From: Molli
Hi Jessica: I really enjoy your question/answer forum and the complete answers you provide to those questions. I have learned a lot. Our 3 year old gaited horse has been very lame this past week. The vet did come out to examine and x-ray. He felt fluid in both stifle joints. We will have the results of x-rays shortly. Here is background and then I shall end with my question.
We have a 3 1/2 year old Rocky Mountain gaited horse.They are an unusual breed in our state of Washington as they originate in Virginia and Tennesee. We chose him for our daughter (age 11) to ride and show due to that particular breed's lovely, calm disposition. He is very calm, willing, sweet and gorgeous as well. He is chocolate brown(golden dapples in the summer) with a golden flaxen mane and tail that is luxurious. He has a soft round eye and is very human/family oriented. His name is Sir Galahad. These horses are often ridden by novices because thay are so sweet and mature (We are not novice riders although this is the first gaited horse we have ever owned). Physically they are also mature and are generally ridden by age three. He was just over three when we put him in training for three months with a very experienced Rocky mountain/gaited trainer. He was ridden by the trainer 5-6 days a week,had limited daily turnout by himself.The training arena is a huge dressage-size arena. During that time, he experienced no lameness/soundedness problems whatsoever.
We took him home the first of August to give him some time off. Where we board is a lovely ranch that has huge pastures, all day turn out. He is turned out daily with my horse and last week a new new horse. We have ridden him 2-3 days a week mostly on trail rides (my 11 year old being the primary rider). However, since we're in the rainy season we have ridden him in our indoor arena about a dozen times at least. The indoor arena is about 100ft X 60 ft, with poor footing (i.e uneven with dips especially in one corner).The footing has a hard dirt floor covered with about several inches of fine hogsfuel. When the trainer hauled him home for us she saw the arena and didn't make any reactive comments; but she tends not to be critical or negative of other facilites (unlike a lot of trainers I've known in the past which is why we like her). She has cautioned us about the Rockies (and maybe gaited horses in general) not to gait them in tight circles, (no lunge line) and to especially help him gait in corners. We have free lunged him in that indoor arena and ridden him. I have also free lunged him in the outdoor arena (dressage size with sand footing) The corner in the indoor arena which I mentioned previously, he has avoided and often downright refused to maneuver. I am now wondering if he was trying to tell us something that it was hard for him to turn in there?!
I am heartsick because I feel like I've ruined him due to our improper working in the indoor arena due to the footing issues and small size. Would having him in a training program then having him come home cause stifle lameness? We rode him for almost three months at home however, and he was sound until last week. The barn manager stated that last week they were wild in the pasture due to the wind running, rearing etc. could he have slipped on wet grass? Would that be sufficient to cause the lameness in both rear legs that we are seeing? Any comment on working conditions for gaited horses (especially Rockies) and stifles would be appreciated. Molli
First, let me correct you on one very important point - regardless of what the trainer or breeder may have told you, the Rocky Mountain Horse is NOT physically mature at age three. No horse is physically mature at age three - the process of skeletal development takes at least twice that long. A horse can be fed in such a way as to cause it to gain most of its adult height by the time it is two or three years old, but that does not mean that it's any more physically mature than it would be if it had been allowed to grow normally. Some breeds are 'kinder and gentler' than others, and more accepting of handling (and mishandling, for that matter), and many trainers like to start horses under saddle at age two simply because they are much meeker and more biddable at two than they will be at three, and trainers who are in a hurry are unlikely to do what's best for the horse and wait until it is four before beginning to work it under saddle.
For a very young horse that should be out moving freely 24/7, the combination of daily training sessions and confinement to a stall with limited solo turnout is very risky.
I'm sure that you are correct: Your horse was trying to avoid the part where the footing was worst and most dangerous. He wasn't doing this out of a desire to "tell you" anything, but because his sense of self-preservation would make him (like any horse) want to avoid dangerous and insecure footing.
Arenas can be tricky. As you found out, a layer of footing spread smoothly over the surface of the arena is not a guarantee of a safe, flat base underneath. A large arena, with good footing over a level base, can be a wonderful place to work a horse. A small arena with good footing and a level base can be a safe place to do slow work with a horse. But any arena with poor footing, or with a lumpy, uneven base hidden under the footing, is a place that should be avoided entirely. Don't bother trying to get any work done in such an arena - it's simply too dangerous for the horse's legs. If an arena like that is the ONLY place you can ride, because of extraordinary circumstances (e.g. if the ground outside were covered with deep mud or sheet ice), you have to decide whether to risk riding in the arena (in which case you should ride at a walk only, carefully avoiding the worst areas) or whether it's wiser to give up riding altogether until the footing outside or on the trails is safe again.
Small arenas present a second problem, even if they have safe footing. Unless an arena is carefully harrowed and smoothed every day, it is likely to develop a path around the edge, and most riders and horses will stay on that path or within the area inside the path, which makes the effective space even smaller. An arena that measures only 60' across - especially if it is only 100' long - will make it necessary for a horse to turn continually and work on small circles, and that means that any work in there should be slow. If a horse being ridden in such a small space isn't fully-developed, well-balanced, and well-trained, it will be at risk for injury even if the footing is ideal - so it's essential that the base and footing in tiny arenas be kept in ideal condition. ANY arena with an uneven, lumpy base, no matter how large it may be, is dangerous to any horse working in it at ANY speed. The combination of too-small size and dangerous footing is a burning formula for lameness.
