# Mares back legs keep on collapsing



## jodssukari1 (25 March 2013)

I've got a 15.1hh 9 year old mare. She's hackney x pacer. She was driven as a youngster and was then backed two years ago. I brought her 6 months ago and she passed a 5 stage vetting.

2 months or so ago every now and then (only when being ridden in the school) her back legs buckle for a second. They sort of buckle and then she picks them up again, hard to explain. When i say every now and then i mean maybe once or twice a week (she is schooled twice a week, hacked 3 times and lunged the other day).

I've read up and i thought it may be stifle lock but that would happen all the time not just in the school. I thought that it may get better once she starts getting fitter and although she isn't at optimum fitness, she is pretty fit.

She's shod on all four feet although she was foot sore on her back feet for a little while, this was down to her back feet wearing down (too much roadwork) but is all sorted now.

Anyone else had any experiences with this? I don't want her to be in pain and really looking to start jumping her. Could this be down to her being unbalanced in the school or inexperienced?


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## TwoStroke (25 March 2013)

Sounds like stifles to me. Do you have any pics of her back feet - long toes/low heels can cause this sort of thing.


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## Gloi (25 March 2013)

Just a thought. Have you checked that she has no thrush in the central sulcus of her hind feet. If the school has a gritty surface it might be getting in and causing pain every so often.


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## 5bs (25 March 2013)

Mine was/is doing the same, went to Cambridge old trauma injury to the sacroiliac, he is only six, I got him in May had a five star vetting started going wrong two weeks latter. 

No one really knows his future, he is going to an alternative vet next week called Donna Blinman, if he doesn't come right he will be pts, as he went down with me on him twice, very sad, apparently a very rare injury in his type, maxi cob twelve inch of bone, it is usually seen in more athletic horses.

He would have done it as a youngster, and it has been quietly niggling away, until bang, he went. 3/5 ths lame over night. Started bringing him back into work a couple of weeks ago, and he was good for a few days, but it hasn't lasted as soon as the ground gets slippy it makes it worse. Hence going to Donna.


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## Greygirl (25 March 2013)

Don't know if this is any help but it sounds similar to what was happening with my mare. It turned out to be the tendon that runs over the point of the hock slipping off. It was always worse downhill.


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## JDH01 (26 March 2013)

Sounds very much like the start of the symptoms my old mare showed when she had slipped the tendon off her hock. Was advised by a very good vet that the majority of horses do well with rest and then careful fittening.  Unfortunately once we got to canter work being added the leg collapsed under her a couple of times and I had to make the dcision to have her pts.


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## jodssukari1 (26 March 2013)

She does have very low heels!! I'm certain it's not thrush, have looked at her having that before and i've recently had my farrier up and he would've said something as well, but will double check tomorrow. 

5bs how was that diagnosed? X-rays? It only ever happens in the school and it's a flat surface with that rubber/sand base.

Greygirl what was the treatment for that? Did she ever come back right? 

Thanks all!


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## jodssukari1 (26 March 2013)

JDH01 said:



			Sounds very much like the start of the symptoms my old mare showed when she had slipped the tendon off her hock. Was advised by a very good vet that the majority of horses do well with rest and then careful fittening.  Unfortunately once we got to canter work being added the leg collapsed under her a couple of times and I had to make the dcision to have her pts.
		
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Did your mare do this all the time? How often did it first start?


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## Amymay (26 March 2013)

I would think hocks too - perhaps spavins.

Anyway one for your vet.
 Let us know how you get on.


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## JDH01 (26 March 2013)

Initially she wasnt lame just not quite right and going down hill felt like she was slipping.  I took her to the vets because she was just coming back into work after her usual post hunting holiday. Once the vet had shown me where the tendon had moved to it was obvious and you would be able to see it in any horse.  Once back in work she seemed ok but there was a steady deterioration and then in canter if was quite dramatic and scary.


