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