Question
Delilah
I am fairly new to the horse world so please bare with me in the horse language department. I have a 8 month old mare quarter horse. She was bought through an auction and is suspected of coming from a pmu farm . My problem is that we noticed it taking her a very long time to go from laying down to standing up ... it is gradually getting longer...after she stands there is always a clicking sound coming from her right "shoulder" ... after standing for awhile her "ankle" large pastern on both front legs will become a bit shaky the give out on her forward...somedays it is worse than others but she has had days where she has to catch herself from them giving out on her. Even when this is a bad day for her she will continue to run around and play ... therefore I do not belive she is in any pain . There is no heat and minimal swelling ( hard to tell because when she stands sometimes they look straight and other times they are slightly pushed forward .. I hope this is making sense. I had the vet come out and he thinks it could be arthritis and has put her on steroids for that. I was wondering if anybody has had any similar things happen to their horses....Greatly Appreciated.... Pamela
AnswerHi Pamela - thanks for your question and for the picture ... that helps a lot! While I can't see the entire leg, I'm almost positive that this baby has contracted tendons. Typically this deformity happens in the development of the fetus ... the position of the baby or possibly from an illness experienced by the dam while she was pregnant. Sometimes, in mild cases, this can repair itself as the baby grows but most commonly, splints and bandages are used and other cases require surgery. The problem with splinting is that the splints and padding have to be fitted perfectly by a qualified vet or they can actually cause more problems than the contracted tendons.
In your filly's case, it is possible that the bones in her feet could also be involved because the tendons that run down the back of her leg, attach to bones in her feet. I say this because the picture looks like her little hoof is pretty straight up and down kind of like a little deer and this is not normal or desired in horses.
It worries me that she is weakened so badly that she has trouble standing for extended periods of time. As she grows and gains weight, this problem will compound her ability to support herself. This is not a an inexpensive problem to solve and is a serious condition that will need a great deal of attention.
I wish I could be more encouraging Pamela and I'm not trying to give you a definitive diagnosis because I'm not qualified to do that, but I've seen contracted tendons before and this is what it looked like. Visit this website for more pictures and a great diagram of the horse's leg www.hoofbeats.com.au/articles/on08_tendons.html
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