Amber is lame

[Tiddlypom]

I'd still MRI in your shoes. The not knowing what it was would eat me up.

This was going to be the next stage for me, but my vet talked me out of it for the interim. The horse is not insured, though.

The MRI would have cost £1200, but vet proposed instead gel injections into fronts coffins (@ £720) plus a complete overhaul of her foot balance - her toes had been allowed to get much too long by the EPA fully qualified/registered barefoot trimmer. A farrier got them back on track.

Going well so far...

If insured, then defo go for the MRI, though.

 

[Ambers Echo]

Nope not insured. After maxing out insurance on Max & Ginny, the premiums were impossible. I have savings for vets bills instead.

 

[Michen]

I’d still want an MRI to rule out something like a keratoma TBH.

 

[FestiveFuzz]

I lost my youngster to a DDFT injury so I know only too well the absolute rollercoaster of emotion that comes with rehabbing that type of injury. In your shoes I would absolutely push ahead with having an MRI so you're clear on exactly what you're dealing with. I still remember taking my youngster up to the RVC for a second opinion and being told she was the soundest chronically broken horse they'd ever seen, she was showing about 1/10 lame despite an acute tear with a fairly bleak prognosis. We lost her a few weeks later to a secondary SDFT tear which combined with the original injury meant there was literally no hope of us ever even getting her field sound.

 

[SEL]

The MRI would have cost £1200, but vet proposed instead gel injections into fronts coffins (@ £720) plus a complete overhaul of her foot balance - her toes had been allowed to get much too long by the EPA fully qualified/registered barefoot trimmer. A farrier got them back on track.

Going well so far...

If insured, then defo go for the MRI, though.

Did you have the gel into the coffin joints because that's where problems showed up on x ray?

 

[Tiddlypom]

Did you have the gel into the coffin joints because that's where problems showed up on x ray?

There was some low grade inflammation around the coffin joint showing on x ray, which the vet believed was caused by the long toe/low heel hoof balance that the barefoot trimmer had got her into. This inflammation had come on since her previous x rays a year before, when her foot balance was much better and she was in shoes.

Vet also thought that the gel injections would help to settle down other residual inflammation within the foot - vet does not believe that horse has a serious injury within the foot.

If horse didn’t respond to this, then an MRI would be the logical next step. Vet seems to be even keener to save me money than I am! Her take was that I could spend my £1200 on the MRI, but that would not include any therapeutic treatment, so we agreed to try the less spendy/more therapeutic gel injections/better foot balance first.

 

[SEL]

Thanks - I've been impressed with how well gel injections in the hocks turned out so may mention that to vet. They've suggested a steroid jab but I'm not sure at the moment

 

[Tiddlypom]

Just to add that the mare is getting very fed up with veterinary interventions. She will just about cope with sedation and then having joint medications or x rays/scans, but nerve blocks while compos mentis are out.

I am hoping not to have to travel her to horsepital again.

Sorry, AE, for thread diversion.

 

[tristar]

if a horse was lame my 100 per cent priority would be diagnoses, if only to rule out injuries or diag disease, to avoid further injury,and start management of same, before altering hoof capsule, then consider what action to take.

 

[Red-1]

I have taken 3 barefoot, not necessarily because they had problems (in 2 cases they did - 1 in the foot and 1 injured suspensory; one did not have any physical issues at all) and not permanently.

I had them working at BD and one at BS too, without shoes, as well as hacking 3 X a week.

I start with a couple of weeks for the foot to simply relax, no trimming other than any ragged edges. Then start with 100yds in hand on the roads, barefoot. If you have to boot to get them comfortable onto the road then do, but they should be OK on the actual tarmac.

I then increase by 100m whenever I feel it is right. Not every day.

As soon as they are road walking, I start to wave a rasp at them. Just to tidy up. It seems to become apparent what work needs doing as soon as you start to road walk.

I would keep road walking in-hand until you are doing 40 minutes or so comfortably. After that, I would maybe do a shorter ride under saddle. I found riding them really affected them when they are not yet strong in their feet, they can really feel it. Sometimes I would do part of the outing under saddle but with boots, then dismount, pull the boots and lead home.

The one that was bang sound (the mare I have just sold) but had shoes removed because I was busy with mum's illness, she was the one who never needed boots at all. Probably because everything was already working 100%. She simply increased her work, and after 4 months was even sound on hard core car parks when she was out competing. When mum took a turn for the worse, she went to a friend's where to get anywhere there was a 100yd hard core track, and she was fine.

