advice needed on horses lameness..

[Cinders]

Wondering whether any of you would be able to give me any advice on what i should do with my horse.

Bit of background information, I got my horse in August and just over 3 weeks ago she went badly lame out of the blue. Since i got her we've only really been hacking and doing flatwork as her jumping was a bit messy so we wanted to improve her flatwork first, so it's not like i've worked her into the ground. After 4 days of lameness we took her to the vets, and he was baffled as to what was causing it as there was no heat or swelling and he said because she's lame behind it was harder to establish what was causing it. She stayed and had nerve blocks and x-rays but they didn't show anything up so he said to give her 2 weeks box rest and bute.

She's had a good 2 weeks but although i think there is some improvements she's still badly lame, we obviously need to speak to the vet again but i'm not sure what else they can do for us. Originally vet said if she wasn't any better we should send her to newmarket for bone scans to find the cause of the problem but we're a bit reluctant to do this because stupidly she isn't insured and vet reckons it's going to be at least £1500. If she was to go to newmarket for bone scans what would this achieve? if we're lucky we'll find out what's causing the lameness but say it's soft tissue damage it seems a ridiculous amount of money for them to then tell us she needs 6 months rest.

We've also considered taking her shoes off and turning her away for a while to let things mend on their own but i guess i still feel like i want to know what we're actually dealing with.

Maybe i'm being a cheap skate but the only lameness i've ever dealt with is absesses which are straight forward enough. I know these things happen but it's disapointing because i bought her to compete on and we definitely won't be doing that any time soon.

If she was your horse what would you do, go down the vet route or just turn her away. My dads not impressed as we've already had a £400 bill and not even a hint as to whats causing it.

 

[eventersrus]

I would give her longer off before you start going down the expensive vet bill route!! If there is some improvement already then at least thats a good sign

 

[alicedove]

Firstly, if you go for xrays, and you take her yourself, for me to have a set of eight xrays at the RVC the horse was doped, cost me around £250. That was two per foot.

Then, don't be too upset and worried, it is worrying but most things heal, on them and on us, and there are many many ways to make yourself lame. I would imagine that a hind is more likely to be injury than wear and tear, especially that suddenly, prob not arthritis.

I had a horse which went lame within five months of buying it, and also wasn't insured, it came out of the field lame (foreleg) I phoned the vet, then we decided to give it a weeks box rest, after which it went out in the field and came in worse, then I gave it another week, then it was the vet again, and was almost better, after which it recovered, beginning with gentle exercise.

I think it hurt itself in the field.

It never had heat, no swelling, no signs at all.

If its not an RSPCA case, (not hopping or in agony) since you are not likely to be competing over the next couple of weeks anyway, maybe a couple more weeks off won't go amiss?

Could it have got kicked? Also bear in mind it may possibly be a hairline fracture which requires xray and dead still box rest. Do not ignore this possibility.

I also know another person, who bought a four year old, it was lame for the first three or four months they had it, not long after they bought it. It was another mystery, they reckon it was infected and there was a very subtle eruption out of the coronet and knee. But it wasn't hopping lame, just slightly.

I wish you good luck, and the horse. it should be fine, the odds are in your favour.

 

[Cinders]

eventersrus- that's exactly what my dad thinks and i agree, it's still early days although it feels ages since i was last on her.

Armhole- Vet tested for arthritis and said it wasn't that as she wasn't anymore lame afterwards which i guess is positive. We haven't competed since beginning of november and certainly not even considering competing anytime soon. She's very lame in trot and is still on box rest, wouldn't even consider riding her the way she is at the moment, although she doesn't seem to be in pain. I'm pretty sure she wasn't kicked, she was fine when she came in from the field but after the night in the stable was lame. With her still be pretty lame after box rest i cant help but worry incase it's a tendon which might mean she'll be off for up to 6 months. thanks for the advice though!

 

[angiebaby]

Cinders this sounds very familiar to me! My pony went lam last May; No heat, swelling ( right hind) box rested for two weeks; very little improvement. X-rays, nerve blocks revealed nothing. After four months on field rest he was still no better. The fustration was too much. |I took him to Oakham horsey hospital where he stayed for two days. Diagnosed with severe suspensory ligament damage. Still no heat or swelling. After an operation in November, there has been no improvement. The whole thing has cost nearly three grand!! Only insured for one;

I would let him rest a bit longer see if there is any improvement, and take it from there; Mine will go back to vets in Jan. Can't even think about the outcome as he's still quite lame 8 months on. Good luck x

 

[Bossanova]

Box rest her for 2 weeks and then I'd chuck her in a field for 3 months. Keep an eye on it and hopefully it will improve. If not then you go for further investigation

 

[maddielove]

agree that your vet sounds a bit ott llike mine and was wanting to send my horse for bone scans. and this was for somthing quite clearly muscular

she's now on the road to recovery after mooching around the field

 

[Cinders]

jakesmydog- sounds like a complete nightmare with your horse, hope things begin to improve for you!

She's been out in the field for about 2 weeks now and thankfully is now back to her calm self again. We'll take your advice Boss and give her a good 3 months field rest, only thing that worrys me slightly is the fact that now she's walking around she seems much worse than she has been for a while. I guess thats to be expected as at least she was resting it when she was being kept in, but there's no way i can keep her on box rest for 3 months!