I have a ten year old gelding who has had a problem with arthritis for
the last year and a half or so. Unfortunately, he also has a back problem
and the specialist who saw him said that a "gait aberration" would cause his
back to go out. The vet said that I could ride him while his hocks were
fusing, but I risked throwing out his back which causes the horse extreme pain,
so I haven't been riding him.
Now, finally, he has stopped being visibly lame, BUT he is much shorter
strided on both hinds than he used to be. He used to have this HUGE
swinging stride and now his hind legs move much shorter and lower to the
ground than he ever moved them before (daisy-clipping). Does this still
count as "lame?" Is this common on horses that have had
arthritis? Any advice about whether I should continue to wait to ride him
or whether it might be okay to start him back slowly?
