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Extreme Veteran
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Location: Ohio girl moved to PA | I'll be taking my main mount to the vet for lameness issues for the first time and dont really know what to expect(besides a nice bill). What are some of your best questions/things to look for and things you like to talk about with your vet? I want the best for my boys so i want to make sure i'm covering everything. I know hes got some sort of an issue going on in his rear end. He's not firing anymore or getting up under himself, and our first barrel has become extremely choppy, and hes also developed a bit of gate issues. He's only 8 and this started about 2 months ago after we ran in a very deep pen. He was fine and firing the weekend before. My best friend is a certified equine massage therapist, she looked him over, couldnt find anything, chiro looked him over, couldnt find anything. He's never taken a lame step since ive owned him and he still runs hard and plays out in the pasture. They, a long with other friends think its his hocks. Im preparing for injections but like i said i've always had sound horses *knock on wood* and this will be our first time going to vet besides from yearly shots/teeth. I'm just a bit nervous to be honest and want to make sure I dont miss a thing. HELP  |
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| I would sure include EPM check. Do you have barn cats? |
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 A Somebody to Everybody
Posts: 41354
Location: Under The Big Sky Of Texas | I would talk to your vet about checking for epm so that you can rule that out as a possible problem, check hocks and stifles.. Good luck 
Edit to add: Make sure hes being shod right to, that all angles are right..
Edited by Southtxponygirl 2017-06-30 1:50 PM
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Member
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| I would start at the feet, once they are ruled out start moving up. flexor tendon, ankles, hocks, stifles and SI. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 534
Location: Ohio girl moved to PA | streakysox - 2017-06-30 2:24 PM I would sure include EPM check. Do you have barn cats?
Yes we do. But, i have my hay locked up and no one has access to it beside me and when i give it to the horses. Nor can they get to my grain. But, i will definitly have him check! anyone know how much that test runs? |
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Extreme Veteran
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Location: Ohio girl moved to PA | Southtxponygirl - 2017-06-30 2:48 PM I would talk to your vet about checking for epm so that you can rule that out as a possible problem, check hocks and stifles.. Good luck
Edit to add: Make sure hes being shod right to, that all angles are right..
Hes definitly shod right and has been for awhile. My farrier is very reliable and will even pull out a measure to make sure angles are right. He really goes over and above for my boys. |
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A Somebody to Everybody
Posts: 41354
Location: Under The Big Sky Of Texas | Ohiobarrelracer - 2017-06-30 2:13 PM streakysox - 2017-06-30 2:24 PM I would sure include EPM check. Do you have barn cats? Yes we do. But, i have my hay locked up and no one has access to it beside me and when i give it to the horses. Nor can they get to my grain. But, i will definitly have him check! anyone know how much that test runs?
All vet clic's are priced different I would call and ask the vet that you are going to. |
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 Shelter Dog Lover
Posts: 10277
| I tell my vet what I feel, show him a video of a run if available, then he takes over from there. His routine is to put his hands all over him from head to tail looking for sore spots, watches him move in the hard ground round pen, flexes and films if necessary. It could be hocks or stifles going on, usually they will be sore somewhere else because they are using their body different to compensate. |
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Extreme Veteran
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Location: Ohio girl moved to PA | Southtxponygirl - 2017-06-30 3:16 PM Ohiobarrelracer - 2017-06-30 2:13 PM streakysox - 2017-06-30 2:24 PM I would sure include EPM check. Do you have barn cats? Yes we do. But, i have my hay locked up and no one has access to it beside me and when i give it to the horses. Nor can they get to my grain. But, i will definitly have him check! anyone know how much that test runs?
Thank you, i will! a few local girls have been going through it and i see all the trouble and heartache they went through bc of EPM, but thankfully both horses recovered and they are successfully running again and making there way back to how they used to be. I just hope this isnt the case for my boy. |
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Extreme Veteran
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Location: Ohio girl moved to PA | rodeomom3 - 2017-06-30 3:21 PM I tell my vet what I feel, show him a video of a run if available, then he takes over from there. His routine is to put his hands all over him from head to tail looking for sore spots, watches him move in the hard ground round pen, flexes and films if necessary. It could be hocks or stifles going on, usually they will be sore somewhere else because they are using their body different to compensate.
He sounds like a very helpful vet. I also think its more of his right side then his left, my friend also said he feels tighter on his left so i can only assume hes compensating. ugh its been a stressful couple months but his appointment is next week and were going to a very trusted vet with a eye for lameness so im hoping we can get him all figured out without breaking my bank completely! |
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Take a Picture
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| Ohiobarrelracer - 2017-06-30 2:13 PM
streakysox - 2017-06-30 2:24 PM I would sure include EPM check. Do you have barn cats?
