Hi all,
my horse has come up mild lame on her left fore leg. She was mildly off about two weeks ago for a couple days (November 19-20), could only mildly feel it under saddle was not visible. 4 days later she appeared to be 100% sound and we went to a show and she worked very well with no hint of lameness and rode her all the week after with no issue. Fast forward two weeks ago, about 4 days ago I felt something off again not lame but just a little hitch in one direction but was not 100% sure...she did not work very well that day. Yesterday I hopped on her again to see where we were at. and she was visibly lame in her left hand turns and a left circle. She appeared fairly sound in straight lines when hand jogged. Leg from just below knee to hoof (including hoof) is warm compared to the other leg. No swelling, no wounds or nothing wrong with the hoof as far as I can tell. Would I be correct in thinking abscess due to the heat in the hoof/lower leg? However she is only really lame in the turns and the lameness is very inconsistent? Wouldn't an abscess be a more consistent lameness? Any other suggestions? TIA

Bump

It's possible is could be a low-grade abscess that keeps moving around. They sometimes can come and go; not always, but they can.

If this were my horse, I would be taking them in for a lameness evaluation to find out what is going on. (When my gelding started having off-and-on lameness he turned out to have heel pain in BOTH front feet .... just worse in one of them.)

My first thought is abscess if there is no visible swelling on the leg. I'd try to soak it in epsom salt for a day or two and see if it helps draw it out. Like the above poster said I'd also check with your vet, but I know that can sometimes prove difficult around the holidays. Good luck!