Your vet will be able to tell you what is happening with your horse's stifles. If your horse is taking short steps with the hind legs and is unhappy when you ask him to back up or turn in a small circle, those are usually signs of sore stifles. The treatment for sore stifles in a horse is very similar to the treatment of sore knees in a human - the emphasis should not be on injecting drugs into the joints, but on building the muscles that support the joints and hold the kneecaps in place. Just like humans, horses with weak quadriceps can develop knee trouble - which, in the case of a horse, means sore stifles. You might ask your vet about substances that can improve or replace joint fluid - these can help minimize pain and cartilage damage, without causing the additional risks presented by injections into the joint. There are oral supplements that can be given alone or in conjunction with intravenous or intramuscular injections, to provide joint therapy - it's obviously not too soon to be worrying about arthritic changes, and your vet will be able to advise you on products and protocols.
It is, of course, possible that the work on bad footing wasn't the only cause of the problem, but if I were you, I wouldn't be too quick to blame it on running and playing in the field. It IS possible for a horse to sustain some leg strains from running in the field, especially if he was running with (or from) another horse. Your horse's lameness, in addition to coinciding with being worked in a high-risk area, also seems to coincide with the addition of the new horse to his field, so there is a possibility that chasing around on slippery footing outdoors may have made matters worse. But again, I wouldn't really expect this to be the main cause of his injuries - and don't forget that he was probably in better shape to deal with an injury, just BECAUSE you had given him those three months of free exercise in a field. This probably helped him a great deal, since a horse that sustains an injury will typically sustain a much worse injury if its bones, muscles, tendons, and ligaments are all weak from confinement. Your vet may find OCD (a developmental orthpedic disease) lesions when he x-rays the horse - so heredity is one possibility, but I wouldn't bet on this either, for two reasons. The first is that it would be rather unusual for this to show up in BOTH stifles at once. The second reason is that most Rocky Mountain Horses are very strong, sure-footed, and durable, with good stifles. So I'm afraid that if you're looking for the most likely suspect in this situation, it all comes back to the arena itself.
Your vet will be able to advise you on treatment, therapies, and various ways in which you may be able to help your youngster. Your horse sounds adorable. Rocky Mountain Horses are indeed very kind and cooperative - they're known for their beauty, strength, and sweet dispositions. In a way this works against them, as they are unlikely to protest or resist when they are asked to do too much, too soon, or under unfortunate circumstances. In this case, if you're lucky, and I hope you are, Sir Galahad may be able to recover after some time off, followed by the sort of riding he needed anyway - slow, easy, on straight lines and wide turns, and on trustworthy footing. Trail-riding on good trails with a kind eleven-year-old rider should be just about right!
The situation isn't really any different because he's a gaited horse - that arena would have been bad for any horse, and it wasn't worse for your horse just because he's gaited. In fact, it's actually possible that the fact that Sir Galahad is a Rocky Mountain Horse may have helped him! If all of the work you were doing was at the walk and the amble, he probably sustained less damage than he would have if you had been working him at the trot or canter. The Rocky Mountain Horse's natural gait is a four-beat amble, easy for the rider and also easy for the horse, because it's a nice, balanced, stable gait that doesn't put too much strain on any single leg.
If you're lucky and he comes back to full use, you already know to stay out of that arena. You should also keep in mind that you shouldn't try to work on his gait in ANY place with a high-risk surface. For one thing, as you've already discovered, he can go lame. For another, you won't get his best gait in any case - on bad footing, he won't be able to move well, and if he can't move comfortably at his proper gait, he's likely to pace or foxtrot.
I'm crossing my fingers that yours will have sustained no major damage, and that he will come through his convalescence and be a good riding horse for your daughter for many years to come. Meanwhile, you can help by following your vet's instructions and by managing your horse's convalescence (and the rest of his life) in a way that will help prevent additional damage.
If your horse spends any time in a stall or standing in the barn aisle, use mats to create a level surface that provides some cushion. Standing on concrete is extremely stressful to horses' legs. When you have the "go ahead" to begin exercising and riding the horse, never skip or shorten his warm-up - in fact, lengthen it! A younger horse with arthritic damage needs to be treated like an older horse, and given a long, gradual, gentle warmup before any kind of work. Degenerative joint disease can often be managed if you start as soon as it's diagnosed and are attentive and consistent forever after. Massage and chiropractic can be helpful, too - your veterinarian may be skilled in these areas, or may be able to recommend someone he trusts. Just remember that a three-year-old horse of ANY breed is no more than halfway to physical maturity, avoid dangerous footing, and begin building him up slowly with sensible, consistent, progressive exercise when your vet tells you that he's ready.
Good luck, and please let me know what happens.
Jessica
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