From: Julie
Hey Jessica! First and foremost, I love your advice to many of the questions answered, but I fear my question hasn't been asked. I own a 15 year old 15hh Paint mare named Belle, who I love dearly, but ever since I bought her in March 2005, she has had "on again off again" lameness. We have had several vets and farriers look at her. Not one could figure out what is wrong with her. We have taken x-rays and ultrasounds of her hooves and shoulders and legs, but nothing has showed up. She has had her bloodwork done and has had no proof of neurological problems. She doesn't have navicular disease either. Even my riding instructor, who has been with horses all her life and is extremely knowledgeable, is confused. She is on Adequan, a joint lubricator. All we know is she has had two babies before, and I'm wondering if she could possibly have bone damage from (a) carrying so much weight and (b) losing nutrients since her babies need them to get stronger.
Obviously I'm puzzled by this whole matter, and I'm very upset since I have probably ridden her a maximum of 40 times since I purchased her. Please try to answer my question and thank you so much for looking at this email! Sincerely, Julie
Carrying the weight of a foal shouldn't be a big problem for a healthy mare that isn't being ridden during the last half of her pregnancy. At birth, most light horse foals weigh no more than 100 lbs, and some weigh considerably less. That's far less than the weight of an average rider plus tack.
Bone loss is another matter, but bones aren't static - they rebuild and remodel throughout a horse's life. As long as your mare was reasonably well fed during her pregnancies, her bones should not have suffered any damage. Since you've already had x-rays taken of her legs, why not just ask the veterinarians who took those x-rays whether they noticed any problem with her bones or bone density? If they had noticed any such problem, they would almost certainly have mentioned it at the time, but you may as well put your mind at ease by double-checking with them.
A lot of "mystery lamenesses" exist in horses and humans. Older horses, like older humans, can feel fine one day and not so fine the next day, and may be sore for several days after a single day during which they work unusually hard. Many chronic problems - arthritis, for instance - can be more or less painful from day to day, depending on any number of factors. Exertion, stress, diet, weather conditions, overall activity level, etc. - all of these things can play into a horse (or human) seeming "just fine" one day and "sore" or "off" the following day or the day after that. Any older human with arthritis can tell you that there are good days and bad days, and that it's not always possible to predict or analyze the reasons behind one day being better (or worse) than another. Some horses, like some humans, are more stoical than others.
MANY horses are "pasture sound" - meaning that they can enjoy their lives as long as they are unencumbered by riders and can move at their chosen speed, in their chosen direction, for as long as they are comfortable moving, but that they quickly become uncomfortable and uneven in their gaits when extra stressors are added. This isn't difficult to understand. Imagine yourself exercising by walking on a treadmill. You can do it comfortably as long as the platform is flat and you're walking slowly, but then someone comes along and changes the angle so that you're going uphill, or adjusts the speed so that you have to walk faster, or makes you wear ankle and wrist weights - or insists that you wear a backpack full of books. Your pleasant walk could become uncomfortable very quickly, even if each of those changes seemed fairly trivial.
There are things you can do to try to help your mare. Be sure to keep her hooves trimmed and balanced at all times. Be sure to keep her teeth in good shape - properly floated - at all times. Unbalanced hooves and teeth in need of floating can create tension and stress and pain throughout a horse's body, and lead to "mystery lamenesses". Don't shut her into a stall - keep her turned out in a field so that she can exercise gently around the clock. If she's having a good day when you come out to ride her, ride her gently - don't feel that you "have to" work her hard because it's a good day. Take it easy with her. If she's obviously having a bad day when you come out to ride her, change your plans and don't ride. If she seems sound when she's walking around on her own, but is obviously not entirely sound when she's under saddle, then you can safely assume that adding a saddle, bridle, and rider is causing her to move differently and experience more pain. Check and double- and triple-check the fit of her saddle, and then check its position - be sure that it isn't so far forward that it's interfering with her shoulder (common with hunters, jumpers, and dressage horses) or so far back that it or the blanket is interfering with her hip (common with many Western horses). Horses can go from even and level to lurching and twisting in the course of a quiet ride if the saddle is rubbing or pinching or putting pressure directly on the horse's spine, or if it's interfering with with one or both of the horse's shoulders or hips. You might want to ask your vets about using thermography to help locate possible painful areas on your mare's body.
When you DO ride her, ride as well as you can - your instructor can help you with this. Your mare won't be able to move or balance any better than you are riding her, and if you're unbalanced and she has to accomodate you by unbalancing herself and changing her posture and movement, she's likely to become sore very quickly. The more attentive you are to your own balance and posture, the more comfortably your mare will be able to carry you.
The most important thing for you to remember is this: Horses don't lie, so if your mare says that she's in pain, believe her. There could be one cause, or two, or five, or a dozen, and the cause or causes might not be visible on x-rays or ultrasounds. That's the bad news - you won't necessarily be able to figure out what's causing your mare to be sore. However, if you take every opportunity to ensure her health and comfort and balance, then with luck, you may be able to manage her in a way that doesn't cause her to become too sore to ride. Good luck!
Jessica
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