Freak out..?

Question

I apologize in advanc if this post is a little grammatically incorrect and typos. i hve long nails on right now and don't tend to look at what I'm typing. and my shift button is being difficult. Thanks for refraining to comment on that...

-anyway, we had our statequeen competition today. yes, all in one day. i did horsemanship and my horse worked fabulous, but at the very end of the pattern we did our third slide stop. we started the slide andit was really nice, and then he hit deeper dirt and popped way up. my butt hurts from it. anyway, one of the judges, who apparntly is a world-renowned chiropractor (i'm not sure if i can say any names here..) ran over telling me to get off the horse. sure enough, bug was holding up a hind leg. i was freaking out because i was just so sure he broke it or something. thy told me that he had been sore on his left hind, and so when he hit the deeper ground the right was supporting a lot of that stop and it just couldn't handle it. ...more coming...

Answer 1

Hi there,

Well i would get your regualr vet to come out and look at your horses leg.

Is his leg swollen any where?

Do you feel heat?

Also if yo don't think it is that bad i would just walk him around and give him about 1 week off give or take.

But as you have a competition coming up I personally woul dget the vet out because your horse may think its beter and not hurting but when you go to do a work out again it could retrigger the problem.

Good Luck!

Hope it's nothing serious!

Answer 2

Sounds like a bad deal. I would sure let him rest as much of that time as possible and get him started on something like Corta-Flex for joints. At his age and being in competitions he could use it. I recommend that brand because I have used it and I thought it worked great. Some Bute for a few days would be good too, but you need to talk to vet about that. I hope he gets well soon and you both do well, best of luck. Maybe in the mean time you could look or ask around and see if you can find another horse to barrow or lease just in-case.

Answer 3

to be honest, I'd get it professionally looked at first, for an opinion and diagnosis - it might be a simple strain, or soemthing more serious.

Considering his age too, he's not really in the optimum "healing" bracket and without medical help it may never heal properly.

To be honest, I'd forget the nationals and concentrate on getting your best mate well. there will always be other competitions.

Answer 4

Reining patterns are just tough on horses, that's the way it is. I would definitely look into getting some joint supplements for him with glucosamine/chondroident since he's 19 (if he's not on them already). Also, make sure to warm him up well then stretch him before you do the pattern. He sounds pretty bound up and he will definitely be bound up after an injury. Just like a human athlete, you need to take precautionary messures before running a race. :o) Hope that helps! Good luck!

Answer 5

Without more info it would be impossible to tell. If he was mine he'd be straight off to the vet for x-rays and ultrasounds to locate the exact area of the problem, could be tendon damage, pulled muscle or a problem with the stifle or hip joint. Could even be a problem with his back, that can cause lameness in the rear legs as well.

Sounds like you also need to know what's up with that left hind as well. He might be getting to the age that arthritis is an issue as well.

Answer 6

Did this chiropractor do an adjustment or offer their services (for a fee of course)?

I would say that if you are worried I would talk to an equine chiropractor about this situation.  Perhaps an adjustment would help.

Did this chiropractor indicate where the injury was located?

Answer 7

I've seen reiners and working cow horses hit the same uneven depth of dirt that you did with almost the same reaction from the horse in their sliding stops...made it very difficult to hold their position in a sliding stop....and the lumbar area, and hocks take a beating.  Too bad they(officials) couldn't drag over the area that was so uneven when they saw what was happening.  I do think that is BS.  A horse is bound to get hurt in that ground.  When everyone stops their horse in the same place, the dirt builds up as the horse comes to a stop. If you see the situation again, check that arena, draw a different line and area to stop in...avoid as much as you can the bad area with deep dirt.  

Three things....Massage therapy, Chiropractic work and acupuncture...and maybe throw in some pulse therapy in the hip area, lumbar area and gaskins while your at it.....Also any anti inflammatorys(bute) that your vet might recommend.  I don't think this is a permanent injury but, I can't see your horse right now to know how he is responding to what happened to him.  However, don't freak out over this...with some time and good therapy he should be ok.  However, I'd give him a break from sliding stops for awhile...that lumbar area, hip area and hock area need some time to heal.  Two weeks may not be long enough to heal up if you have other competitions coming your way.  Again, let your vet be your guide.

Good luck with this; I've seen some top guns in the Working Cow Horse world have to deal with the very same injury that you're describing...also the method of injury was identical.