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## Gryfiss (26 March 2013)

Hi 

sorry to hear your situation I knew a horse who had a condition called shivering his back end would all of a sudden collapse behind no warning.

I know that horses normally find it difficult to back up and turn on a tight circle you could goggle it and see if it sound similar to your horse.


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## jodssukari1 (26 March 2013)

Hi thanks so much for your post it worried me a little but i read up and she doesn't really have any of the signs of it. Her back legs don't majorly collapse, it's almost like her back legs trip/shuffle almost like when you stumble and catch yourself it's kind of like that. 

I'll get my vet out, almost scared to in case it's something i don't want to hear haha. But i have to do what's best for her. Thank you all so much!


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## cptrayes (27 March 2013)

When you say that she only does it in the school, does that mean that she only does it on circles?

You need to get someone to watch her do it and see if she is tripping with her hind toes and knucking over, or whether it is a joint not holding up.


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## ILuvCowparsely (27 March 2013)

jodssukari1 said:



			I've got a 15.1hh 9 year old mare. She's hackney x pacer. She was driven as a youngster and was then backed two years ago. I brought her 6 months ago and she passed a 5 stage vetting.

2 months or so ago every now and then (only when being ridden in the school) her back legs buckle for a second. They sort of buckle and then she picks them up again, hard to explain. When i say every now and then i mean maybe once or twice a week (she is schooled twice a week, hacked 3 times and lunged the other day).

I've read up and i thought it may be stifle lock but that would happen all the time not just in the school. I thought that it may get better once she starts getting fitter and although she isn't at optimum fitness, she is pretty fit.

She's shod on all four feet although she was foot sore on her back feet for a little while, this was down to her back feet wearing down (too much roadwork) but is all sorted now.

Anyone else had any experiences with this? I don't want her to be in pain and really looking to start jumping her. Could this be down to her being unbalanced in the school or inexperienced?
		
Click to expand...


 My gelding just started to do this my mare did too 

scuse i had to video off computer as clip is too long, watch near hind
[youtube]mS7zJtuuG_4[/youtube]

[youtube]yE70NohszKo[/youtube]


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## ILuvCowparsely (27 March 2013)

cptrayes said:



			You need to get someone to watch her do it and see if she is tripping with her hind toes and knucking over, or whether it is a joint not holding up.
		
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or better still get someone to video like i did


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## ester (27 March 2013)

what was causing that leviathan?


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## Wagtail (27 March 2013)

One mare I had here did just as you describe and was found to have PSD in both hocks. An op completely cured her. The other horse that did this, is still here now and he has PSD in one hock. Untreated at the moment. My gelding occasionally does it too and he has hock artritis.


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## tango'smum (27 March 2013)

my boy has always done something like this, be riding along then his back leg disapairs.. its only ocational.. hes lazy so could be that, with him anyway..


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## RLS (27 March 2013)

My horse (8 yr old this year) does a little trip sort of thing with his back legs, again only very occassionally. He only does it in walk, never done it in trot or canter. I always thought it was 'cos he's a bit lazy and not walking out properly when he does it, but it does feel a little like your horse looks Leviathan (if you know what I mean!).


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## ILuvCowparsely (27 March 2013)

ester said:



			what was causing that leviathan?
		
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I don't know his mum did this  occasionally not all the time, only was she crossed the rainbow has her son started to do this.

 He rarely if at all does it when school by my trainer, when I lunge him he does it but he is trained western and  likes to do it on the lunge which is when he does this.  out hacking he might do this once on the ride.

 I think its when he is ambling along or western as western is a slowly closer to the ground pace.


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## Greygirl (27 March 2013)

Hi, with my pony you can see the tendons slipping a lot of the time without it affecting her movement too much. Her legs feel like they sometimes collapse if she has had time off, once she's doing regular light work it seems to improve.  This started 15 years ago and it's never got worse or required treatment. 

 She also has bone spavin.

Hope this helps x


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