Description of an Affected Horse
Horses with heel pain syndrome are usually middle-aged individuals. They are often Quarter Horses or QH crosses, but other breeds are also frequently affected. They show an intermittent forelimb lameness. Often the lameness may shift from one forelimb to the other from one week to the next. One day the horse will be lame in the LF and then several days later it will switch to the RF.

Affected horses often will not appear lame when trotting in a straight line, but they will appear short-strided in their forelimb gait; they will look awkward, and they will not appear very athletic or flowing or graceful. When they walk across uneven rocky surfaces they may appear painful. Also, trotting them in a left circle will often make them show a left forelimb lameness and when in a right circle a right forelimb lameness. They may turn circles better on a soft arena surface than on a hard non-conforming surface.