Baffling lameness opinions welcome

[cpatterson]

Hi All,
I'm posting on behalf of a friend who's at her whits end with her mare. So the long and short of it is....

8 year old mare
Sound as a pound on the straight on hard and soft surface
Hopping lame on circle on hard surface
Lame but not as extreme on circle on soft surface (the bigger the circle the less the noticeable the lameness)

X-rays very good
No pain response when feet are pinched

Has been on warfarin 10 days on 5 days off 10 days on, and rest for the past 7 weeks.

Still no change....


Any ideas? Xx

 

[BethH]

What has been xrayed - and front or back end lameness?

 

[cpatterson]

Sorry silly me... Front end and her feet have been xrayed, vet thinks it's coming from her feet

 

[missy99]

Could it be to do with the back? The circle motion means using different muscles to going straight and as crazy as it sounds it can all link together to make a horse seem very lame if it's hurting further up... might be worth getting a chiropractor down to have a look?

 

[cpatterson]

Mares in fab form otherwise, when loosed she's bucking and cantering about. Vet seems to think it's a ligament in her foot. Worth having her back looked at before going down the MRI route I suppose

 

[ycbm]

have the front feet been nerve blocked?

The symptoms point at collateral ligament strain in the foot but to diagnose that you need an MRI.

Difficult to resolve in shoes but plenty of horses here recovered from it:

Rockleyfarm.blogspot.com

Treatment with barefoot rehab is identical no matter what the ligament damage, so if your friend is not insured, I'd recommend she goes straight for a barefoot rehab. It can be done at home and plenty of people on here will help.

 

[be positive]

Sorry silly me... Front end and her feet have been xrayed, vet thinks it's coming from her feet

He needs to find out whether it is in the feet, nerve blocks should really have been done before xrays, then you have a starting point at the moment it is based on guesswork and it really could be coming from higher up although feet are the most likely place.
If there has been no natural improvement for so long, most minor things will resolve given rest, then the investigation needs to be more thorough, if MRI is an option then if it is in the foot you will find out exactly what is going on and appropriate treatment can get underway.
I would probably be asking for a referral as the current vet seems rather out of their depth, if the horse is not insured then maybe that explains the lack of investigations but nerve blocks do not cost that much and are essential to find out where the lameness originates.

 

[cpatterson]

Just asked the owner she said Nerve blocks were carried out before X-ray, she became much sounder but wasn't 100%

 

[ycbm]

Just asked the owner she said Nerve blocks were carried out before X-ray, she became much sounder but wasn't 100%

Much sounder would be good enough for me. The rest is probably where she has been holding herself to avoid pain. She only seems sound on a straight line, I'm guessing, because she is equally lame in both front feet. That's bound to have taken a toll on her body.

There is only a twenty percent chance she will recover in shoes. Try to encourage your friend to go straight for a barefoot rehab if you can.

She can email Nic Barker at Rockley, she's generous with her time even if the horse doesn't go there.

 

[noblesteed]

Low-grade lami made mine like that on a circle but not in a straight line and worse on hard surfaces. So foot problems would make sense.

 

[ycbm]

Low-grade lami made mine like that on a circle but not in a straight line and worse on hard surfaces. So foot problems would make sense.

Oooh interesting! Maybe take the horse off grass and put it on soaked hay for a week and see if anything changes, OP's friend?

 

[Lou23]

My horse was very similar and has been diagnosed with a tear in the collateral ligament . Vet was thinking MRI but managed to get diagnosis off scanning machine.

We have had the joint medicated, is wearing special wide branch shoes and I'm also feeding comfrey.