Hello,

I will try and keep this simple and understand that pictures are worth a thousand words.  

Late last year I bought a 4 yr old MFT mare to trail ride with.   Rode her for awhile last year and enjoyed every minute.  She is very mild mannered around people, however she is very bossy around other horses.   She became the dominant horse by kicking her way to the top.  She will not bother other horses with a rider on her.   When the MFT and I are trail riding she is all business.  

Now the part I need help with.  In the Spring my wife and I went trail riding for a week.  Overall we rode about 66 mile in the hills of Missouri.   After we got back home, I noticed that the MFT mare was dragging one of her hind legs when starting out from a dead stop.   After moving the mare was fine.  Called the vet and had her looked at.  Vet stated that she just pulled a muscle above the stifle and we let her rest for several weeks.  Since then there has been 2 more episodes with the same issues and now I have noticed that she has troubles going up and down hills.    When going down hills in some instances, the mare will slide both feet in the back end.  Going up hill there will be a catch in one of the legs.   I have also notice that her gait is not as smooth as it once was in her back end.   There is a hiccup in the gait for the back end.   Feels like a QH trot where it once was smooth.  We are going to the vet/chiropractor specialist tomorrow to see if there is a muscle, stifle, or shoeing issues. Looking for advice if anyone has been through this before.

dear MFT rear prob;

I would get her up to Dr. jeff Van Petten in Valley Falls, Kansas for an evaluation.

they do acupuncture and equine chiropractics... I know of some people who had

given up on their horses until he worked with them... hope it works for you..

Greg,it sounds a lot like what the gaited horse world refers to as "stifle".Meaning trouble in the stifle joint,some of the younger horses have that tendon clipped not long after birth because the joint will lock up and do just like you are describing.Be sure that the vet has a lot of experience with muscle/joint issues.The vet that was referred to you on the thread sounds like what you need for an accurate diagnosis.

Good luck.

Best case scenario is she could be fusing and it will pass with time and be eased by injections.  Worst case, it's a neurological problem (either she has a form of spinal crimping (wobbler) just past her throat-latch or EPM) in which case you can try and make her comfortable but you'll never have that same horse back.

I put my lovely Zippo Can Do gelding down 3 years ago this month due to a spinal crimp that never showed until after he'd matured.

Thanks everyone for your inputs.  I have conferred with my vet and we want to get aggressive first.  I took my mare to a specialist/chiropractor and did have a good consultation.   She got adjusted and there was a big difference.  Before the adjustment, she was very tense and tight.  After the adjustment, she was very loose.  Going to try this a couple more times to see if the change stays.  Incidentally where she was adjusted in her back the area's started to heat up.   So we got the blood flowing again.  

It is pretty common among the TWH and MFT breeds.