Sore in Stifles

[Bob Gould]

Hi Martha,
I have been having a problem with my first barrel for quite some time now. He will either run past it or he sits to turn and half way around he will jump about 10' away from it.

Three weeks I took him to have him checked by my vet to see if he was sore. He thought he was sore in his stifles and he injected him. I am now running him on bute and Banimine. I start him on 2 grams of bute 2 days before the barrel race and then I give him 6 ccs of Banimine in the vein 3 hours before the barrel race. Since I started doing this every run he has gotten better.

Do you think it is possible that he could of been sore for the last year without ever being lame or showing any signs of lameness other than not turning to the right. My confidence is shot by now and I do not want to be grasping at straws. I would appreciate your opinion on this.
Thank you,
Barbara

Dear Barbara,
Yes, it's possible that the pain has been your problem all along. Some horses are gutsy enough that they will try to work to a certain point and then the pain takes over. What did your vet inject with and what did he say the prognosis was as far as long term usability and performance?

Did he elaborate on how often you might need to inject and whether or not you would have to use the bute and banamine for the rest of your horse's performance life or was it just a temporary thing? Did he suggest that you might also try using Legend and Adequan to help this horse? Don't give up - especially if things have gotten better since your started using the anti-inflammatory and pain drugs. The fact that they make this horse feel good enough to try to work says that's it's a manageable problem. Just how manageable is the question?
Let me know.
Martha Wright