Lame mare??

[Purelychicks]

My 4 y/o mare slipped while backing out of my trailer, and cut her back leg (front side thankfully) pretty bad. (Will add pictures if asked, but they’re pretty gruesome.), this was about 2 months ago and the cut is almost healed up now. She limped pretty bad when it first happened but then seemed fine. Now, (for the past week or so) she is walking a bit weird, and I can’t tell if she’s lame or not. It’s not like a limp at all though, more like she staggers it or trips that leg a lot, and likes to rest it a lot. Haven’t actually seen her limp at all though for a good month or so since it happened . I do have a few videos of her walking but not sure if it will let me post videos. Thanks!

 

[BigBlueHen53]

To post a video, upload to YouTube, Vimeo or such then post the link here.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Have you had her to the vet?

 

[Purelychicks]

Have you had her to the vet?

No i can’t get her in the trailer but I sent videos to the vet and he sent meds and everything

 

[Skye'sDucks]

Where on the leg was the cut? It very well could be that she's just getting used to using those muscles again once the cut is gone. Your mare might just need to be reintroduced to exercise/turn out slowly to help build back up strength. I presume she was on stall rest for some time? That could also add to this.

Sounds similar to what happened to my boss's (also 4yo) mare a couple of months back. Little miss Too Curious got her leg caught in the fence and ripped open her knee. It took several weeks after healing, of slowly doing more and more turn out and a little lunging, before she was ok to ride. My boss worried about re-injuring the knee by returning her to work too soon.

Maybe that helps answer something? I don't know where the injury was, or if it needed stitches (sounds like it did), and how deep it penetrated into muscles/joints/ligaments etc. Depending on where the wound is, it could potentially have permanent damage. Or it's just something that will keep fading with time.

 

[Susan Skylark]

Tendons could be stiff/not used to motion, which some gradual reintroduction to exercise might improve but if she’s having trouble placing her foot/doesn’t realize where it is at times/drags it a bit, she may have some residual nerve damage, not enough to cause obvious problems but a loss of fine control. Not a huge issue if she’s just a trail horse but could be a problem if she’s a performance animal. You can try pinching the hoof in various places with a hoof tester (hard enough to feel it) and if she doesn’t respond (flinch, move the leg away) you have your answer. It may gradually return with time or it may not.