Yes we do. But, i have my hay locked up and no one has access to it beside me and when i give it to the horses. Nor can they get to my grain. But, i will definitly have him check! anyone know how much that test runs?
I had one checked a couple of days ago. Vet did several physical things but I did not thing that was her problem. Vet did not either. I think the blood titter was about $65. |
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 You get what you give
Posts: 13030
Location: Texas | depends on where you send the blood. UC Davis which in my opinion has the best selection of titers is somewhere between 200-300 I think..
Everyone has their own pattern with what they do on a lameness exam. I start at the head and poll, work down the neck and then follow the spine to the SI. Then I go to the front legs and palpate joints, tendons/ligaments, do static flexion of knee and ankle, then I hoof test the foot. Then I go to the back legs, palpate stifles, palpate tendons, static flex the fetlock then the hock/stifle and do a Churchill test just to see because some will respond. I hoof test the back feet too unless they are really ill behaved and I think I'll get kicked.
We always evaluate the feet... poor hoof trimming, too long of a toe, and negative palmar angles are common problems that can really make one sore. Even if they come in for hock pain, we look everywhere, because sometimes hind end pain is secondary to shifting the weight off the sore front end.
Especially in barrel horses, if they are not turning the first barrel correctly, it can be just as much if not more of a front end problem than a hind end problem because of their approach to the first barrel from the alley compared to the other two barrels.
The next step after the initial exam is to watch the horse move. We have a covered round pen we can free lunge the horses in so no one is hanging on their head leading them which can make things look different. After we free lunge both ways we take them to a concrete pad and do the flexion exam. After that we decide on nerve blocks, if any, and x rays/ US if needed. Sometimes we go straight to injecting hocks but we like to get baseline x rays of the hocks before we start, or if the duration of hock injections has changed recently.
Edited by casualdust07 2017-07-01 10:15 AM
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Extreme Veteran
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Location: Ohio girl moved to PA | casualdust07 - 2017-07-01 11:14 AM depends on where you send the blood. UC Davis which in my opinion has the best selection of titers is somewhere between 200-300 I think.. Everyone has their own pattern with what they do on a lameness exam. I start at the head and poll, work down the neck and then follow the spine to the SI. Then I go to the front legs and palpate joints, tendons/ligaments, do static flexion of knee and ankle, then I hoof test the foot. Then I go to the back legs, palpate stifles, palpate tendons, static flex the fetlock then the hock/stifle and do a Churchill test just to see because some will respond. I hoof test the back feet too unless they are really ill behaved and I think I'll get kicked. We always evaluate the feet... poor hoof trimming, too long of a toe, and negative palmar angles are common problems that can really make one sore. Even if they come in for hock pain, we look everywhere, because sometimes hind end pain is secondary to shifting the weight off the sore front end. Especially in barrel horses, if they are not turning the first barrel correctly, it can be just as much if not more of a front end problem than a hind end problem because of their approach to the first barrel from the alley compared to the other two barrels. The next step after the initial exam is to watch the horse move. We have a covered round pen we can free lunge the horses in so no one is hanging on their head leading them which can make things look different. After we free lunge both ways we take them to a concrete pad and do the flexion exam. After that we decide on nerve blocks, if any, and x rays/ US if needed. Sometimes we go straight to injecting hocks but we like to get baseline x rays of the hocks before we start, or if the duration of hock injections has changed recently.
Thank you ! That was extremely helpful so I know what to look for and watch what this vet is doing. I have to ask though and forgive me if this is a dumb question but what is a Churchill test?? I've never heard of that before. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 534
Location: Ohio girl moved to PA | bump |
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 Extreme Veteran
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Location: SW MO | You said in your original post it was after you ran in deep ground- I would palpate all suspensory ligaments after you check joints and for EPM. |
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 Not Afraid to Work
Posts: 4717
| Ohiobarrelracer - 2017-06-30 2:15 PM
Southtxponygirl - 2017-06-30 2:48 PM I would talk to your vet about checking for epm so that you can rule that out as a possible problem, check hocks and stifles.. Good luck
Edit to add: Make sure hes being shod right to, that all angles are right..
