Any one with experience of horse with fracture thats nor fusing

[jellyshark]

Our horse was kicked in January, causing an L shaped fracture to the top of his splint bone just by his hock, prognosis was good box rest then re xray - on xray 8 weeks ago the fracture could not be seen - horse was turned out for an hour the following day turned out again and came in very lame - fracture showing again, 8 weeks box rest and then x rayed today, fracture not fused only fibrous tissues holding it together - vet is unsure but advising turn out as doesn't (neither do we) feel that any more box rest will help. So now it seems we just have to turn him out and hope it stays stable! Also vet now has no idea if that go's OK if it will stand up to work after a few months turnout. - Just wondered if anyone else had experienced anything similar and if they had a positive outcome!

 

[be positive]

Have the vets not suggested removing the splint bone as it serves no real purpose but if it does not heal will potentially continue to cause problems, from memory when mine had a fracture, just the lower end which was displaced and removed, the vets were concerned that the suspensory ligament would be involved and considered that far more of an issue than the bone fragment moving about, they were wrong and it was just the bone causing the pain but it is often more complex than mine proved to be.

Mine had MRI done before his op just to make sure there was no suspensory damage, I would be wondering if yours has done some damage to the ligaments and that is causing something to pull the fracture site when he moves about, I would want ultrasound scans at least to check the soft tissue even if MRI is not viable due to cost.

I would not be happy with the wait and see approach unless there really was nothing else that could be done, I am usually in favour of giving them time and turnout to let nature heal but in this case it is too much of a case of fingers crossed when an op could get it sorted, mine was done standing and cost far less than the investigations did, he had 8 weeks on box rest then was able to go out, back in work 4 months post op.

On another note the fibrous tissue can be a problem in itself, mine had a lot around the fracture site due to the fracture being missed for 6 weeks, long story, this took months to go down, restricted his movement for ages and although he again proved the vets wrong and it has just about gone back to normal they did say he may be restricted by it for many years.

 

[jellyshark]

This is a very rare fracture - we are told just a 1mm higher and it would have been his hock! Vets have a had a number of 2nd opinions and feel that operating/removing is not viable - they did consider pinning to start with but didn't feel it would help! they feel that our options are limited to say the least - I am not happy with the wait and see either but there seems to be little choice.

 

[SusieT]

I'd get a second opinion at an equine hospital. Ideally one that works with racehorses if you can as they are used to fractures.

 

[_GG_]

This is a very rare fracture - we are told just a 1mm higher and it would have been his hock! Vets have a had a number of 2nd opinions and feel that operating/removing is not viable - they did consider pinning to start with but didn't feel it would help! they feel that our options are limited to say the least - I am not happy with the wait and see either but there seems to be little choice.

To be honest, it sounds like they have been very thorough. A second opinion is always worth it and I second a racehorse experienced practice, but if turn out, wait and see is the option, try to plan to make the best of it. For an injury like that, I'd say you'd want a large enough paddock that if he has a hook, he won't have to turn to sharply or put the emergency brakes on as it's movement like that that can place bigger strain on healing legs. For me, either restrict so they can't get any speed up, or give them a large enough area to do safely.

It sounds like a nightmare, but hopefully good old Dr. Green will do the job.

 

[SullivanB]

low level ultrasound has been shown to help with non union fractures. could also try a pulsed magbetic boot

 

[jellyshark]

Thanks everyone - he has had magnetic boots and the Arc equine unit on whilst on the 6 months box rest he has done. It is a nightmare

 

[Tnavas]

Try adding Comfrey to his feed, commonly known as 'knitbone' it helps with bone healing.

 

[_GG_]

Try adding Comfrey to his feed, commonly known as 'knitbone' it helps with bone healing.

Just as a not of caution for the OP. Comfrey contains pyrrolizidine alkaloids, which are toxic to the liver...not good for a horse that may have been on bute or other NSAID's for any length of time. Even many herbalists will warn against its use in feeding.

 

[Tnavas]

The mix is only 1oz leaves to 1 pint water. Other method is to pulverise the leaves to a pulp and bandage over the damaged splint.

 

[_GG_]

The mix is only 1oz leaves to 1 pint water. Other method is to pulverise the leaves to a pulp and bandage over the damaged splint.

Not saying don't use it...just saying it can affect other meds or be affected by them, and because of that, it's worth careful consideration and discussion with vet x

 

[_GG_]

The mix is only 1oz leaves to 1 pint water. Other method is to pulverise the leaves to a pulp and bandage over the damaged splint.

Deleted as duplicate

 

[jellyshark]

Thanks I will have a look into that - he hasn't been on meds for any length of time so it could be a possibility

 

[supsup]

My gelding broke a splint (probably from a kick), medial on the left front leg. The fracture was a bit further down (about halfway). He had an initial 8 weeks rest, became sound and I was allowed to bring him slowly back into work. Unfortunately, I didn't insist on follow-up x-rays before re-starting work. A few weeks in (by now back on turnout, alone, in a small-ish paddock) he was lame again. A new x-ray showed that the break was still/again there. To this day, I do not know whether it never healed properly the first time around (since we didn't do a second x-ray before bringing him back to work), or whether he somehow managed to re-injure himself during turnout.
After some debate back and forth, and a second opinion on the new x-ray, we decided on just giving it more time. The original injury happened around new year, and I started to bring him back into work for the second time around July (this time with more x-rays to make sure the break was fusing). Fortunately, he did make a full recovery and has been completely problem free since then. All in all, it took about 8 months until he was back to normal work levels.
Not sure how much my experience applies to your situation (the break sounds worse, being higher up, and you're already given it a lot of time to heal), but in my case, time did in the end heal it, without further intervention.

 

[Lgd]

A good alternative to comfrey is to go for the active ingredient - allantoin.
You can buy allantoin powder readily, and it avoids the issues with the liver.

 

[Goldenstar]

Try adding Comfrey to his feed, commonly known as 'knitbone' it helps with bone healing.

No no no toxic toxic stuff .

 

[glenruby]

As mentioned above, Comfrey contains the same toxins as Ragwort. I have firsthand experience of a herd of horses developing liver disease (two fatal as a result of hepatic encephalopathy) following ingestion of comfrey over a 3 week period. It has also been banned as an oral herbal treatment for humans due to fatalities.
My suggestion would not be to turn out (unless it can't be avoided) but to start controlled exercise to stimulate remodelling (and hopefully healing) of the bone. If hand walking is too dangerous try long reining on a semi firm surface instead.