Lame or Unsound?

It has been a bit frustrating the past two days. Sonny was making excellent progress, and apparently, somehow, he managed to bang up what was his GOOD knee. It was either Little Mare kicking him, although I see no kick marks, or he got too rowdy running in the paddock when Little Mare went for a ride the other day. Ah well.... this too shall pass I suppose. We are back to hand walking and cold hosing both knees, and will see how he looks today.

That brought to mind a phone conversation with an owner the other day, which brought about the idea of this post. (Not the Sonny being swollen again part though!) The lady called and said, "My trainer says my horse is off!"

Now "off" can mean a WIDE variety of things- way wide when you think about it. To me though, "off" means an immediate new problem that needs to be addressed fairly quickly. "Off" is the onset of acute lameness.

In the course of the conversation, we found out that the mare in question was no more "off" than usual. This particular horse has issues with her stifle joint on her off (or right) side, and the owner has a treatment plan to help the mare regain strength in that leg.

This got me thinking. (Dangerous habit at times I know!) I do not know if the rest of the equine industry views the classifications of lame and unsound the way I do, but its worth explaining our view on it.

Lame: sudden onset (acute) in one or more limbs, where horse is moving from slightly "off" to 3 legged (refusing to bear weight on one leg/ hoof.)

Unsound: chronic condition that has the horse moving with an altered stride on a permanent basis. OR- technically, Sonny, with his crooked legs, could technically be considered unsound, even though he is not outright lame on them right now. The mare with the stifle issue, while not outright lame, is classified unsound.

Unsoundness can also be: eyesight issues, breathing issues, etc. For today's topic though, I am sticking to legs and feet.

There are an amazing amount of ways that an unsoundness can be dealt with, and surprisingly enough, many of them can be rehabilitated. The mare with the stifle issue is a prime example. I am sure many of us have seen a horse moving out who has a "hitch in their gitalong" that stems from the hindquarters. While there are numerous things that can go wrong in the hind limbs, most often times we see issues with the stifle.

I like to do a series of exercises and stretching with the horse to get the stifle to strengthen and in time return to a more sound level of usability. Basically we are teaching the horse to use their body in a completely different manner, building up new muscle, and giving the joint itself a break. In time, the joint is able to function in a more normal fashion.

Sonny on the other hoof, needs frequent trims to keep him balanced, and careful conditioning in order to avoid over stressing his knee joints. Where most horses can go 5 to 8 weeks between trims, Sonny gets his front feet checked daily, and leveled about every 10 to 14 days. A millimeter here and there, but with him it has made a tremendous difference.

There we have it- our view on whether or not a horse is lame or unsound. Just because there is an "unsoundness" present, does not mean that your horse can not work or be ridden. The exact opposite is true- for if you allow the horse to be idle and a pasture puff, chances are that unsoundness will work into a chronic lameness, and then your horse is going to be out of work on a permanent basis.

Keep them balanced from the hooves up, bring them back into work slowly and carefully, and pay close attention to warm spots and even slight swelling. Cold hosing legs after a ride- even on a horse with no issues- is a tremendous help as well. (I had a racehorse trainer clue me in to that. While it is a story for another day, I will say now that I wish I had paid more attention back then. This man had the soundest horses I have ever seen. They won consistently, and raced to "old age" too!) Warm up and cool down carefully, and increase the work load over time.

Seems pretty simple, but often times simple is the most overlooked method is it not?