Stringhalt: The Marionette Horse — Irongate Equine Clinic

Stringhalt. This horse is experiencing what's known as stringhalt. There are several reasons horses get stringhalt. One is an injury to the area where there lateral digital extensor tendon and nerve come very close to the skin on the upper part of the cannon bone. Another cause is the consumption of certain toxic weeds. Finally, we have what's called idiopathic meaning we have absolutely no idea why it happens! Treatment is aimed at calming the nerve down. This can sometimes be achieved by using

Stringhalt and its causes

Structural Shivers & Stringhalt — Resilient Equine

Feeding for stringhalt and shivering - Horse & Hound

Stringhalt (Equine Reflex Hypertonia)

Update: Goddess made an amazing recovery from the stringhalt within 4 days of onset. Please see update on our FB page. Sadly, a couple of days ago I discovered that Goddess had suddenly developed a condition called stringhalt, also known as equine reflex hypertonia. It's a neuromuscular disorder that causes an involuntary, exaggerated high action gait in one or both hind legs, as seen in Goddess' left hind leg. It can result from ingestion of toxic plants, which is not the case here. Otherwise,