Advise please

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beaconhorse

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My horse has recently developed sidebone. Now while he is not lame it is causing him to dish and be really pigeon toed. Also the foot is leaning slightly inwards. I have had his feet done by a very good remedial farrier!

I was planning to start some minor unaff eventing this year as well as defend our ridden hunter chamionship....obviously both of those are probably a no go now.

I need to think about what to do choices are:-

continue exactly the same doing outdoor summer shows and just avoiding the very hardest of ground for jumping XC HT etc

or (these next 2 involve a lot more travelling)

Change to doing unaffliated jumping on surfaces and maybe a bit of dressage (don't laugh)

or

Affiliate and jump on surface, the idea of this one is so that IF I have to retire him I may get more from the insurance to buy another horse.

Which ever one I chose I also must decide whether to do XC and hunter trials

Any thoughts or ideas please
 
TBH i don't think yoo can plan ahead. he may be totally unsound next week and yoor plans will be wrecked. i'd take it as it comes and work him according to how sound/comfortable he is. he may be perfectly happy to XC, but yoo can't predict that now
x
 
I don't know a great deal about sidebone so apologies if this is a stupid question but if you continue to jump him whilst his feet are prone to lateral inbalance and his action is affected would you not be risking acceleration of the sidebone development and future lameness?
 
Hi Dee, sorry to hear this about Beacon
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I don't really know anything about sidebone I'm afraid so can't help you. what has the vet said?
 
vet is not too concerned just yet. But says I just need to decide what I want and go for it. If he starts to go lame then will need xrays to see how bad it is. Obviously I have to watch the time limit too on LOU which is why I am thinking of just going for it, that way either he will cope or he won't and it will still be within the 12 months

No the jumping etc will not affect his soundness in other areas as farrier has shod him to protect this.

may horses do go on to compete at 1.20m + just depends on how the horse copes and how bad it is
 
hmm difficult one this then.
don't know much about LOU but doesn't that go on what you have him insured for primarily? ie a showjumper or dressage horse? how much do you have him insured for by the way? will him being diagnosed with sidebone mean this is excluded on his insurance? sorry for the questions just don't know much about LOU either!
did the vet say what would happen if you pushed him and he went lame? Me personally would be worried about the long term effects
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what's caused the sidebone to come in the first place?
 
Sorry...but surely the health and comfort of your horse is more important than what activities you can do and whether you are in time to make a LOU claim!!!!!!!!!!!
 
Sorry...but surely the health and comfort of your horse is more important than what activities you can do and whether you are in time to make a LOU claim!!!!!


I think thats a bit harsh. clearly the person concerned is worried about the health and wellbeing of the horse or she would not have posted. Also this kind of thing is a big issue to people who have horses primarily because they enjoy competing. There are many concerns when a horse is not on form or has been diagnosed with a problem and many issues that need to be addressed , thats the reason we take out inurance in the first place.
 
Well sorry, I accept it was blunt and to the point, however that is just my opinion and no one needs to take any notice of it!
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I just feel that a horse is a commitment and that if it was my horse I would not be looking to get the most out of him whilst I could, I would be more concerned with how happy and well he was for the longer term...and if that mean't I could no longer compete, then so be it! Granted, my circumstances may be a little different perhaps...I have only one horse and he is staying with me for life even if he could only be hacked out now and then...I guess others buy a horse for a purpose and if they cannot fulfil it, they are no longer much use...perhaps?
 
I agree with Pottamus.
My horse (the grey in my signature) has some of the biggest sidebones ever seen (according to my vet that is), I was lucky he didn't have many problems with them and I did alot with him but as soon as he started having problems (he went intermittently lame) I retired him!! Its been over 4 years since I retired him and he's a fat happy (hairy) beastie in the field now, 2 years ago he came sound and (touch wood) has stayed sound, I occassionally take him for a plod out but to be honest not often because he isn't much of a plod and I wouldn't want to do anything to make him unsound again! His happiness is the most important thing to me!
 
You probably wont be able to see a sidebone on a live horse, you may be able to feel the bony growth behind the hoof wall at the coronet close to the heels. This is a radiograph of a sidebone

sidebone.gif


You can see the pastern bones to the top, and the bony spur on the pedal bone, this should be cartilage, it projects above the slightly greyer hoof wall to the left.
 
Thanks

pottamus why would you think I would push him beyond his comfort?? What I mean is go ahead and do what I want and see what happens, if at anytime he showed signs of being sore then I would rethink. However I do NOT want to just retire him or anything unless I know it will make him sore as he would hate it.

Who said I would not still keep him if I claimed LOU, just because you claim does not mean I cannot keep him and the new horse!!
That is WHY I HAVE LOU as it is the only way I could afford to buy another horse if anything happened to him
 
Yes, fair point...I have LOU too! I guess that if it were my horse I would not be talking about competing him at all if there was a slight risk of making things worse...and to be fair...you did seem to be saying in your original post that you were in a hurry to decide so that you did not loose out on any LOU claim...and the options that you are asking us to decide on all evolve around competing him to some degree...which (no disrespect) is more thinking about what you want rather than the horse...that was why I gave the answer I did. There was no offence meant , unfortunately these forums are difficult to communicate on at times!!! But I stand by what I said...but yes...that is what insurance is for at the end of the day
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My horse has recently developed sidebone.

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Do you know for certain that your horse has sidebone?

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it is causing him to dish and be really pigeon toed.


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A pigeon toed conformation will usually cause a horse to dish (paddle) but a sidebone should not cause a horse to become pigeon toed.

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Also the foot is leaning slightly inwards

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This could be significant in that it may place more pressure on the outside (lateral) heel and could indeed lead to a unilateral sidebone. Talk to your vet and farrier. With careful attention to foot balance, and corrective shoeing you may well keep your horse sound and avoid LOU. Have you any pics to show the conformation?
 
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