Investigating Common Causes of Lameness in the Ridden Horse

Investigating Common Causes of Lameness in the Ridden Horse

Questionnaire Results

I obtained 97 responses in total.

I received information from a total of 88 individual horses.

71 owners responded with horses that had previous lame episodes or currently lame while under their ownership.

17 owners responded with horses that had never been lame while under their ownership.

I received multiple responses for episodes of lameness from 8 individual horses. Totalling 80 responses for lameness overall.

2. Age:

Age (Years) / Total
1 – 5 / 3
6 – 10 / 28
11 – 15 / 30
16 – 20 / 14
21 – 25 / 7
26 – 30 / 3
31 – 35 / 3
Total / 88

3. Breed:

Breed / Total
Thoroughbred / 14
Warrmblood type / 14
Cob Type / 12
Arab / 3
Cob x Thoroughbred / 3
Connemara / 3
Irish Draught x Thoroughbred x Warmblood / 3
Irish Sports Horse / 3
Welsh Section D / 3
Dartmoor / 2
Hannovarian / 2
Irish Draught x Thoroughbred / 2
Oldenburg / 2
Thoroughbred x Warmblood / 2
Andalusian / 1
Appaloosa / 1
Appaloosa x Welsh Section D / 1
Arab x Cob / 1
Arab x Thoroughbred / 1
Clydesdale / 1
Cob x Clydesdale / 1
Connemara x Thoroughbred / 1
Dutch Draft / 1
Friesian / 1
Haflinger / 1
Highland x Thoroughbred / 1
Irish Draught x Shire x Thoroughbred / 1
Irish Draught x Thoroughbred x Connemara / 1
Irish Hunter / 1
Lusitano / 1
New Forest / 1
Polish Sport Horse / 1
Quarter Horse / 1
Unknown / 1
TOTAL / 88

4. Sex:

Mare / 30
Gelding / 56
Stallion / 1
Rig / 1
TOTAL / 88

5. Which discipline(s) is your horse used for?

Discipline / Total
General Riding / 60
Dressage / 38
Show Jumping / 29
Eventing / 14
Pony Club Activities / 6
Other* / 3

*Other – 1 - Ridden Showing, 1 – Light Hack, 1 - Hunter

6. How long have you owned your horse?

Years / Lame
Horses / Sound Horses / Total
0 - 1 / 7 / 8 / 15
2 – 3 / 17 / 4 / 21
4 – 5 / 20 / 0 / 20
6 – 7 / 10 / 0 / 10
8 – 9 / 4 / 4 / 8
10 – 11 / 5 / 0 / 5
12 – 13 / 1 / 1 / 2
14 – 15 / 1 / 0 / 1
16 – 17 / 2 / 0 / 2
18 – 19 / 0 / 0 / 0
20 – 21 / 2 / 0 / 2
22 – 23 / 1 / 0 / 1
32 - 33 / 1 / 0 / 1
Total / 71 / 17 / 88

7. Before purchasing your horse, was there any previous history of illness or injury that resulted in lameness or would suggest your horse becoming lame in the future?

Yes / 21
No / 67
TOTAL / 88

8. Has your horse ever been lame while under your ownership?

Yes / 71
No / 17
TOTAL / 88

9. What was the cause of lameness?*

Hoof Conformation / Farrier / 13
Turnout Related / 9
Abscess / 8
Concussion to hoof / 7
Undiagnosed / 6
Tendon Desmitis / 5
Navicular Related / 5
Joint Related / 4
Bone Spavin / 4
Laminitis / 4
Muscular Related / 3
Fracture / 2
Ligament Desmitis / 2
Back Related / 2
Arthritis / 1
Meniscus Tear / 1
Old Age / 1
Laceration / 1
Hoof Puncture / 1
Cellulitis / 1
Bone Splint / 1

*Some responses included multiple reasons that related to the episode of lameness

10. What clinical signs did your horse present of lameness?

Short stride / 20
Lame on a circle / 14
Heat / 14
Severe limp / 11
Non weight bearing on affected leg / 11
Lack of expression / Stiff / 10
Swelling / 10
Changing behind in canter / 6
Reluctant to go forward / walk / 5
Lame in trot / 4
Lame on a hard surface / 3
Lame after canter / 2
Refusal to canter / 2
Laceration / 2
Laminitic stance / 2
Pain on palpation / 2
Shifting weight / 2
Rearing / 2
Stopping at jumps / 1
Lame in trot uphill / 1
Lame on soft surface / 1
Back Spasm / 1

11. Approximately how many hours a week was your horse exercised for prior to this bout of lameness?

Hrs/Week / Frequency
0 / 2
1 / 1
2 / 1
3 / 4
4 / 12
5 / 23
6 / 15
7 / 3
8 / 5
9 / 4
10 / 10
TOTAL / 80

12. Was your horse turned out regularly prior to lameness? If so, approximately how often?

Turned out during day / Stabled overnight / 46
Lives at Grass / 22
24/7 in Summer / Stabled overnight in Winter / 8
2 days a week turnout / 1
Daily turnout in Summer / 24/7 in winter / 1
Never turned out / 1
Unspecified / 1
TOTAL / 80

