Arthritis in fetlock

[ljhudson86]

In April 2010 I went to view a horse for a friend. He was a 16HH racehorse. After riding him around the gallops, we were all under no illusion that he would be too much for her. However I instantly fell in love. I had no money to purchase this little horse, but went away knowing that I wanted him to be mine. It was definately one of those 'love at first sight' moments ! when I got home for weeks, I couldnt get this little horse out of my head.

Months passed and I bumped into the gentleman who was selling him, after a long chat (he had been sold, and had come back as he was too much for the lad to handle!) I was going to ride him the day after with a view to buying him.
2 days later I was the owner of my very own horse (always been 'given' projects!), Bertie a 7 yo TB gelding. I knew the following few months would be 'interesting', and my tight shoestring budget was going to take a battering !

After 3 weeks I had wondered what I had lt myself in for. Nothing nasty....just so hyped on 3 buckets of oats a day, that was slowly coming out of his system. Everything was done at a canter, or side ways ! couldnt turn him in an arena etc etc. Having to get a leg up from a trot to get on, the list goes on.

6 months later, with lots of work and perseverance, he was a completely different horse. Not a spooky scaredy cat, who would stand and shake in the field. An affectionate little beauty.
Working beautifully down on the bit, starting to become an absolute delight to ride. Although you still couldnt switch off for a second. Dressage trainer was thrilled with his progress, even he short little strides didnt put of us thinking he was going to be a little super star!

So now the problems start......came in from the field one day slightly lame...probably a 3/10 lameness. He does go galloping racehorse style around the field, so didnt think much of it....left him in for a few days....sound. Start riding again.....2 months down the line lame again.... this continues on adn on for months and months.

At the beginning of this year I decided enough as enough....as soon as I got near to competing this little diamond horse he would become lame.

Two days before our lameness work up some little monster had gone charging around the field and ripped a front shoe off (they had only been on a week) so must of been with an almightly force, and came in from the field hopping lame ! Hosed it down, box rest until our lameness work up.

Lameness work up came and went with him being probably a 2/10 they werent really sure of the problem.
Week later sound.
so started working towards our first competition, went to competion sound, came home lame !

In the mean time I had tried box rest, restricted grazing (so he couldnt gallop about!), supplements, riding just in the arena, just hacking, all sorts! Tried weeks without him being ridden, weeks with just walking work. He was miserable not being ridden, and I mean miserable!

So back to the vets we go. This time they decided to refer him to Newmarket, as again he wasnt hugely lame, and they were unsure. they thought he had a back problem, among other things and said he wouldnt ever be ridden again. However they did find a broken pedal bone in one of his front legs, although they were unsure if it was an old injury or a new one.

However, because of the restriction on my vets fees if i took him to Newmarket, I would then not be able to 'fix' the problem as i wouldnt have any vets fee's left. So....

After 3 weeks of deliberation with friends, many tears and sleepless nights, I decided the only thing I could do was to get a second opinion from a 'specialist'.

The lady was a reccomendation from a friend, and was amazing. She came from Newmarket with an assistant. Lameness work up, everything scanned and xrayed. Arthritis in the fetlock joint was her diagnosis. With the pedal bone fracture being dismissed as an old injury that has repaired itself, but just 'cosmetically' visible in xrays.
She has given him an injection into the fetlock joint and put him on bute for 3 weeks. I actually couldnt recommend this lady enough. Straight talking in non vet terms, so I could understand every word!

I rode him on her reccommendation for the first time 3 days ago, although a little stiff, nothing major. Day 2 and 3 he felt like a different horse. Long stretching strides, rather than short ones. This is just after three days.

I am unsure if it is the bute or the injection or a combination of both that is helping.

I am hoping to compete him dressage, probably up to intermediate level. So nothing major, but not happy hack.

My question really is to the people that have dealt with this sort of thing before.
Did your horse have the injection ?
Did you use supplements ?
What work load did you go back to ?
Was there anything that you used that you could recommend ?!
if you have any comments or anything you could recommend or suggest i would be hugely appreciative.

I know everybody says it but this little horse is my pride and joy. After always being given the'project' horses my friends and friends of friends, and having saved for years, he is my first very own horse. I have had a rubbish past few years, and he is the only thing that has kept me sane.
I couldnt bare to think of him in pain, or as miserable as he as when he is not being ridden.

Sorry for the super long post, but had to try and explain the history.

 

[KentOsteo]

Hi! Just a few of my thoughts on your post...hopefully it may be helpful!

Arthritis is progressive inflammation and degeneration of a joint; it may affect just one joint or multipe. With increasing age, every joint is subject to wear and tear which may be classified as mild arthritis, but usually the progress is slow and asymptomatic.
Factors contributing to arthritis include trauma and over use. Therefore, although the vet dismissed the pedal bone fracture, this may in fact have been the seat of the problem and predisposing the horse to arthritis due to a shift in normal weightbearing and mobility through the foot/pastern/fetlock complex. As an ex-racer, he also is likely to have done alot of work at a young age - and also been shod early, again these are factors that can ifluence the development of joints/bones and place them under undue stress.

So management wise - I would suggest that the most important thing is to maintain mobility. Plenty of turnout and consistent exercise. Avoid too much roadwork especially in trot - this puts a hell of a lot of impact through the limb joints. Additionally, work in heavy deep surfaces may flare symptoms up. Keep riding to maintain his flexibility and muscle strength and stop him seizing up! Take time to warm up/cool down.

Watch out for the development of ringbone, which is simply the body's attempt to stabilise a painful joint by depositing new bone in a 'ring' around the joint itself. most of the horses I treat over the age of 10 have this at least in one leg....

Due to the loss of full mobility in the fetlock, there may be secondary complaints higher up the leg to to compensation and altered biomechanics. I would recommend using an osteo/physio regularly to maintain mobility and therefore reduce the risk of further problems. They can also show you stretches and exercises to do with him yourself to promote circulation and mobility.

It is fundamentally important that your horse is either shod extremely well, or my preference is to be kept barefoot with his feet balanced. This will again reduce concussion and shock through the fetlock joint.
Injections are not a solution or a cure, just a quick fix of anti-inflammatory to immediately reduce pain. It will wear off - the effects last longer in some horses than others.

It is important to monitor any heat or swelling around the joint which may indicate active inflammation, and adjust workload accordingly.