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 Worst.Housekeeper.EVER.
   
Location: Missouri | Long story, but I noticed my filly having problems holding leads when I started her groundwork as a 2 year old. I hoped it was just a learning curve, but here we are at 3, coming 4, and she cannot hold a lead for more than a couple of strides. She has trouble both directions, under saddle, being lunged (with and without the balance training system) and in the round pen.
The vet treated her for epm with a compounded meds for 30 days, noting asymmetry in her shoulders and across her hips. She didn't appear to have any other signs.
He also mentioned UFP, but my only experience with this has been the typical "stepping in a hole" feeling at a trot. I've had one blistered before with no improvement. The other I did strengthening exercises and never had issues.
Has anyone experienced something similar? Where the only sign seems to be cross-firing? How did you treat? Any thoughts on stripping and splitting?
Thanks for any help. |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 678
Location: Canada | Is the vet you used a great lameness vet? If not, before you spend a lot of money treating potential issues I'd have her looked over by a lameness vet.
Have you x-rayed her neck and spine to see if there is any issues there that could be causing the cross firing?
Edited by RunNitroRun 2017-12-28 1:29 PM
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Worst.Housekeeper.EVER.
Location: Missouri | RunNitroRun - 2017-12-28 1:08 PM
Is the vet you used a great lameness vet? If not, before you spend a lot of money treating potential issues I'd have her looked over by a lameness vet.
Have you x-rayed her neck and spine to see if there is any issues there that could be causing the cross firing?
Thanks so much for the response :)
I hope he is a good vet! Definitely the most highly recommended in this area (still out-of-state for me). He has diagnosed a neck injury in another of my horses, so I feel like he would have looked there had there been any indication.
He saw her again yesterday. Ended up injecting and blistering both stifles. He also xrayed hind feet and had her set up in wedges to correct angles and speed up the break over.
A bazillion dollars and a few dashed hopes later, I'm skeptical but hopeful this might work... |
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Veteran
Posts: 242
| Mine was cross firing also , treated for EPM and that was a correct diagnosis on my horse. After treatment her stifles were sore from compensating so injected and she's been great since. Hope your horse gets figured out. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 898
Location: Mountains of VA | The only luck I have had with stifles is just to ride, ride, ride and ride some more. Of course, I had a fitness plan that I followed and used common sense. Time off is not an option for strengthening hindquarters/stifles. I have NEVER had any luck with cutting, splitting or injecting stifles that were weak, tight or locking. |
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Defense Attorney for The Horse
Location: Claremore, OK | Could be sore hocks or sore stifles. I would want a more thorough exam, maybe some flexion and blocking. Sometimes growth plates on the tibial crest,near the stifle will cause stifle soreness and catching. Blistering and injecting might help temporarily but won’t fix an open growth plate. |
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Worst.Housekeeper.EVER.
Location: Missouri | Liana D - 2017-12-30 12:49 PM
Could be sore hocks or sore stifles. I would want a more thorough exam, maybe some flexion and blocking. Sometimes growth plates on the tibial crest,near the stifle will cause stifle soreness and catching. Blistering and injecting might help temporarily but won’t fix an open growth plate.
She has never flexed positive. He did use a thermal camera this time and thought one stifle was a little more inflamed than the other, but both appeared hot. Her growth plates are closed. All xrays have been clean.
I lunged her yesterday and she moved like a gaited horse on the back end, snapping her high heels and super stilted/jerky, but she was feeling super fresh and loped almost a full circle in the correct lead. That's a HUGE accomplishment!  Now, hopefully she will smooth out and it will last! Once it warms a little, I will do more strenuous hill work, trot poles, etc. |
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