confused and upset

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blackhorse37

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Hi All, i have posted in the last few weeks but now have a diagnosis of high articular ringbone in near hind of my 6yo. Im so confused as the vet not encouraging or even suggesting what can be done for him. He is under 1/10th lame- you really have to look to see even a slight dip of his pelvis and is not on bute. The vet said to keep him on box rest (hes already had 3wks and is going cranky!) surely its better for him to be moving? I have read through loads of relevant posts on here and it seems to be what others have been advised!
I asked vet about injecting the joint but she said she thinks it would be hard to get the needle in- i dont understand how this can have progressed so quick as a month ago he won dressage championship and had never had even a hint of lameness. The vet said prognosis poor but i MIGHT be able to bring him back into light work in 6 mnths or so. Im devastated. Please, i really need your thoughts and experiences, im going to have a nervous breakdown! Thank you
 
So sorry to hear this. Personally I'd be getting a second opinion, sounds like your vet has been abit vague and unhelpful so I'd get someone elses view who might have more experience with dealing with this than she had. Good luck I hope things work out positively for you.
 
I'd agree with jsr - if I were you I'd want a firm plan of action! Ask for a referral to another vet practice (ideally an orthapedic specialist) and see what they suggest.

Good luck
 
My mare went from sound as a pound to crippled overnight - with low non articular ringbone.

She was box rested for several weeks, had injections (not in to the joint), but in to the muscle (if I remember correctly). She came more or less sound very quickly, after the initial supportive medication - and remained so. However, I retired her and never rode her again.

I turned her out before the end of her box rest period.

Low and high, non articular and articular are quite different things.

I'm guessing your vet is not an equine vet - so would be looking for a practice that deals only with horses - or has a large equine side to the practice.

Good luck.
 
What a devastating blow for you but I would agree with everyone else about getting a
2nd opinion from a recognised equine practice.

My 5 year old developed both high and low ringbone in a front leg. He was sound when the xrays were done and crippled lame within 6 weeks of diagnosis. I was told to PTS but decided to keep him as a pet because I couldnt do that to such a young horse.

With rest the ringbone did fuse up and I starting riding him again when he was 9 until around 15. He was on bute in the winter but managed without in the summer. He had a long happy life (albeit a bit stiff sometimes) until he was eventually PTS at 28 from a non related condition.

We are going back 30 years now for my horse. There are lots more treatments around now and more knowledge so I am sure that a decent vets practice will be able to help your boy. Good luck.
 
Box rest will allow the active arthritis to settle - new bone formation can be aggrevated by movement and keep depositing new bone.

I'd also be inclined to get a second opinion as your vet should be able to give you more detailed information about treatment.
 
Thank you so much everyone for your responses and encouragement! I have now had the second opinion and the new vet did an ultrasound scan which showed ligament damage!! He believes the lameness is coming from that rather than the ringbone at the moment! My boy has had one cartrophen jab and i have to do another 3, one weekly. Vet said to bring him back in to work in a month (still on boxrest for now) Do any of you have experience with cartrophen? Im feeling a tiny bit more hopeful now but scared too!
 
blackhorse37 said:
Thank you so much everyone for your responses and encouragement! I have now had the second opinion and the new vet did an ultrasound scan which showed ligament damage!! He believes the lameness is coming from that rather than the ringbone at the moment! My boy has had one cartrophen jab and i have to do another 3, one weekly. Vet said to bring him back in to work in a month (still on boxrest for now) Do any of you have experience with cartrophen? Im feeling a tiny bit more hopeful now but scared too!
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OMG that is awful (about your first vets diagnosis). Unfortunatley they are not God and they get things wrong, but it seems to happen quite a bit these days.
 
Hi, my 14yr old BretonxAndalucian mare was diagnosed with high non-articular ringbone in her front leg 2 years ago. My farrier recommended 10 days box rest on bute, then 10 days field rest, plus put heart-bar shoes on. She has now come through almost completely sound, just shows up lameness when trotted on a circle, but we were just happy hackers anyway so she is perfectly content continuing like this. There is a big difference in prognosis between articular and non-articular though but it may be worth discussing remedial shoeing with your farrier if he is still lame after the ligament damage has healed. Good luck :)
 
Hi there - well done for getting the second opinion! My mare had a course of cartrophen back along following an episode relating to her bone spavin. She had a 6 week course (Ouch to my poor wallet as it hadn't long been used over here back then!), and with that and careful rehab, she came sound. She has previously been on 3 legs due to the pain and discomfort she was in, but with that, chiro and remedial shoeing, she came back really well.
Good luck!
 
Hi...yes I do have experience of Cartrophen, however, in my dog rather than my horse, but the principles will still be the same. :o We have a 5 year old rescued Neopolitan Mastiff who at some point has had a very nasty injury to her hock, which is now now enlarged due to arthritis. We were trying to manage it with supplements etc as I didn't want to start on anything harsher as she was still quite young, however, we had reached the point where some days she was on 3 legs. Then we tried Cartrophen injections. She had one a week for a month and now has them monthly. The difference is immeasurable, she is now almost totally sound, the only time she limps is when she has been lying a bit funny. It has improved her so much that we can now take her out for long walks and she leaps around like a puppy. I cannot recommend the stuff enough. Good luck :)
 
My dog also had the cartophone injections - 4 in total for elbow displaysia. It was also coupled with switching him over to Hills food but he went from looking as if he would need an operation on both elbows to now only showing some lameness (about 1/10) if tired.
 
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