Have you ever watched your horse move and thought, “Something doesn’t look right, but I can’t put my finger on it”? You’re not alone. Identifying lameness in horses can feel akin to solving a complex puzzle. Any one (or more) of your horse’s limbs could be hurting, and the issue could originate anywhere from his hooves to his joints. But don’t worry! We’re here to help you become a detective in your own barn. Here’s how to spot which leg your horse might be favoring so you can share that information with your veterinarian and get your horse back on the path to soundness.
First, Know What’s Normal
Monitoring your horse on a routine basis is good horsemanship, and it helps prevent simmering problems from getting out of hand. If you know your horse’s normal movement and what that looks like when all is well, then when he seems a little bit off, you can appreciate the changes in the character and cadence of his gait. And if all you can discern is that he is lame, yet you can’t figure out which leg, at least you have a starting point to know when it’s appropriate to get your veterinarian involved.
You can evaluate your horse’s movement and musculoskeletal soundness by watching him on a longe line or in a round pen doing trot circles in both directions. Using a video camera to document his gait periodically also provides a basis of comparison for times when you think something might be wrong.
Evaluating Lameness in Horses
When a horse is overtly lame, he’ll show obvious signs of limping. More subtle signs include a shortened stride, reluctance to go forward, toe-dragging, and shuffling. To help identify which leg is lame, watch your horse trot in circles in both directions. Lameness can’t be differentiated at a canter, only at a trot. Trotting him on an asphalt surface might help you to hear a change in the footfalls—when the lame leg hits the ground, it’ll make a softer sound because he weights it less. Conversely, you will hear a louder footfall on the “sound” leg on the opposite side since it is taking on more of the horse’s weight.
Watch: How To Recognize a Lame Horse
Signs of Forelimb Lameness
Visually, when a lame front leg hits the ground and the horse feels pain, he usually lifts his head and elevates his shoulder to relieve loading on that limb. This is called a head bob, although not all lameness will be severe enough to elicit this much motion through the shoulder, neck, and head. Ideally, you’ll want to identify a lameness problem before it becomes this obvious.
Signs of Hind-Limb Lameness
For a hind leg, watch the horse trot away from you on a straight line. Usually (but not always), the lame leg will have a hip hike, with the hip on the sore leg elevated above the hip on the other good side. This results from the horse’s attempt to relieve pressure on the sore leg by getting off of it sooner. On circles, the lame rear leg might not make a full forward excursion, so the horse may look like he is stabbing or trailing the lame leg, or there may simply be a delay in his stride.
Take-Home Message
If your horse is lame and your veterinarian is in attendance, ask him or her to show you what they look for when judging lameness in horses. Otherwise, go outside and practice watching your horse travel in circles. The more you watch your horse and other horses, the better you’ll get at this important skill.
This article originally appeared on StableManagement.com.
