Focused on Body Lameness in the Equine Athlete

• "That's just the way he goes."
• "He's just lazy and requires a lot of leg and crop."
• Farrier has to use to different shoe sizes on the front because he has different sized feet.
• "He bucks after the jump because he is excited."
• "He always jumps to the right/left."
• "He's just bad for the farrier."
• "That's his bad direction."
• "He's just clumsy and trips/stumbles a lot."
• "He just doesn't like to be groomed and brushed."
• "He's  girthy."
• "He needs a long warm-up because he's cold backed."
• "He is just a grouchy horse."
• "He's just resistant to the bit."
• "He just doesn't like to bend that direction."
• "I always feel like I'm falling off to one side."
• "Your right stirrup is always longer than your left."
• "He's a spooky/reactive horse."

If any of these phrases sound familiar to you reach out to Kinetic Equine Medicine to for a comprehensive equine sports medicine evaluation. 

Symptoms of back/pelvis body lameness and dysfunction.

• Toe drag in one or both hind limbs
• Unwilling or reluctant to move forward 
• Crooked tail carriage
• Unable/ Unwilling to pick up the correct lead, maintain the correct lead
• Poor lead changes or late lead changes
• The "ride" changes with direction changes
• "Pot-Belly" appearance
• Jumps to one side of the fence
• Lands on incorrect lead
• Lack of topline or gluteal development
• Uneven size in front/hind feet
• Feeling like you are falling off to one side
• Bad for the farrier, unable or reluctant to pick up hind feet, or picks up one hindlimb better than the other

Symptoms of Neck or Shoulder-Girdle body lameness or dysfunction. 

• Difficult flexing neck to left or right
• Hops into trot
• Patchy sweat pattern on neck/withers
• Becomes noticeably lame or reluctant to move forward when brought into a frame (Rein-lame) 
• Muscle loss over neck or asymmetrical muscle patterns between left/right side
• Difficult bridling 
• Stumbling or Tripping
• Base-wide stance
• Toe tick/ toe dragging of front toes
• Unequal bend/contact
• Head or neck tilt while riding or lunging 
• Toss head in cross ties if head is too high or too low
• Idiopathic Hopping
• Throwing head and neck up over a jump

• Does not like being groomed
• Grumpy when being tacked up/ girth tightened
• Moves different when tacked up/ under saddle than when equipment is not on the horse
• Hairloss, rubs, sores, or white hairs present where equipment sits
• "Sharkfin" withers 
• "Ewe" neck conformation 
• Clumsy or tripping under saddle 
• Unblockable forelimb lameness
• High or low neck carriage
• Resistant to maintaining contact
• Wide or narrow forelimb stance
• Throws the neck up before and over a jump
• Lameness is not apparent on the lunge line but appears under saddle

If your horse is showing these pain signs reach out to Kinetic Equine Medicine for an equine sports medicine evaluation. 

1. The ears rotated back behind vertical or flat (both or one only) for five or more seconds, or repeatedly laying the ears flat
2. The eye lids closed or half closed for two to five seconds
3. Sclera (white of the eye) repeatedly exposed
4. An intense stare for five or more seconds
5. The mouth opening and shutting repeatedly with separation of teeth, for ten or more seconds
6. The tongue exposed, protruding or hanging out, and / or moving in and out
7. The bit pulled through the mouth on one side (left or right)

1. Repeated changes of head position (up / down, but not in rhythm with trot)
2. Head tilted, repeated
3. Head in front of vertical (more than 30 degrees) for ten or more seconds
4. Head behind vertical (more than 10 degrees) for ten or more seconds
5. Head position changes regularly, tossed or twisted from side to side, corrected constantly
6. Tail clamped tightly to middle or held to one side
7. Tail swishing large movements: repeatedly up and down / side to side / circular; during transitions

1. A rushed gait (frequency of trot steps greater than 40 in 15 seconds); irregular rhythm in trot or canter; repeated changes of speed in trot or canter
2. Gait too slow (frequency of trot steps less than 35 in 15 seconds); passage-like trot
3. Hindlimbs do not follow tracks of forelimbs but deviated to left or right; on three tracks in trot or canter
4. Canter repeated strike off wrong leg; change of leg in front and / or behind (disunited)
5. Spontaneous changes of gait (e.g., breaks from canter to trot, or trot to canter)
6. Stumbles or trips repeatedly; repeated bilateral hindlimb toe drag
7. Sudden change of direction, against rider’s direction; spooking
8. Reluctant to move forward (has to be kicked, with or without verbal encouragement), stops spontaneously
9. Rearing (both forelimbs off the ground)
10. Bucking or kicking backwards (one or both hindlimbs)