📋 At a Glance
DefinitionTraditionally, any alteration of the horse's gait. It can also show up as a change in attitude or performance (AAEP).
Possible sourcesPain in the neck, withers, shoulders, back, loin, hips, legs, or feet (AAEP).
What to doStop riding and contact your veterinarian promptly (AAEP).
ScaleVeterinarians commonly grade lameness from 0 (not perceptible) to 5 (minimal weight-bearing or unable to move) (AAEP).
Call your veterinarian if
- Your horse is lame at a walk, or will barely put weight on a leg
- There is a wound, swelling, or injury over a joint or tendon, or on the bottom of the foot
- Your horse is reluctant to walk or trot, or is lying down more than usual
- Your horse cannot get up
What Lameness Is
The AAEP describes lameness as traditionally defined as any alteration of the horse's gait, and notes it can also appear as a change in attitude or performance. The pain can come from many places, from the neck and back to the legs and feet, so finding the source takes a veterinary examination.
Signs Owners May Notice
- A shortened stride
- Head bobbing
- Stiffness
- Shifting weight between limbs
- Irregular foot placement, or winging or paddling
- Not landing squarely on all four feet
- A change in attitude or performance
What a Veterinary Lameness Exam Involves
- A history: past and present problems and the horse's workload
- A look at conformation, balance, and weight-bearing at rest
- A hands-on check of muscles, joints, bones, and tendons for pain, heat, or swelling
- Hoof testers, to check for sensitivity in the feet
- Watching the horse walk and trot, ideally on hard, flat ground, and sometimes on a circle, on a longe line, or under saddle
- Flexion tests, in which a limb is held flexed and the horse is watched as it trots away
- If needed, nerve or joint blocks, radiographs (X-rays), ultrasound, scanning, or other tests
The AAEP notes that lameness is best treated with a specific diagnosis, which is why the examination matters.
What to Tell Your Veterinarian
- Which leg, and whether it is worse at a walk, at a trot, on a circle, or on hard ground
- When it started, and whether it came on suddenly or gradually
- Any injury, recent shoeing or trimming, or change in work
- Heat, swelling, or a wound
What Not To Do
- Do not keep riding a horse you think may be lame
- Do not give medication unless your veterinarian tells you to
- Do not poke into a wound near a joint; see Lacerations
Sources: American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP); University of Florida Large Animal Hospital; Texas A&M AgriLife Extension; eXtension Horses. This page is educational and does not replace an examination by your veterinarian.
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