Ridecamp: [RC] lame horse

Hi all...
I recently sold a QH type horse to a friend of mine. Yesterday was the 
prepurchase... the horse was lame. He was dx with sidebone (not the cause of 
lameness). Vet prescribed rest and re exam the horse in 2 weeks. The horse 
tested negative to the hoof tester and there was no pulse in the hoof. The 
vet said horse had great range of motion in his joints. The horse was only 
off when under saddle in his right front.

The horse's history is this. He came from Texas to Calif in May. He  had been 
turned out for a couple years...just used as a horse to ride around the 
property. He had been ridden maybe three times last year. He is a heavily 
muscled type and real out of shape.

When he got here his feet were barefoot and REAL short. I thought they almost 
look clubby. My farrier said he had an awful trim and took down some of the 
heel. The feet looked better. Vet said the sidebone was due to the horse 
being badly out of balance. I guess this was from bad trims as the horse had 
rarely worn shoes.

After trimming I rode the horse a few times and he was fine. My friend rode 
him maybe 5 or 6 times (every other day) and he was fine. We were riding in 
terrain he was not used too...hilly and rocky. This horse had been raised on 
flat.

So...I'm guessing we overdid it trying to get him back in condition. The 
rides were mostly walking and trotting, but with some good hills.

Any ideas about what could be sore before we start spending $$$ on blocking, 
x rays, etc? How do we go about conditioning a horse that has been always on 
flat terrain to hills? As I think back I'm sure we pushed to hard....I am 
used to my Icelandics who are so sturdy.

Melanie Snowhite
Poway, CA.
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