Anyone ever had sesamoid bone damage?

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marblelou

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Hi,

I’ve got a 4yr old TBX who has been slightly lame for the best part of 18 months now. After extensive x-rays and scans which resulted in no conclusive results, I had an MRI scan done which has now shown up that he had bone damage to his sesamoid bone, just behind the fetlock joint. I have been advised by the vet that without going inside, they are unable to determine what is actually causing it but it is likely to be a cyst or infection of some sort, probably caused by an old injury (he got the same foot stuck in some barb wire around about the same time and now I think it must be linked to something caused by that injury).

Vet has advised that as time goes on, the bone is likely to deteriorate further and lead to arthritis at a young age. She has also advised against surgery, saying that they would basically have to scrap the bad bone away and even if he recovered ok from the operation, the likelihood that he would be able to be ridden very much in the future is slim. She said around 5% chance. Really he needs a joint replacement but unfortunately veterinary science is not as advanced as human science. So basically, she has said that I need to seriously think about whether I should have him put down.

As you can imagine, I have had him from a baby, literally saw him a few hours after he was born. He’s my only horse and had so many adventures planned for us when he got big and old enough, and now I can’t do anything with him.

At the moment, he’s just being a field buddy for his friend and is quite content in himself. He’s not on painkillers or anything (I’m saving that until it gets worse) and still charges round the field like anything, albeit always with a limp. I don’t think he’s in a great amount of pain (otherwise I assume he wouldn’t be charging around the field) but you can never tell.

Basically, I’m writing on here because I want to see if anyone else has had or knows anyone with similar circumstances. I’m not kidding myself that someone’s going to suggest something which will give him a miraculous recovery but I would like general advice and opinions on what the vet had advised, and any potential supplements which I could give him to make his life a bit better.

I’m undecided what to do long term. I still have other horses that I can ride (I have been whilst my one has been growing up) but it’s not the same. Meanwhile he’s just being a companion. If the worst comes to the worst, I am of the opinion that he can be a field buddy for a few more years until things get a lot worse and then maybe it’s time to consider putting him to sleep. I really don’t want to be someone that keeps him alive and he’s in pain, just to spare myself of the trauma of having him put down but I really don’t think he’s that uncomfortable at the moment when he charges round the field bucking still and it seems so cruel to put him down when he’s had such a short life. At least as it is, he can be chilling out in the field, content, for a few more years.

Any advice / thoughts will be very gratefully received.

Thanks,

Louise
 
Hi Louise,

I really am no expert on anything horsey! (I had to ask on here what a "sesamoid" was!!) but my 17yr old girly had sesamoiditis on both front feet back in 2009 and has been in work right up til I got her last year, she was used as a "pony club" and riding school pony til last year so hopefully with treatment your boy should be able to lead a fairly normal if not quiet time, mine is lame at the moment but I am hoping to get her back into gentle hacking soon.

Sorry not much help here as I really dont know the treatment for this but just thought I'd let you know bout my girly......
 
Hi Louise,

Sorry to hear about your horse :( I know its not completely the same thing but my mare was found to have apical fracture of her sesamoid bone in her hind fetlock last September. She was never really lame just a loss of performance and vet came out and only 1/10 lame, 2/10 at the worst. X-rays revealed bone chips floating around in the fetlock joint. No idea when the injury happened nor how long the chips had been there. She was 4 at the time.

We ended up going with surgery to remove the chips and they found the joint quite inflamed but they were able to get the chips all out. Recovery was quite straight forward but involved quite a bit of box rest and hand walking which was interesting! Having a feisty 4 year old who hasn't been out for months and trying to get her to walk for 10 minutes three times a day was not fun. I was told initially that she had a good prognosis and should return to normal work (she was being brought along as a showjumper).

However, once we started ridden work again her lameness regressed (only to a 2/10) and she was considered a LOU case as she was not fit as a SJer. She has now been turned out for 6 months and seems happy in herself and isn't in pain. Will try again to see whether this time off has done the joint any good and see if she can do any ridden work.

She was on Cosequin right after the surgery but now is on nothing. Again I'm sorry to hear about your guy, I know how it feels when something like this happens when they are so young..

Sorry this was a bit long, but just thought I'd share my experience.
 
Hi I have the same problem at the min although the horse has had surgery. I took him on a couple of weeks ago because the owner was going to pts but he isnt in pain and still has a chance to come back to light work in the future - this however is not something that concerns me I am quite happy for him to live out his days in the field as long as he is happy :D I know that not everyone can do that and sometimes pts is the better option but if theres a chance take it.
He had an op in March where fragments of bone were removed, he also had a cyst drained. He's been on box rest, playpen and now is turned out on his own so he doesnt go hooning around. I cant tell you if what has been done so far will work but he's still here and happy in himself. I am trying lots of alternatives too at the min to help the healing process.
If you can keep your horse as a companion and have the means to try and rehab then maybe it is worth a try? The previous owners insurance covered my horses op so if thats an option even though its success is slim its worth a try, maybe see if you can get a referal?
It would be best to limit his cantering about though to see if you can get some improvement. I have to give my boy 12 months before we can expect to see anything positive so it is a long process.
Hope some of that helps? sorry I have waffled on lol :D
 
Thanks so much for your reply, really good to know someone else out there with the same problem. Unfortunately I'm not covered by the insurance so that's also an issue - I just had BHS gold cover until he got a bit older and I started riding him properly when I planned to get proper insurance. Unfortunately he went lame before this though and it's on his records so that's a no go.

Good to hear that yours looks like he's on the road to recovery. How old is your one? Problem with me is that I only ever wanted to be a one-horse owner but not much good having one that I can't use. Leaning towards companion option at the moment as even from your experience, seems like if he were to recover well from the op, that I would only be able to do light work with him anyway.
 
Just to say, if he is limping in the field he is in pain, otherwise he wouldn't limp.

Horses are prey animals so they will stupidly run around on injuries as it is their instinct to do so.

Sorry about your horse though. You must be heartbroken :(
 
Sorry late reply! Thats a shame about the insurance :( Not sure how much it would cost without insurance to cover it??

My boy is 14, he's doing really well at the minute but I darent put him with others anytime soon. He's waiting to see the podiatrist at the min as his feet are horrendous!

How is yours doing? Any ideas on how to proceed with it yet? x
 
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