Lameness is the bane of many equestrians’ existence. It can crush competition dreams and even mean the end of a riding career. Although lameness is preventable to a certain degree, it is often inevitable in any horse’s life. But what exactly is the definition of lameness?
Lameness is considered any deviation from a horse’s normal gait or posture due to pain or mechanical dysfunction. Essentially, the horse is unable to access their full physical potential. It can range from very minor to extremely severe.
The ability to identify lameness conditions in horses is a must for all equestrians. Identification is the first step to fixing and managing the issue.
When we first notice that our horse is lame (i.e. change in posture or gait), we must identify which leg they are lame on. It is also important to remember that each leg has two phases when moving:
- Swing phase – observed when the leg is moving through the air (one leg at the walk, two legs at the trot, etc.)
- Stance phase: observed when the leg is on the ground and not in the air
Lameness Assessment
There are four steps to performing a lameness assessment. These steps will help you identify which leg and the severity of the lameness.
Step #1: Check for injury
Have your horse stand square on a solid, level surface (concrete is best). Examine each leg for any obvious external injury. While some injuries you find may be minor, the following are considered emergencies and need veterinary attention immediately:
- Bone protruding from skin (compound fracture) – vet will have to euthanize
- Lameness with buckling (the horse can’t put weight on the leg) – could be a fracture (bone broken) or torn ligament (ligament torn from bone)
- Large open wound (degloving is present (top layers of skin and tissue are torn away from the muscle, connective tissue, or bone) – could also be massive laceration with underlying injury
- Leg is moving or being held at an odd angle – could be fracture, dislocation, or serious muscle damage
Step #2: Check for additional abnormalities
After assessing each leg and finding no severe or obvious injuries to the legs, you will need to pick up each leg and:
- Clean out the hoof – look for bumps, bruises, discharge, wounds, or any other oddities (if foreign objects are lodged in the hoof, contact your vet)
- Check the temperature of each hoof compared to others by feeling the hoof wall
- Check how strong the digital pulse (between pastern and coronary band) is – if pulse is easily felt, there is likely a problem
Step #3: Assess the horse in motion
Next it is time to assess your horse while they are moving. Minor lameness is often hard to see at a walk or even a trot. Having your horse move on a circle will also help exacerbate any lameness. This is because turning distributes uneven stress on the joints, muscles, ligaments and bones of the horse.
There are a few things you may see that indicate a lameness issue.
Head Bobbing
In normal situations, the horse carries 60% of their body weight on the front limbs. The other 40% is on the hind limbs. Interestingly, the horse’s neck acts as a sort of fulcrum. They can change where weight is placed on the limbs by raising or lowering their head.
Therefore, it makes sense that when a horse is lame on a front limb, they will raise their head when the lame limb is in the stance phase. This allows the horse to shift the weight off of their lame leg. When the horse’s lame leg is in the swing phase, they will lower their head back to the normal position, creating a bobbing effect.
Conversely, when the horse is lame on a hind limb, they will lower their head when the lame limb is in the stance phase. These movements can be very subtle depending on severity but are easier to see when the horse is moving straight towards you at the trot.
Hip Hike or Drop
When there is a lameness issue in the hind leg, the horse may try and alter the height of the afflicted hip. The hip will be raised higher (hiked) when weight is placed on the lame leg to alleviate discomfort. After the weight is removed, the hip drops back down.
The hip hike/drop is easiest to observe when the horse is trotting away from you. To make it easier to observe, add a piece of colored tape on each hip.
Toe Dragging
In some cases, the lameness will cause the horse to be unable to lift the affected leg very high. As a result, the lame leg’s toe will drag on the ground during the forward swing.
Shortened Stride
We observe this sign when the horse’s stride is shorter in the sore leg when compared to other legs.
Step #4: Grade the lameness
There are five different grades you can apply to a lameness issue.
Grade 1
At this level, there is minimal lameness with no clear rhyme or reason to when it occurs. It is also difficult to see at the walk or trot and may come and go.
Grade 2
At this level, the lameness is difficult to see at the walk or trot or may only seen under specific circumstances (on a hill, with a rider, etc.).
Grade 3
At this level, the lameness is observable at the walk.
Grade 4
At this level, we observe an obvious head bob, hip/hike, or toe drag at the walk. This grading may require a veterinarian.
Grade 5
At this level, we consider the horse 3-legged lame. This means the horse can’t or won’t walk. In these cases, a veterinarian is necessary.
Thank you so much for reading! Please let me know if you learned anything new and if any questions you may have about the content! I’d love to hear from you!
We post new content every week!
Check out our previous posts here!
Follow us on Instagram for updates!
Subscribe to our YouTube channel for even more content!