all appearances he is not currently injured, given this discription would you say that this asymmetry
is a result of a past injury and cannot be corrected by exercise? Thanks.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Wednesday, Mar 24, 2004 - 7:54 am:

Ira,
The injury that causes sweeny often leaves no permanant marks, so it is not unusal that you do not see an injury. Also the degree of degeneration varies from case to case depending on which nerves and how many are involved. I have seen mild sweeny cases whose shoulder did not pop out that were used to ride. As to whether this is what you are seeing I cannot say from here but if there is no other logical explanation for the imbalance this is a common problem.
DrO
Member:
Okfarmer

Posted on Wednesday, Mar 24, 2004 - 10:54 am:

Dr. O, I read the article again and noted the recovery data for the horses in the study. I'll assume this is the cause of the problem, adjust the saddle padding and carefully watch the result of the training for any discomfort. That left lead will likely always be rough, but now I can focus on other things. Thanks.
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