13. Did you call a vet as a result of this lameness?

Yes / 71
No / 9
TOTAL / 80

14. How soon after becoming lame was the vet called?

Immediately / 27
1 week / 10
2 Days / 9
Unspecified / 6
1 Day / 5
2 Weeks / 4
3 Days / 4
4 Days / 3
5 Days / 2
1 Month / 1
TOTAL / 71

15. Was the vet able to diagnose a cause of lameness in one visit?

No / 37
Yes / 34
TOTAL / 71

16. Was your horse referred as a result of this lameness?

Yes / 38
No / 33
TOTAL / 71

17. What work was carried out at the referral centre?

Imaging Scans / 33
Nerve Blocking / 15
Lameness Work Up / 11
Steroid Injections / 3
Surgery / 2
Unspecified / 1
First Aid & Sutures / 1
Blood Work / 1
I Raps Therapy / 1
Physiotherapy / 1
Shock Wave Therapy / 1

18. What was the advice given by the vet/referral centre with regards to box rest, riding, turnout, treatments, and medication to help the lameness?

Box Rest / 25
No Ridden Work / Rest / 18
Walking In-Hand Recovery Programme / 16
Bute / 9
Restricted Turnout / 8
Physiotherapy / 5
Steroids / 5
Remedial Shoeing / 5
Specifically Designed Ridden Work Programme / 4
Antibiotics / 3
Continue to Ride / 3
Joint Supplement / 3
Put To Sleep / 2
24/7 Field Rest / 2
Pain Relief / 2
Sedation (for box rest purposes) / 2
Turnout as Normal / 2
Tildren / 2
Anti-inflammatories / 2
Abscess Drain / 1
Poultice / 1
Retirement / 1
Deep Bedding / 1
No Hard Ground Work / 1
I-Rap Continuation at Home / 1

19. What did you do to recover your horse with regards to box rest, riding, turnout, treatments, medication and diet to aid recovery?

Box Rest / 10
Bute / 8
Antibiotics / 6
Remedial Shoeing / 6
Poultice / 5
Restricted Diet / 5
Unspecified / 4
Specifically Designed Ridden Work Programme / 4
Pain Relief / 3
Joint Supplement / 3
Restricted Turnout / 2
Deep bedding / 2
No Ridden Work / Rest / 2
Changed Hoof Care Provider / 2
Turnout on Soft Ground / 1
Reduce Ridden Work Until Comfortable / 1
Hoof Supplement / 1
Anti-inflammatories / 1
Walking In-Hand Recovery Programme / 1
No Treatment / 1
Cold Hosed / 1
Sedated (for box rest purposes) / 1
Turned Away for 3 Months / 1
Steroids / 1
No Hard Ground Work / 1
Tildren / 1

Overall responses for 18 & 19 combined

Box Rest / 35
No Ridden work / Rest / 20
Bute / 17
Walking In-Hand Recovery Programme / 17
Remedial Shoeing / 11
No Hard Ground Work / 11
Restricted Turnout / 10
Antibiotics / 9
Specifically Designed Work Programme / 8
Poultice / 6
Joint Supplement / 6
Steroids / 6
Restricted Diet / 5
Pain Relief / 5
Physiotherapy / 5
Unspecified / 4
Deep Bedding / 3
Anti-inflammatories / 3
Sedated (for box rest purposes) / 3
Tildren / 3
Continue To Ride / 3
Changed Hoof Care Provider / 2
Put To Sleep / 2
24/7 Field Rest / 2
Turnout As Normal / 2
Turnout on Soft Ground / 1
Reduce Ridden Work Until Comfortable / 1
Hoof Supplement / 1
No Treatment / 1
Cold Hosed / 1
Turned Away For 3 Months / 1
Abscess Drain / 1
Retired / 1
IRAP Therapy Continuation / 1

20. Did your horse receive any complementary treatment or alternative therapies such as equine spa, physiotherapy or corrective shoeing?

No / 32
Remedial Shoeing / 23
Physiotherapy / 12
Magnetic Boots / 5
Annual Back Checks / 3
Hydrotherapy Equine Spa / 3
Acupuncture / 1
Yes But Unspecified / 1
Bowen Therapy / 1

21. How long did it take to recover your horse back into full work?

1 month or less / 21
Ongoing / 16
2 months or less / 10
1 Year + / 8
Retired / 7
6 months or less / 6
3 months or less / 3
4 months or less / 3
Put To Sleep / 1
5 months or less / 1
8 months or less / 1
11 months or less / 1
Unspecified / 1
Never Stopped Work / 1
12 months or less / 0
Total / 80

22. Has this bout of lameness hindered the performance of your horse?

No / 51
Yes / 24
Maybe, Cannot Tell Yet / 5
TOTAL / 80

23. On hind sight, do you feel the lameness was preventable and if so, what can you do in the future to prevent reoccurrences?*

No / 47
Yes / 21
Unsure / 9
Unspecified / 3
TOTAL / 80

*Also within this response, 34 owners specified that they had learned from this bout of lameness and that they would do things differently in the future