I just want to add my gelding looked right, my farrier is incredible and vet had zero concerns but we x-rayed anyway based on some weird movement in my gelding and his angles were off. What we could see on the outside was much better than what it looked like through x-ray. Just food for thought |
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Extreme Veteran
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Location: Ohio girl moved to PA | stayceem - 2017-07-06 1:37 PM Ohiobarrelracer - 2017-06-30 2:15 PM Southtxponygirl - 2017-06-30 2:48 PM I would talk to your vet about checking for epm so that you can rule that out as a possible problem, check hocks and stifles.. Good luck
Edit to add: Make sure hes being shod right to, that all angles are right.. I just want to add my gelding looked right, my farrier is incredible and vet had zero concerns but we x-rayed anyway based on some weird movement in my gelding and his angles were off. What we could see on the outside was much better than what it looked like through x-ray. Just food for thought
i Will be sure to have him look into his feet as well. I dont want to miss a thing on him. |
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 Expert
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| Ohiobarrelracer - 2017-07-02 9:22 AM
casualdust07 - 2017-07-01 11:14 AM depends on where you send the blood. UC Davis which in my opinion has the best selection of titers is somewhere between 200-300 I think.. Everyone has their own pattern with what they do on a lameness exam. I start at the head and poll, work down the neck and then follow the spine to the SI. Then I go to the front legs and palpate joints, tendons/ligaments, do static flexion of knee and ankle, then I hoof test the foot. Then I go to the back legs, palpate stifles, palpate tendons, static flex the fetlock then the hock/stifle and do a Churchill test just to see because some will respond. I hoof test the back feet too unless they are really ill behaved and I think I'll get kicked. We always evaluate the feet... poor hoof trimming, too long of a toe, and negative palmar angles are common problems that can really make one sore. Even if they come in for hock pain, we look everywhere, because sometimes hind end pain is secondary to shifting the weight off the sore front end. Especially in barrel horses, if they are not turning the first barrel correctly, it can be just as much if not more of a front end problem than a hind end problem because of their approach to the first barrel from the alley compared to the other two barrels. The next step after the initial exam is to watch the horse move. We have a covered round pen we can free lunge the horses in so no one is hanging on their head leading them which can make things look different. After we free lunge both ways we take them to a concrete pad and do the flexion exam. After that we decide on nerve blocks, if any, and x rays/ US if needed. Sometimes we go straight to injecting hocks but we like to get baseline x rays of the hocks before we start, or if the duration of hock injections has changed recently.
Thank you ! That was extremely helpful so I know what to look for and watch what this vet is doing. I have to ask though and forgive me if this is a dumb question but what is a Churchill test?? I've never heard of that before.
Its a hock test - Youtube has some examples.
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 534
Location: Ohio girl moved to PA | Yes! We went to the vet this past saturday (the 8th) did flex test and xrays and he has some inflammation in the lower hock joints and a small bone spur on the right hock. But, vet said overall he would rate the left hock at a 1/2 on a 1-3 scale and right hock about a 2. Which makes sence bc i could tell his right was bothering him way worse. So, vet did injections of cortizone and HA. We did our light riding the last 2 days and vet wants him back to full load today but im still so worried. I never had a horse that needed injections before so im being extra precautious. He's moving great and acting himself again but im a worry wart. I also started him on Actiflex 4000. HAD to get the alfalfa based powder because he refused to eat the liquid. DIVA!!! |
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Veteran
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| There's gotta be a diva in the barn. Glad to hear you found the more than likely culprits. |
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 Expert
Posts: 5293
| Ohiobarrelracer - 2017-07-14 9:14 AM
Yes! We went to the vet this past saturday (the 8th) did flex test and xrays and he has some inflammation in the lower hock joints and a small bone spur on the right hock. But, vet said overall he would rate the left hock at a 1/2 on a 1-3 scale and right hock about a 2. Which makes sence bc i could tell his right was bothering him way worse. So, vet did injections of cortizone and HA. We did our light riding the last 2 days and vet wants him back to full load today but im still so worried. I never had a horse that needed injections before so im being extra precautious. He's moving great and acting himself again but im a worry wart. I also started him on Actiflex 4000. HAD to get the alfalfa based powder because he refused to eat the liquid. DIVA!!!
Mine to.. lol Did not want the Liquid. But they Love the powder and I am really seeing a difference. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 534
Location: Ohio girl moved to PA | FLITASTIC - 2017-07-14 1:01 PM Ohiobarrelracer - 2017-07-14 9:14 AM Yes! We went to the vet this past saturday (the 8th) did flex test and xrays and he has some inflammation in the lower hock joints and a small bone spur on the right hock. But, vet said overall he would rate the left hock at a 1/2 on a 1-3 scale and right hock about a 2. Which makes sence bc i could tell his right was bothering him way worse. So, vet did injections of cortizone and HA. We did our light riding the last 2 days and vet wants him back to full load today but im still so worried. I never had a horse that needed injections before so im being extra precautious. He's moving great and acting himself again but im a worry wart. I also started him on Actiflex 4000. HAD to get the alfalfa based powder because he refused to eat the liquid. DIVA!!! Mine to.. lol Did not want the Liquid. But they Love the powder and I am really seeing a difference.
He wouldnt even touch his grain with the liquid in it, which i KNOW its bad when he does that because he always eats his grain lol. Thankfully my other guy is a vaccuum cleaner and will eat anything so it wont go to waste and im already starting to notice he isnt clicking as much! so im happy about that! |
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Vet questions?? kinda worried...