Bone Bruise Foot - Recovery?

[beatrice]

Following an MRI yesterday my mare has been diagnosed with a decent bone bruise in her foot ("the second bone up") so i was just wondering if anyone had any success stories recovering from this?

For info, we have been have been having soundness issues with my mare for the last few years but she has been 'managed' with changes to how she is shod. She has been in spacer pads for while and when xrayed with these on, angles etc all look good.

Easter weekend she went lame, back to vets and blocks to the foot. Changes to coffin joints noted on x-ray so steroid injected. Few days off and did some work but she went lame again within days.

We then injected Arthramid but after a few weeks she appeared to have the a reaction to this (heat/swelling to the pastern). Tried to manage with Bute which helped but didn't resolve and she was lamer than when we first went back to vets.

Decided to MRI and bone bruise found. Vet has advised 4 months box rest and then a slow return to work but she couldn't say if she would return to her previous level of work (was out competing at Medium) and could never trot on roads. Likely cause of the bruise is her conformation. I have asked if we could take her shoes off for a while and was advised that wasn't an option and she need the support/cushioning from the packing/pads.

She is going to find box rest horrendous and i'm just curious if any others have successfully recovered from something similar.

Thanks!

 

[ycbm]

I apologise in advance that this isn't going to sound very supportive.

You've been struggling with lameness in this mare for 3 years. You now have a diagnosis that she is bruising a bone in her foot just because of the way she is built. She will find box rest "horrendous". The vet can give you no confidence that she will return to work. And if she does return to work it will be with the same conformation that caused the issue in the first place.

I couldn't box rest a horse that will hate it under those circumstances. It sounds like it's time for her to retire.

I'm genuinely sorry not to be more encouraging, you're in a bind of a situation there.
.

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

I kind of see YCBM point 4 months is a long time especially if the end prognosis is not great.

I also wonder if the bone bruise is down to conformation surely it will happen again especially as she is already in shoes with pads.

You don't say how old she is but I made a conscious decision with both my horses that are 19 and 20 now to not box rest them anymore.

My 20 year old did nearly 3 months box rest about 3 years ago for a fractured pedal bone and his body muscles have never come back how they were, it really took its toll on him physically he was literally like a plank of wood and had a year of 6 weekly physio to try and put him right.

Sorry for the doom and gloom.

 

[Steerpike]

I have an endurance horse which had bone bruising in both front feet, his conformation isn't the best with a slight wonky front leg, it was about 4yrs ago now and trying to remember but I'm pretty sure we didn't box rest him, gave him several months of time off covid helped hugely as he had more time off and we are aiming for an 80km in a couple of weeks. We do use pads on him, I'm very careful with the type of ground he goes on, I do trot on roads but only up hills and that's only when he is coming back into work not once he is fit.

 

[beatrice]

Not unsupportive at all - you have very much articulated what I was thinking deep down.

I love the bones of my girl but she is 11 and is the sort that appreciates her job. Retiring her would be tricky as she is very difficult to manage weight wise - I suspect metabolic.

 

[Steerpike]

Forgot to mention he was on Asprin as well when he was first diagnosed, not all vets agree but we were willing to try it.

 

[ycbm]

Not unsupportive at all - you have very much articulated what I was thinking deep down.

I love the bones of my girl but she is 11 and is the sort that appreciates her job. Retiring her would be tricky as she is very difficult to manage weight wise - I suspect metabolic.

I'm so sorry. It's a tough decision facing you.
.

 

[Bonnie Allie]

Do you have access to veterinary rehab? A practice that specialises solely in rehab?

Your vet feels a little old fashioned. Shoes with pads, box rested is stuff we did in the 80s/90s. Have you looked at softride boots with the super soft pads so that you can remove the shoes and then you can trim 2-3 weekly and keep your improved angles?

Or composite shoes that keep the hoof well off the ground and are a closed shoe that distributes pressure around the hoof well.

We have a horse that has similar issues - box rest nearly did us all in. Then we found a vet rehab practice and everything changed for the better. Our horse was at the end of her career but we were thrilled to retire her sound and to get her out of box rest.

 

[beatrice]

Do you have access to veterinary rehab? A practice that specialises solely in rehab?

Your vet feels a little old fashioned. Shoes with pads, box rested is stuff we did in the 80s/90s. Have you looked at softride boots with the super soft pads so that you can remove the shoes and then you can trim 2-3 weekly and keep your improved angles?

Or composite shoes that keep the hoof well off the ground and are a closed shoe that distributes pressure around the hoof well.

We have a horse that has similar issues - box rest nearly did us all in. Then we found a vet rehab practice and everything changed for the better. Our horse was at the end of her career but we were thrilled to retire her sound and to get her out of box rest.

I wish we had something like a vet rehab - the closet we have is a yard with water treadmill.

Farrier and vet have now changed her shoes to some sort of bar shoe with a different packing material to slightly alter her break over and provide concussion support. Will take a look into the boots and the composite shoes though.

The MRI report came back slightly less negatively- she needs 3 months contained (rather than 4) and can do so in a pen rather than stable. She’s now in a pen with a friend on the outside of the pen and appears to be coping well so far.

Report appears slightly more optimistic that she will return to some level of work.

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

I wish we had something like a vet rehab - the closet we have is a yard with water treadmill.

Farrier and vet have now changed her shoes to some sort of bar shoe with a different packing material to slightly alter her break over and provide concussion support. Will take a look into the boots and the composite shoes though.

The MRI report came back slightly less negatively- she needs 3 months contained (rather than 4) and can do so in a pen rather than stable. She’s now in a pen with a friend on the outside of the pen and appears to be coping well so far.

Report appears slightly more optimistic that she will return to some level of work.

At least she can be out fingers crossed it works out.