Common causes of lameness in horses

Horses sometimes appear lame for no apparent reason.  Lameness is a very common disorder in horses.  Lameness in horses shows up most often when the horse is trotting.  When a horse is lame he is hurting so he does not put all his weight on the foot on the side where the problem is.  Lameness can be temporary or it can be a serious problem.

Your horse can go lame because he has stepped on a rock or other object and bruised his foot.  He can go lame because he has a stone or some other object stuck in the frog of his foot.  Check his feet and remove whatever is stuck there and he should be fine.

Sometimes your horse will become lame if his hooves are trimmed too short or he has been shod with shoes that do not fit properly.  The lameness should go away when his hooves grow out or the improper shoes are removed and replaced with the correct shoes.

Another common cause of lameness is foundering.  Founder is also called laminitis.  Founder is an inflammation of the foot.  Foundering is more common in the front hooves.  There are several causes of foundering.  The most common one is when your horse eats too much grain.  The grains that usually cause founder are barley, corn and wheat.

A horse can get foundered from eating green pasture grass.  An overheated horse can drink too much water and founder.  If a horse is worked on hard ground he can founder.  Horses that are overweight founder more often than horses that are not overweight.

Horses that have foundered may not make a full recovery.  Sometimes the hoof is badly distorted and not completely healthy.

Lameness caused by knee problems are common.  There will be swelling in the knee and it will feel hot to the touch.  If the horses navicular bone starts to degenerate the horse will develop lameness.  A nerve problem can cause lameness.  A bowed tendon will cause lameness.  This is more common in race horses.  Pedal Ostitis will also cause lameness.  This is an inflammation of the bone inside the hoof.

Sand crack and toe crack will also cause lameness.  Sprains also cause lameness.  There also is hock lameness.  This is usually caused by wounds, capped hock and a sprain.

Another common cause of lameness is thrush.  Thrush is a degeneration of the frog.  There are bacterial infections that develop in the frog.  It develops in horses that stand in wet areas for long periods of time.  It also happens when the horse’s hooves are not kept clean.  Thrush has a thick foul smelling black discharge.

There are many other possible causes of lameness in horses.  If your horse goes lame and there is no simple apparent reason consult your veterinarian.

Article sources:

http://www.free-online-veterinarian-advice.com/horselameness.html

http://www.pethealth101.com

http://www.equisearch.com