Intermittent Body Pain
My beautiful thoroughbred is now sadly unrideable and retired. He is 21 yrs old and his grade 1 heart murmur suddenly developed into a grade 6. We have stabilized his condition & his heart rate is normal, though the murmur and precordial thrill can’t be changed. When he was ready for his next shoeing I had the farrier pull his shoes and he seemed fine. He only gets turned out in an arena with good footing. If I walk him around the property he wears Cavallo boots. He was OK like this for 3 weeks then one morning was suddenly in such pain that he could hardly stand up and was staggering like a drunken sailor. Vet gave him a shot of bute & he was soon OK. His heart was not the issue & he’s never shown signs of neurological disease. I’ve kept him on bute and he’s been great all week. Today he was wobbly again but not nearly as bad.
The vet says there can be any number of causes but wasn’t really able to pinpoint one.
My trainer thinks he is foot sore and the pain is ending up in his back (his hind end seems very stiff & he braces himself to stand when these episodes occur). The horse’s LF is flat & did have some heat for awhile (not anymore). Is this a likely scenario? He isn’t “walking on eggshells” and the shoes were off for 3 weeks before the strange symptoms occurred.
I won’t hesitate to put shoes back on if needed if this is the cause of his pain.
Any feedback is appreciated.
