Leg Injuries

Censorsh!t

So after going down to see my pony today, she is lame yet again.

She seems to be so susceptible to leg or hoof injuries. Almost every winter she will get a drop in her hoof, and is lame at least once every two years, sometimes more, whether it be fom banging her leg off something or sometmes just mysteriously falling lame. She is usually lame the day after shoeing her also.
A few years ago she got her most serious injury, where her tendon tore off her hock. She did however make a wonderful recovery after a year of rest, as most horses wouldnt be able to be ridden again, she was back to jumping.

This summer then, she got laminitis, which was a real pain in the behind, but she's now recovering fine.

I think it's rather unusual, as she is at least half connemara, if not almost fully, and I'd always imagine them to be very sturdy. Other than her hoof/leg problems, she seems to be perfect in every other way, never gets sick or gets a cold, no rashes, parasites etc.

She currently has two cuts in her leg, neither of which are large or look deep. She seems to be stretching out this leg foreward when walking on it. I cleaned up the cuts but it really cant be them causing her to be lame can it? I decided to leave her til tomorrow morning, see how she is, and then ring the vet if she's no better.

Is there any advice or anything I can do to try prevent all these injuries and problems? She is kept out all year around (and now has a muzzle for her laminitis). She hates being kept in a stable, and we dont have access to one anyway.
I'm really sick of her being injured and it breaks my heart everytime:(

smileypony

Hi Censor,

It really sounds to me like your pony is no more prone than any horse! Leg injuries/lamenesses are unfortunalely one of the most common complaints with all ages/breeds/sizes. Most horses get a drop/abscess every now and again and although acutely painful they are usually easily treated. The only thing that strikes me of concern is your girl being lame after the farrier sees her, is this just since her bout of laminitis or has it been going on forever? Has she any special shoeing or is she being trimmed very short perhaps? Laminitis will of course make feet more sensitive and make sure your farrier knows her history before he shoes her.
On another note, if you find she generally has poor quality feet, have you tried any hoof products to toughen them up and encourage good quality horn? Lots of products on the market, shop around, give them all time to work as new horn growth takes a while...might be worth a go.

Best of luck, really hope she is better tomor!

PS. You probly already know but make sure your pony is up to date with tetnus vaccine if she has a couple of cuts, worth getting your vet for this if your in doubt.

Censorsh!t

She's always been quite tender on her hooves the day after shoeing, no only since the laminitis.

Her hooves aren't really that poor, and usually stay free from cracks so lon as their kept from getting too long.

It really is so annoying, as as soon as she has recovered from one hoof/leg problem, and as she is getting fit again, she goes and injures herself again, it's quite frustrating!

Theponylady

She should not be lame the day after shoeing. Either she's not being shod often enough, 5 to 8 weeks is how often most horses need shoeing, more than that and their angles can become completely off, and they will get corns, abcesses(ie, "drops"), etc because the shoes are putting pressure in areas they shouldn't(think of you getting blisters from shoes that are too small), or she's not being shod correctly. Not all farriers are created equal. Some are excellent, some have the ability to be excellent but don't care or are in too much of a hurry, and others just aren't good.

The farrier could be trimming too much off, trimming so that the angles are not correct(putting stress on bones and supporting structures), or is putting on shoes that are too small for the hoof(a hugely common problem).

Her cuts could very well be causing her to be lame. And if not the cuts themselves, then whatever she did to herself to GET the cuts. There may be bruising, sprains, or damage to tendons and ligaments. There is not always swelling, much of the time when tendons and ligaments are injured there will be no swelling at all, nor heat that can be detected by hand. Ultrasound scans and thermal heat scans are what can show damage that can't be detected by feel.

There do seem to be some lines of Connemara ponies who have weak feet, the connective tissue between the hoof wall and the rest of the hoof seems to be weak, leaving the pony prone to abcesses, hoofs that get too short and carry weight in the wrong places causing them to get sore, etc. It's a problem in some thoroughbreds and other breeds as well.

Censorsh!t

Well, it turned out to be yet another drop, caused by a hole in her hoof which in tun was caused by an old drop in her hoof!

We've put her into stables and are poulticing her hoof, and after 3 days she is a lot better. I've also added hoof supplement to her feed and am dressing them with cornicrescene.

She has white hooves, so I'm guessing this is a reason that she is more prone to hoof problems, but hopefully with the supplements, they will improve a good bit.

Also, while getting some supplies for her, the man running the shop said this year has been an awful year for drop

shanagarry

We have a mare that was very prone to drops as well - like your pony we would get her sound and then a few weeks later she would be back to square one all over again, hobbling around like her leg was broken. But the good news is that we eventually got her sorted and she hasn't had a drop in years now.

Where is the drop coming out - through the coronary band or the hoof? With our mare it was the hoof and what was happening is that it the actual exit point was healing before all the infection was out. If you have a similar situation, then you need to keep the hole in the sole open long enough to clear the infection. That might involve having to use a paring knife to keep the hole open. Obviously you need to know what you are doing, so if you don't get a farrier or vet to do it for you. Then keep up the poulticing, and keep cleaning out the hole. Hopefully you will get it all out for once and for all.

With our lady we eventually had to leave her off for about six months, unshod, and after a while she grew a whole new sole and all the old one came away. She's been fine since then, and that's probably 6 or 7 years ago now.