Need help diagnosing horse lameness - UPDATE: getting better

UPDATE 20-11-2011

We called a more experienced farrier and he pointed out that her hooves (and her toes, in particular) had been trimmed WAY too short for her massive bulk, which, added to the exceedingly small shoes, generated a lot of pressure and pain on the toe area and made her lift her legs awkwardly. :) She began to improve in the same week she was re-shod, and has steadily gotten better and better. She still lifts her hinds excessively on the first few steps of walk, specially in cold mornings, but other than that she's perfect - can walk, trot, canter, gallop, back and even jump 60cm during our 90min long workouts, so she's quickly getting back into shape.
As some people have suggested (and I've found myself while researching), her limp did look a bit like what you see in stringhalt - almost hitting the stomach with the leg, then bringing it down with a loud thump, trouble when backing, going down hill and moving sideways, plus a major muscle loss on the hinds (which now look a lot worse than in this video!). But it must have been a hell of a coincidence that she ate fake dandelion in the very same week she was shod by that a**hole!!!! XD So I'm not very convinced... I bet there must have been some nerve damage to the hinds, caused either by the weeds or by the stress of a bad shoeing job, but she's recovering her gaits, her stamina, and soon also her muscle bulk, so I'm very happy. :) Thanks to everyone who commented!
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Background:
10yo mare, lusitano cross, unknown ancestry and background. Had a foal on the 10th May 2011, and normal riding was resumed shortly after, despite having had her shoes removed for foaling.

The problem:
After about a month riding without shoes, was shod by a new farrier who supposedly aimed to correct her crippled hind feet. A week later, this awkward upward movement of the inside hind leg began... Crankiness and unwillingness to work ensued and about 1 month after said shoeing, she's nearly unrideable - though she grazes happily, walks normally and is otherwise a healthy 1,63m horse.

Thoughts:
The first suspect is, obviously, the farrier. But because the problem took a while to be noted, and the mare doesn't complain about her hooves, fetlocks or hocks, it'd be weird if the problem had been caused by the shoeing alone... Any clues?

Category:

Pets & Animals

Tags:

• horse
• lame
• limping
• trot
• weird
• help
• mare
• tips
• riding
• horses
• need

[MrRonchambers]

Look up string halt stifle,  epsm

[shadinalonesea]

@MrRonchambers I've asked the vet about the stifle and he didn't see anything wrong. It doesn't sound like EPSM cuz she doesn't have any other symptoms. It COULD be stringhalt (we had a lot of flatweed on our pastures, and she lost a lot of muscle on her hinds), but it was a heck of a coincidence that she ate that stuff on the same week she was badly shod! :P Will ask the vet about it, but since she's improved after re-shoeing by a different farrier, now I'm more curious than worried. Thnks! :)

[14imke]

i agree with YuiVayden

i think her shoes don`t fit her comfortably

[shadinalonesea]

@14imke

That's what I think too, and it's the most likely cause, 'cuz she started doing this after nearly a year of riding shod and barefeet. *shrug*

I'm also assuming it's because the farrier tried to correct her lousy (his words) hind feet. Like forcing one to wear 6in high heels after a lifetime of wearing flip-flops - it must be uncomfortable, but it shouldn't be painful. right?....

[14imke]

@shadinalonesea no i don`t think it`s painful, she just thinks it feels weird

tough next time you see the vet you should probably ask ;)

[shadinalonesea]

@14imke She seems to be either in a little pain, or a lot of discomfort - I'm starting to suspect what's really aching are the muscles she's overusing from doing that stupid gait... If that'll go away by itself or just get worse, is beyond me.

I'd be happier if the vet/farrier/whoever came and said "she's got THIS problem, we'll do THAT and she'll be brand new in THIS MUCH time" but things aren't just as easy. XD

[SamsaraEquitation]

Horse's talk and this horse is not putting it's leg down properly because it knows it is going to be painful. They are not stupid! This is not the first time it has been shod so it is not because it feels weird. Horse's have different thickness soles on their feet. To me it is a clear case of being poorly shod. Either a nail was in too deep or too much was taken away and was therefore too sensitive. These things are relatively easy to test. S

[95horses4life]

i meant un comforable



[95horses4life]

it does look comforable

[WCJosesRitzyDoll]

Just ran accross your video and you may have already been suggested this, but it looks like fibrotic myopathy to me. Most of the stringhalt horses I have seen are bilateral and fibrotic myopathy is often unilateral. Fibrotic myopathy is usually due to ingestion of a plant toxin that causes the nerve damage (not caused by the farrier cause the nerve is higher in the leg). Good luck with her

[JustBecause110]

Give her about a week of rest if you change the style of her shoes.. It oculd be that her body needs to get used to the diferent shift of weight on her hoof.