Why doesn't my horses hind leg track behind her front leg?

I have a 5 year old TWH. Today while I was trail riding, my friend noticed that my horses left hind leg doesn't track behind her left front leg. The hind leg tracks to the right under her body. This doesn't happen with every step on flat trails. Also when I am going up or down any sized hill her left hind leg does track behind her left front leg.

Back in the fall, her whole hind end was tracking to the right, and since then I had weekly, then every two weeks, and now monthly chiropractic visits. The chiropractor has occasionally had to adjust her left stifle, and he always has to adjust her SI joint. She doesn't seem to be in any pain, but I have also noticed her occasionally having difficulty getting up when she rolls in the arena, for the past 5-6 weeks. The sand is very deep so could that be making it hard?

Could this just be a conformational issue? If it isn't conformational, any ideas about what it could be?

Hi,

Well this issue could be caused by several things. If it appears to be intermittent on flat ground, I would expect a conformational problem. If you notice this in a consistent manner, or in situations that would place more stress on the leg, I may be aware of a lameness problem. Horse with hindlimb lamness issues may track the affected limb towards midline, as this motion transfers weight off of the pelvic limb and loads the axial skeleton. In other words, it may move weight from an affected limb to the trunk of the horse. I f you notice the probelm become more prominent, especially if it becomes more noticeable with work, I would have your veterinarian take a look.

The probable answer is that everything is ok, but it never hurts to have your veterinarian to check him out, as you may be dealing with a subtle hock or stifle issue. Hope this helps!!

Thanks for the information Dr. Pike! The chiropractor was out today, and he observed that my horses's hind left leg tracks normally when she has her head straight or tipped/turned to the left. It is only when she has her head tipped/turned to the right that the tracking issue shows up.

My horse has a spot right behind her withers that always needs to be adjusted, and during this visit her left stifle needed a minor adjustment.

Does this give you anymore helpful information?

Thanks again for all the help!!

Evon

Does this mean anything?

Evon,

Sorry for the delayed response. Those are very interesting findings. I would be interested to know what happens to the RH tracking when the head is tipped/turned to the left. When the head is turned/tipped to the right, this puts a slight arch in the horse's axial skeleton, which then forces the left hind foot to be in a different position than when tracking straight. However, typically that foot will be on the 'outside' of the arch, not the 'inside.'

If the right hind does the same thing, I would be less concerend...let me know what you find out.