Chronic Lameness in Young Horse

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Wildpacks

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Hi all, this is my first post on here for a long time, however I have found myself being faced with making an impossible decision about my horses future and looking to get as much advice as possible before doing so.

About 18 months ago a sunbchondral cyst was found in my then 5 year old mares right pedal bone quite by chance, she had been referred for MRI scans due to mysterious lameness in her left foot that was found to be severe bruising of the pedal bone. The vet told me that whilst the bruising would heal, the cyst was a ticking time bomb that would most likely make her lame in the not too distant future and limit her working life.

After about 6 months rest she came sound and I slowly brought her back into work. However she's had a further couple of months off this winter simply due to the weather! She came in from the field hopping lame on her right fore a couple of weeks ago and my Immideate thought was abscess, however the vet couldn't find any trace but she was a lot better after having her shoe removed and foot poulticed for a couple of days.

When I got the farrier out to put her shoe back on she behaved really badly when he was doing that foot, which made me think straight away that she was in pain as she is definitely not one to suffer in silence. And sure enough on lunging her the next day she was obviously lame on the right rein in trot.

Last week the vet came back out and X-rayed her right foot to check the status of the cyst and on comparing it with the scans that were taking last time, he believes it has now moved into the joint and is causing the lameness. At the time he told me he was pessimistic about this and talked about possible surgery which has since been ruled out due to the location of the cyst. The other options we discussed were a neurectomy which I am really not keen to put her through, injecting the joint which he says may or may not have any affect, retiring her on bute or putting her to sleep.

So of course I am now left with the impossible task on making that decision for my 7 year old, otherwise healthy mare. At the moment my head is telling me that if I don't put her to sleep I am just delaying the inevitable but my heart is telling me that she is still young and full of life and wouldn't want to go yet. But the reality is, I don't know if I can justify keeping her as a pet.

If you have managed to read all of this then thank you very much, and if anyone has any advice or have been faced with similar predicaments then I would really love to hear from you.

Thanks.
 
I am so sorry to hear of your situation, I have only known of one horse to have the same condition he was an ex racer who belonged to a friend of mine, they opted to have surgery to remove the cyst but unfortunately it came back very soon afterwards and they felt they couldnt put him through the surgery again, so they let him have the summer in the field then had him pts, such a shame as he was not very old either and she had done a great job of re training him for ridden showing.

I suppose in your shoes I would try the injections and see how it goes given that she is only 7 and that she is still relatively comfortable at the moment, I dont know what a neurectomy is so am off to google now and find out about that, what a horrible situation to be in I hope someone else will have More positive advice for you.
 
I think if surgery is not an option, I may seek a second opinion before ruling it out, depending on what the practice I use is able to offer possibly ask for a referral or at least a consultation and review of the xrays, I would go ahead with the injections to at least give a young horse a chance, if they don't work then pts as I cannot see retirement on bute being a long term option anyway.
I would not consider a neurectomy, it does not sit well with me to have the foot blocked out so they cannot feel the pain as the cyst will continue to grow or alter with you having no idea what is happening, it could be devastating if the joint suddenly goes.
I would take the shoes off and see if she can adapt and strengthen her feet to support herself, she may find it much more comfortable with them off and as she is not going to be doing that much for a while it would be the ideal time to try and see how she goes.
 
I would second be positive, 2nd opinion, inject (you will know if works or not pretty quickly) and PTS if neither of those are doable/work. I don't believe neurectomies are ethical procedures.
 
sorry to be a voiuce of doom but I knew 2 horses with similar condition. one was pts after the diagnosis as the owner thought that it was unfair to keep a young horse going that was not paddock sound and that got worse on harder ground. the other was a lovely looking homebred that had surgery then the cyst came back so was followed by injections that sadly did not work for hers and this horse was also pts as like the first she was not good on hard ground so was not suitable in the devastated owners opinion for the rest of the summer in the field. In your case I would possibly get a second opinion (although personally as its on MRI I would not bother) and inject to see if it will work and keep everything crossed that it works, if it does not then having known of the 2 above that were not comfortable on hard ground I would pts earlier rather than have her uncomfortable in the summer. I would not consider neurectomy for this sort of condition unless it was for an old horse that was never going to be ridden. Really hope you can get yours sorted and sound again
 
I'm with BP and Esther I'm afraid. I've known denerved horses give riders crashing falls because of that so wouldn't risk it myself and I wouldn't see the point of doing something just so it could retire to a paddock either.

It's horrid when they're so young and seemingly fit as fiddles but inside is cracking up; I know, I had a two year old put down last year for similar, well a cyst on a joint; it seems such a waste but the best thing you can do for them.
 
I think living with chronic foot pain must be horrible for horses.
You have my sympathy it's a nasty situation to be in .
It's a personal choice , but I would PTS in this situation.
 
I was faced with a similar situation, and asked the vet what it would feel like to the horse, he said " well think how your feet will feel if you have been shopping all day in tight shoes and then remember the horse feels it 24/7" the horse was put down the next day. It is very sad but not everything can be solved . I felt relieved as that night he started walking behind his stable door could not stand on either foot for more than a few seconds and he had had three bute sachets which I knew was not doable long term either, so I am sure I made the right decision. He was eight and had been broken at five and a half. Just had rubbish bones.
 
My 4 yo ID mare was diagnosed with the same. I tried Tildren and box rest, heart bar shoes ect and it was only a sticking plaster at best.
She needed sedating to shoe, was only sound on soft surfaces and straight lines. Everytime she was allowed out in the school or small paddock she came back hopping lame. Metacam + 3 bute a day made no difference and after 6 months I had her PTS.
With hindsight the vets were overly optimistic (I did get the impression they ran up the insurance) I did lots of reading and the outlook is not good in the long term. Taking shoes off will not help as the problem is in the joint itself, my consultant compared it to walking about with a stone in your shoe. The surface of the joint has a defect with loose cartilage/ bone crumbs causing ongoing inflammation and pain when weight bearing and moving through its range od motion. Unless the defect can be repaired surgically the prognosis is poor in this location.
I did consider a neurectomy to enable her to be more comfortable, but it depends where they block sound to. Mine needed a total from the knee down which I felt was too much for a paddock ornament.
I don't envy you but I felt the longer I dithered the harder the decision was.
One done the relief was immediate.
 
Thank you all for your replies and I'm sorry to hear about those of you who have faced similar dilemma's with your horses, it's so heartbreaking. These answers confirm what I think I already know is the best thing to do by my girl. I spoke to the vet again tonight and asked for more information about the injections, he basically told me that if they inject the joint there is no guarantee that the medication will find its way into the cyst and have any benefit. She will also have to be heavily sedated for the procedure as she did not react well to having needles in her feet when she was nerve blocked. I feel like the vet was subtly trying to convince me that PTS is the best option, I just struggle to say it out loud. Bottom line is that there is no cure and the best case scenario is that she can live pain free in a field for a couple of years on medication, but sadly I don't really have the facilities or the means to make that happen :-(
 
Wildpacks having horses is very very hard sometimes ,I would ask the vet to have a full and frank discussion with you .
Ask him or her to tell you frankly what he or she would do if the horse was theirs .
 
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