something weird is going on with one of our horses. She has been properly legged up for awhile now, and we entered our first big barrel race of the season this weekend. Only was ran twice in 3 days..I unloaded her off the trailer today and noticed she's uncomfortable in the hind. Short strided. Actually looking at her walk in a straight line she dog tracks, or her hind end is walking more sideways than her front is. Is this stifles? Before I get flamed, I can not afford to go to a vet for a total exam for a couple weeks. Anyone have any suggestions on what I can do in the mean time? I gave her banamine and within a half hour she was back to hersef. I'm scared, as she is my tough 2D horse too. She is currently fed Vitamin E, exceed 6 way and milled flax seed with grain. She is turned out 24/7 here at home, and was stalled for 3 days...but she wasn't lame or off until I got home. I do not have access to magnawave or pmf therapies. Just  thought I'd ask for opinions on this. Thank you

She could have tied up.  Especially since you said that after Banamine she was back to normal.  I would give her a couple days off.  When you start back to riding her ,walk only the first day,then long trot for a couple days,then back to your normal routine.  

Bump

I'm wondering if it is tying up :( Got home from work this afternoon and she's still very short strided, and not walking a straight line after being outside all day...I do have a vet coming this Thursday now. Must I do a blood test to test for all the variants like pssm or what all is involved with tying up and treating this? she is on no sweet feed or high starch feed at all..but we do feed alfalfa

I would have her tested for epm

Not walking a straight line would have me worried, I would be asking my vet about EMP also. 

Those that mentioned EPM, wouldn't she have had to be bitten by an opposum or some skunk or animal? I'm sooo new to the EPM and PSSM stuff, but I will ask the vet Thurs. She's actually stiff moving front and back at a walk I've noticed today. Also, it seems she's fine with daily riding, but after this weekend of hauling and stalling this flared up

Not bitten, but graze or eat where their droppings etc are.   

I bumped up 2 EPM threads for you, but there are more on here too if you do a "search"  

The "what do you see in our runs" thread has a little pic showing the EPM cycle basically. . . 

If she is AQHA, you can go through them for 5 panel but it takes a bit of time to get results.  If you want fast answers, go through Animal Genetics.  If you want to test for PSSM2 variants, it is through a company called Equiseq.  "Some" on here will poo poo them & their results but they have helped THOUSANDS by getting answers for them.  Both types of testing through these methods can be done by sending in hair samples - tail is usually easier & must include hair follicles.  (I think they say about a pencil thickness in bunch you send to each).  Most vets will push a muscle biopsy for PSSM2 - but unless they have had a recent tie up etc, you can get false negatives, and you also get a blanket diagnosis, not the individual variants - which can be a bit different in how you try to manage (& then you know if you are dealing with only one variant or multiple ones).  The testing through Equiseq is cheaper than a biopsy too.  I would join the PSSM Forum on FB (it is the one that just says PSSM Forum in the title) & post the pedigree - there are some people on there that really know the bloodlines & what ones are more common for the different types.  Short striding & "bunny hopping" when cantering are a couple possible symptoms.  You could post a video too on there.

Thank you for the replies, I still have 2 days before the vet comes out...today I come home and she's moving a bit better but not 100%.  So regarding EPM, wouldn't she be acting wierd like lame, trippy, lethargic etc every single day and not just when I've gone to 3 day shows? I'm leaning towards the tying up part yet.. but I love the responses here

Hope you get a good report from the vet

thank you for the kind words! Well, my vet did a thorough lameness exam, he said there's no way she has EPM if she doesn't show signs daily.. she's muscle sore, couldn't find anything else as far as joint pain or hock or stifles.  Recommended me to put her on baking soda daily plus an amino acid supplement. He told me to try this before I start testing for pssm..so does anyone on here feed baking soda daily to help prevent lactic acid buildup? I don't know what else to think...she's on NO sweet feed whatsoever..I feed Renew Gold with milled flax  I had her on MVP Nsyn and exceed 6 way since March so I think this has been a waste of $$ with those products.

Hamstring muscles get overlooked.  Might try some stretching but find the right way to do.  From my experience when I had surgery I had to lay around for quite a while.  When I got to moving again my muscle was so short that I had to stretch daily for a couple weeks to get back to normal.  So maybe its like that with her being out 24/7 in pasture and then being stalled for 3 days.  It makes a difference when they are not used to being stalled.  Good luck and many prayers!

Had one with EPM.  He lost topline and wasn’t using his hind end in the turns.  

He would on occasion misstep in the hind end like he was stepping in a hole.  Not daily or on a regular basis - in fact until he did it on concrete one day it was mostly on rides in our hayfield and I really did think he was finding uneven ground.

I would be curious to know what daily signs your vet thinks a horse with EPM should have.

I would think you’d have to feed pretty large amounts of baking soda to have any effect on something like tying up if that’s what he is aiming to prevent...

Id probably be getting a second opinion.

I have one who will get body sore and will be stiff. Run her on methacarbomol and it has really helped her. We start Thursday and feed through Sunday. Just helps those muscles relax and not get so sore.

I have heard of that before, baking soda for lactic acid buildup. Not quite sure of the science behind it but from what my understanding of it, an excess of acid in the stomach from work and stress was too much for the body to process. Would end up as an Overload of lactic acid in the muscles that the body was trying to get rid of. That was the theory behind it and not sure of the science behind it to supoort that.

   A product you could try is made by KER  (kentucky equine research) is called Equisure.  Actually is mostly baking soda but has a time released buffer in it which from what I understand is a vegatable oil.(Dont hold me to that) There is alot of of informative articles on that site at well, may give you some more info. We have a product in Canada that is the same thing but alot less expensive as its just baking soda and vegetable oil.  Both products are made for hind gut acidosis.   For an amino acid suppement you could look into buying spirulina in bulk, I feed  just under a tbsp a day. Cant remember if you said you already feed it but a vitamin E and selenium supplement as well but that would be worth it especially with the selenium.