I thought it would be interesting to post a comparison video from last month and this month in terms of lameness. Last month, I thought she looked pretty good, but could still see a very mild lameness and others could too. This month, I can see an obvious lameness but not everyone else sees it. Tell me what you think after watching these back to back:
Gogo 7/11/11:
And Gogo 8/21/11:
I see a worse lameness now, which corresponds to the ugly fat leg. (It was ugly and fat before, but quite a lot worse now.) What do you see?
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9 comments:
I notice it more the second way on both videos. It's not really something everyone would see though...
In my opinion, (I think I said so at the time) she was unsound in the previous video and she's unsound in the new one too, which is what I thought when I saw it earlier. (Didn't comment at the time because posting from my phone is not amusing.)
I would say that the current vid does make her appear marginally worse, however, she's tenser and more hurried in this vid so to some extent the increased unsoundness could be being produced by that. Of course, the rushing could be because she's uncomfortable so it's a bit of a judgement call and not one I could make from a short video clip.
And you're right too, I see lamer horses in work all the time. At some point you're going to have to ascertain whether the lameness is mechanical, due to scar tissue, or discomfort or both. But not yet, IMO, I don't think that the injury has really settled down yet. The problem there is maybe it won't ever reach stability, and how long is a reasonable time to wait?
Me, I'd give her longer, but she's not my horse.
I'd add, not that I think you haven't considered this option, but just as a reminder, that there are horses with chronic tendon injuries who are generally not in pain, and are functional, if gimpy, whose leg swells up every now and then. Not because their leg is injured further, but because the circulation/drainage in the leg is compromised due to the scar tissue. With those, the discomfort and increased unsoundness is temporary and measures to increase circulation/reduce swelling swiftly produce improvement.
I see a very small difference between the two vids. in how the leg tracks up. It appears to improve much more in the second vid to where I could not tell at the end what I was looking for. There is good range of motion and articulation of both hind legs and really at the end of the 2nd vid she looked the soundest. I would be walk riding her - just to see what the leg does and to try to get weight off her. I know you struggled with the decision of whether or not to ride her but if she were mine I would walk/ride.
Again this is just my opinion - I am not a vet and have never dealt with hind end soft tissue injuries like this. My guy has bad stifles - no matter what is going on he needs to move.
I now see it, but honestly if you had showed me this horse without any information about her previous injuries I would just assume that Gogo had an old injury that caused the slightest stiffness conceivable rather than a recurring injury. I'm sure this is very frustrating for you: Have you any treatment options in mind?
She still looks "hoppy" in that back end... more like hips drop than upward with the legs. I saw a hitch or two when she went to the right, unlike earlier video.
First direction, not sure if it looked any worse...
Sorry I'm not more helpful =)
I see a slight hitch on the right hind in the earlier video, but it could be from lack of fitness as easily as the injury.
In the second video, she changes tempo quite a lot and speeds up more going to the right. This could be interpreted as the sign of an injury, but it could also just be a lack of condition, balance, stiffness, etc.
If she were my horse, I would do leading work asking her to walk in balance and stretch her frame. I might also do long lining or grounddriving if she was attentive. I might even consider riding her in walk, but only with her hind end under her and for short spurts. The upper muscles in the hind leg can take some of the strain off the lower leg. I think that she has the best chance of keeping the tendon together if she is loading the leg as correctly as possible. This is my non-expert, non-vet opinion.
I'm seeing lameness in both videos, more pronounced in the most recent video. It looks like her right hind is bothering her. She doesn't look like she's coming through when she moves.
Does she have an old injury she's recovering from? Have you thought about letting her rest for a month or two?
Hope she recovers soon!
I could def. see it on the first video (weird cuz the first time you posted the same vid, I couldnt tell at all...).
The second video not at all, to me at least.
improvement to me!
Improvement on the second video... whaaaaaat girl you crazy! ;) I see a really marked lameness in the second video and one that isn't so bad in the first.
Nancy, yes - old injury sustained in Sept of 2009 that we have been battling with for almost 2 years now. We essentially 'gave up' on it last November and put her in turnout 24/7 to see what we'd have in a year. She hasn't been worked since then, she has been on rest exclusively.
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