Bilateral lameness

[toddles]

Long story looking for hope. My horse who was 7 went lame last year vets diagnosed hock spavins in both. He had tildren and steroid injections. He then went lame in both front feet. After nerve blocks he was xrayed which showed nothing significant. He then went for MRI which showed inflammation to the coffin joint, pedal bone and collateral ligaments in both front feet and medial lateral imbalance He then had steroid injections in both feet and corrective shoeing at the vets this consisted of a gel sole pack and heart bad to help him land level. He improved a little but not fully. He then had irap treatment which seemed to help massively. Fast forward to January when my Farrier took over shoeing him he went back lame again and back to the vets he went they injected his hocks again and he appeared sound. Great I thought then he went lame in front again so back again to vets. We decided to do an MRI again on left fore as this is what he appeared lame on and the report came back as Conclusions:
Osteoarthritis and synovitis of the left distal interphalangeal joint with namely a large cartilage erosion
laterally. No definite evidence of collateral desmopathy today.
Mild navicular bursitis without evidence of flexor tendinopathy.
So another steroid into left for horse again sound back into work. Then lame again this time on right fore. Back to vets and right fore injected. New Farrier has put sport horse shoes on him and at first he was ok now back to being very lame and don’t know what to do next. On all kinds of supplements nothing seems to work should I call it a day as I hate seeing him like this and I couldn’t just keep him as a field pet as he doesn’t like staying out long especially in the winter he just wants to be in. Sorry for the long post

 

[FFAQ]

If you're thinking about possibly calling it a day, would you consider getting an equine podiatrist to help you rehab him barefoot? You would definitely need hoof boots and therapeutic pads, but you will recover the money within a few trim cycles by not having shoes. If it doesn't work you can sell the boots on (can't do that with shoes). You've tried everything else, so what have you got to lose? Check out www.epauk.org to find an EP near you.
Whatever you decide, good luck!

 

[Andalucian]

Bi-lateral lameness isn't without a manmade cause. If your child suddenly went bilaterally lame, you wouldn't accept it, you'd be looking for the cause.

That said, recovery from it will need 3 months to a year of rest depending on the severity of the foot issues, ideally turned out and moving in a field. If you are prepared to give a 7 year old this time, then contact a barefoot specialist.

 

[ester]

I agree in that I would take his shoes off but you are going to have trouble if you cannot turn him out/keep him moving without a lot of walking on your part.

 

[Pinkvboots]

I think I would take the shoes off and turn away for a bit and see if he heals himself, and if he does become sound try and get him working without shoes.

I did similar with mine but he was only lame on off side front but showing navicular changes in both and a few other things, I took shoes off he was turned out as much as possible and was sound after 3 months, that was last September his now being ridden barefoot and has been fine.

 

[HappyHollyDays]

Andalucian is spot on. One of mine went bilaterally lame at 5 for no apparent reason and everyone told me he was broken. Took his shoes off and it was clear to see the hash up a so called well respected farrier had made of his feet. Employed a new and marvellous farrier who slowly but surely got the correct balance back without compromising the tendons and he has been barefoot and sound ever since.

 

[toddles]

Andalusian I am fully aware that this is possibly a man made problem and I have spent the last 14 months trying to fix it and £10,000 on Vet treatment. How do they recover from oestoarthritis as the damage cannot be reversed. There is also a lack of barefoot specialists where I live and after all he has been through I don’t want someone who thinks they can change him without proper credentials and make him worse than he is.

 

[toddles]

Ester are they better out 24/7 the yard were I am is not set up for a transitioning horse.

 

[HappyHollyDays]

Toddles which area of the country are you? Somebody might be able to help.

 

[toddles]

Lindylouanne. Wa9 area

 

[HappyHollyDays]

Lindylouanne. Wa9 area

That's a bit too far away from me to recommend my farrier, I think the furthest he goes is Derbyshire.

 

[ester]

They are better moving, gently, not too forced because stimulation= better growth really. Is sending him to a retirement-type livery an option? We have an old poster on here that runs that sort of set up with a big gang of boys and has had them do well. I'm just wondering if he is in a different set up/with the right group somewhere where he has never come in whether he would be more happy to stay out?

I'll say what I usually say in similar scenarios in that it might not sort it but at this point it is probably the best chance.

My own decision making process was based on the fact that the alternative was retirement in which case I'd really want his shoes off anyway so we might as well try to do it properly- he was turned out and did 5 minutes in hand road walking to start and that was slowly increased over several months. He had only been lame for approx 4/5 months previously though, in bar shoes and with steroid injections.

 

[ester]

Fwiw I do also understand your reluctance on choosing someone to do hooves, I emailed three, invited one to come for a chat in the first instance and decided she knew what she was doing enough to help so we took the shoes off that day. If I hadn't been happy I'd have spoken to one of the others more.

My Geography for your part of the country is not amazing but there are a couple of people on the UKNHCP list (who mine qualified with) that are in your vicinity/possibly close enough to be worth asking as quite a lot of them do travel quite a long way- my trimmer travelled 1.5 hours to me when I moved! One is a farrier as well (though possibly quite old as he has the old qualification). Paul Jackson and Jo Mitchel on this link
http://uknhcp.org.uk/practitioners/

Id also suggest the 'barefoot for whole horse health' group on facebook if you are on it. It is run by a very experienced trimmer (and previous poster here) and they might have more personal suggestions.

 

[rwesthenzell]

That's a bit too far away from me to recommend my farrier, I think the furthest he goes is Derbyshire.

Do you mind me asking who you use?

 

[pastit]

OP - did anyone look at the pelvis? Arthritic hocks and dodgy front feet can all be caused by SI or pelvic muscle issues. Might be an idea to get him assessed by Tom Beech or someone similar. While I'm all for turning out and seeing what happens, pelvic injuries tend not to heal properly without expert intervention. Just a thought...

 

[HappyHollyDays]

Do you mind me asking who you use?

I've only just spotted this so apologies for not responding earlier. My farrier doesn't my quite reach Mansfield/Chesterfield, the furthest North he goes in just beyond the cities of Nottingham and Derby.

 

[QueenT]

I am interested in hearing how it all went? Just read the original thread and thought that you'd done everything and more