By: Hannu Polvi

We can say there are too many possibilities in horses legs to identify problems.

From ground to more up:
Hoof, fetlock, suspensory ligament, superficial flexor tendon, knee.
These are the most common areas to find the problems of horses legs.

Only in hoof can be several problems, hoof crack, laminitis, hoof thrush, hoof abscess and navicular syndrome for example.

Hoof crack, hoof thrush and hoof abscess are more easy to find, but with laminitis and navicular syndrome you may need some professional help.

A fetlock can be swollen or not, and even though it can be painful.

If there is no wound causing the swelling, the problem is inside the fetlock.

There can be a stress because of too hard training or hard ground for example.

I have noticed that many people can't realize this: They think if can't see any swelling, can't be any pain. And then they try to find the problem from somewhere else, blaming some other part of the horse causing the problem.

Or worse, accusing the horse he does not want to co-operate.

Ligament and tendon problems can be seen very clearly when they occur. There is a lot of swelling, sometimes so much you can't be sure what is the problem. By checking horses legs everyday visually and by hands you can see and feel if these problems are starting.

Knee problems are not so easy to find out. You may see some stiffness when the horse is moving his front legs, or he is dragging his opposite hind leg.

good looking horse leg

Example:
When a horse has pain in right front leg, he wants to put his head more to the left and push the back more to the right to help the right front leg to move forward more easy.

To start to know your horse better, I recommend you check your horses legs every day. The best way to do it, is checking legs with hands. You can feel if there are any changes like: swelling, heat, wounds, some kind of bump you haven't notice before.

Some other tips about horses legs:

How to locate at least the leg where the problem is?

Someone can tell it is more easy for me to find the right leg because I am training a trotter, and can sit on the speed cart  behind the horse when training,  and look how the horse is moving. People who are riding can't see because they are sitting on the saddle. They may have a point there.

Every time I am training my horse I am focusing 100% on what I am doing. Because I am an amateur, hobbyists, I must concentrate every second. By that I can learn more from my horse, to find out possible changes on his walk, trot, his gait. I am all the time analysing how he is doing on that day.

I can see if he is dragging the other hind leg, limping, or is he hanging on the other rein = If I need to use more the other rein to get the horse going straight way.

Now somebody can think when am I enjoying the work with the horse?
Well, I am enjoying when I manage to keep my horse sound, and he is competitive in races. That's my way to enjoy about my hobby.

Healthy and Happy Horse

But, even if you are riding your horse, you have an option how to check your horses legs.

Get some one to trot your horse away from you, about 30-40 meters is enough, and then trotting straight toward you. Keep in mind that the person who is running with the horse, must keep the head of the horse straight. Also, the ground must be flat.
When a horse is trotting slowly you can see better if he is lame somewhere.

You can also see the lameness from the head of the horse.
When a painful front leg hits the ground, the horse is lifting his head up, and when the painful hind leg hits the ground the horse will put his head more down.

One way is to check the muscles. How to do it? Go to http://www.horsehoofandfootproblems.com and download the free report.

A good thing also is to feel the pulse from each fetlock. How to do it? Imagine you are going to take a glass of water from the table. Open your hand likewise and wrap it around the fetlock from front, fingers and thumb more on the backside of the fetlock. Move your thumb and fingers slowly to find the not strong pulse. If the pulse is more strong in one leg, there is some problem on that foot.

Good luck with your horse!

Hannu Polvi is a Finnish hobbyists, trotter owner and trainer, having horses more or less about 28 years.