The other two looked fabulous, but took longer to feel OK on uneven ground. They were the ones who had boots for car parks and for part of the ride. They took 6 months to do longer tarmac rides, and one was never 100% comfortable on hard core. I think it is because he already had foot issues. I didn't MRI, we nerve blocked to the source and gave a steroid injection in there as the vet thought that would likely be the treatment whatever the MRI showed. He had been lame before I owned him, but after a long rest was OK, but after I got him and took him eventing, the slight 'offness' came back. Hence steroid, barefoot rehab, return to more limited workload, never evented again. Not that he wasn't sound to, just that I thought if he did, he would not stay sound. For his benefit, I decided he was semi retired.

I had them on very clean beds, did a Cleantrax soak, bought some pea gravel for the drive so the soles had some abrasion every day, turned out on an arena that had large chunks of rubber too. All 3 were over winter, so not too much grass when they were out, plus no rock hard uneven ground. All 3 came off any hard feed, bar a little chop for the foot supplement from Progressive Earth, or in the mare's case she was rock hard so had Formula 4 feet as a hand treat.

Personally I would prefer to know what is wrong, but if you take it slow, the horse is having a form of rehab anyway. I would avoid the circles where she isn't sound altogether and only do stuff where she is bang sound. I did photo the feet and video the flight every month.

Good luck!

 

[Bernster]

Just to add that the mare is getting very fed up with veterinary interventions. She will just about cope with sedation and then having joint medications or x rays/scans, but nerve blocks while compos mentis are out.

I am hoping not to have to travel her to horsepital again.

Sorry, AE, for thread diversion.

slight derail but mine got sent back from RVC yesterday having point blank said no to any more nerve blocks. Did 1, realised what it was (needles) then said NOPE.

 

[SEL]

slight derail but mine got sent back from RVC yesterday having point blank said no to any more nerve blocks. Did 1, realised what it was (needles) then said NOPE.

Can't nerve block mine either - in fact can't flexion test any longer either as poor Rob Jackson found out when he tried to do an adjustment with her a few months ago. Too much fiddling and now she says NOPE loudly.

 

[oldie48]

I can't advise you on barefoot rehab but I can give you a success story! Friend's adv eventer lost her enthusiasm for XC, started to stop and also was a bit unco-operative on the flat. Not obviously lame and owner is a vet but later diagnosed with DDFT. Owner decided on rest, put her into foal in the spring and has a lovely filly from her. Now back out competing and doing well. They didn't go down the barefoot route, use the same farrier as I do so I'm confident there wasn't a foot balance issue, the injury was "just one of those unfortunate things". Good luck, it must be such a worry for you.

 

[Ambers Echo]

Finally got a date through for the MRI. Friday 16th October. Better late than never! Nervous, but also looking forward to finally knowing exactly what we are dealing with.

 

[racebuddy]

EVERYTHING CROSSEED FOR U XX

 

[Ambers Echo]

EVERYTHING CROSSEED FOR U XX

Thank-you. My worst outcome would be an inconclusive finding. She's been not right for over a year, assuming the initial September injury was the start of it all. So I am not optimistic really. But one way or another, I want an answer.

 

[DressageCob]

Good luck with the MRI. I hope, firstly, that you get answers and also that the answer is something fixable. Everything crossed for you.

 

[Red-1]

Good luck!

 

[racebuddy]

let us know the results of the mri scan

 

[Ambers Echo]

Will do but it's not till next Friday x

 

[Ambers Echo]

So she's had it done but no feeback for about 5 days! Arggghhh. Leahurst gave same day feedback so that's quite frustrating. And even then they will send a report to my vet rather than phone me. Waiting game goes on....... But at least it's done now and went fine.

 

[Roxylola]

Oh gosh that is so disappointing when you were all psyched up for today. Really hope you get some good news x

 

[DressageCob]

Oh that is painful! You get yourself geared up for news, good or bad, and still don't get it. I bet the next 5 days will drag.

Fingers crossed for good news when you finally do hear.

 

[piglet2001]

That’s awful service. I have always had a verbal report on the same day and a full written report within two days. In fact last time I had xrays, mri and joints medicated within 5 hrs. It wasn’t even a planned MRI so the vets had to wait an 1hr for the insurance company to approve it. I feel really sorry for you, it just strings it out and if you need treatment you have to go back again!

 

[Reacher]

That’s rubbish - Can they not even give a verbal report to the vet before then?

 

[Ambers Echo]

MRI bad news. Navicular bone looked ok on xray but not on MRI. Vets do not consider a return to work realistic - apart from low level hacking maybe - and are offering no treatment options. I expected bad new given no improvement after so long but was not expecting them to be so gloomy or so final in their assessment. Stunned and heart broken.

 

[ycbm]

Oh AE, I am so sorry, that is such a shock.

 

[Red-1]

Ouch, I am so sorry. X

 

[The Fuzzy Furry]

Oh no! V sorry to read this x

 

[milliepops]

sorry it wasn't better news