Constantly lame youngster, run out of options

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MrRoo

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Hi,

I’m stumped for what to do with my rising 6yo following repeated episodes of lameness over the past 2 years, he’s had all the treatment and diagnostics the vet has suggested and I still have a horse that can’t even stand comfortably. The saga of Joe the cob is below and if you have any suggestions at all please let me know as I’m at the end of my tether with him.

Purchased 4yo may 2024, bumbled around on a few hacks then didn’t do much with him at all as my older horse was ill for a few months and I didn’t have the time to ride the youngster so he spent the summer living out.
Started very very light work again in Sept 2024 and mid October he went lame. Blocked to near fore but was then lame on off fore. Xrayed both front feet and nothing remarkable came up, vet advised slight adjustments needed by farrier to improve hoof balance. This was done and he came sound and very slowly brought back into work from January 2025. Went lame again May 2025 and MRI in June. Findings from MRI as follows:
Mild osteoarthopy of the coffin joint left fore.
Mild tendonopathy of the DDFT left fore with moderate swelling of the navicular bursa.
Mild navicular apparatus pathology bilaterally, more severe left fore.

He had both coffin joints medicated with steroid in July, then with arthrimid 6 weeks later.

My old boy was PTS in September so I didn’t do much with the youngster until October then very very slowly started bringing back into work.

In December he went lame on his off fore, around 3/10 vet came and box rested and Bute for 10 days. Next vet visit lameness had worsened to around 4/10. X rayed the off fore to find a slight line on the pedal bone. Vet thought fracture of the extensor process and he was box rested for 6 weeks. Just for clarity, my vet wouldn’t stake her life on it being a fracture, but we treated it as such and he was shod with bar shoes.
He was a dream box rest patient but came out 5-6/10 lame following box rest. Medicated off fore coffin joint with steroid and box rested for 2 weeks.
Following this he was sound and started turnout into a pen and hand walking daily progressing to ridden walking 2 weeks ago.
In addition, he had tildren 4 weeks ago.

On saturday he came out of his box lame, probably only 1/10 in walk. He had the vet today and he’s around 3/10 in trot on the hard, around 2/10 on the soft.

We are at a loss for what we can do. Vet suggested MRI but I can’t imagine the insurance will fork out for that considering it’s likely to be one of his existing conditions causing the lameness and I can’t afford to fund it myself. Coffin joints have been medicated multiple times so there’s little point in trying that again.

At this point hes loading his weight onto his near fore just standing. He’s on Bute for 10 days but beyond that there is no plan.

Well done if you made it to the end. Any and all ideas welcomed.
 
Last edited:
MrRoo said:
Hi,

I’m stumped for what to do with my rising 6yo following repeated episodes of lameness over the past 2 years, he’s had all the treatment and diagnostics the vet has suggested and I still have a horse that can’t even stand comfortably. The saga of Joe the cob is below and if you have any suggestions at all please let me know as I’m at the end of my tether with him.

Purchased 4yo may 2024, bumbled around on a few hacks then didn’t do much with him at all as my older horse was ill for a few months and I didn’t have the time to ride the youngster so he spent the summer living out.
Started very very light work again in Sept 2024 and mid October he went lame. Blocked to near fore but was then lame on off fore. Xrayed both front feet and nothing remarkable came up, vet advised slight adjustments needed by farrier to improve hoof balance. This was done and he came sound and very slowly brought back into work from January 2025. Went lame again May 2025 and MRI in June. Findings from MRI as follows:
Mild osteoarthopy of the coffin joint left fore.
Mild tendonopathy of the DDFT left fore with moderate swelling of the navicular bursa.
Mild navicular apparatus pathology bilaterally, more severe left fore.

He had both coffin joints medicated with steroid in July, then with arthrimid 6 weeks later.

My old boy was PTS in September so I didn’t do much with the youngster until October then very very slowly started bringing back into work.

In December he went lame on his off fore, around 3/10 vet came and box rested and Bute for 10 days. Next vet visit lameness had worsened to around 4/10. X rayed the off fore to find a slight line on the pedal bone. Vet thought fracture of the extensor process and he was box rested for 6 weeks. Just for clarity, my vet wouldn’t stake her life on it being a fracture, but we treated it as such and he was shod with bar shoes.
He was a dream box rest patient but came out 5-6/10 lame following box rest. Medicated off fore coffin joint with steroid and box rested for 2 weeks.
Following this he was sound and started turnout into a pen and hand walking daily progressing to ridden walking 2 weeks ago.
In addition, he had tildren 4 weeks ago.

On saturday he came out of his box lame, probably only 1/10 in walk. He had the vet today and he’s around 3/10 in trot on the hard, around 2/10 on the soft.

We are at a loss for what we can do. Vet suggested MRI but I can’t imagine the insurance will fork out for that considering it’s likely to be one of his existing conditions causing the lameness and I can’t afford to fund it myself. Coffin joints have been medicated multiple times so there’s little point in trying that again.

At this point hes loading his weight onto his near fore just standing. He’s on Bute for 10 days but beyond that there is no plan.

Well done if you made it to the end. Any and all ideas welcomed.
Click to expand...
Funnily enough I've just taken a friend's horse to horspital today for a 2nd MRI and insurance covered it. Sounds very similar to yours in terms of diagnoses to date and treatment. It's been ongoing for over a year but she hasn't hit her £6k vet bill maximum yet. Worth a try?
Without it you'll struggle to find an answer. It's so tough and very sorry to read you're having such a frustrating time of it.
 
Honestly, if it was me (I'm neither a vet nor expert: caveat) I'd be cutting my losses and making my plans for a horse that won't stand up to work - may be unpopular as he's so young but if you can't keep him pain free even out of work I'd be questioning PTS. It sounds like he is collecting ailments at a rate of knots and at such a young age with two degenerating conditions already, I think you'd be on a hiding to nothing persuing much more treatment.
Sorry you have found yourself here, it's heartbreaking!
 
AShetlandBitMeOnce said:
Honestly, if it was me (I'm neither a vet nor expert: caveat) I'd be cutting my losses and making my plans for a horse that won't stand up to work - may be unpopular as he's so young but if you can't keep him pain free even out of work I'd be questioning PTS. It sounds like he is collecting ailments at a rate of knots and at such a young age with two degenerating conditions already, I think you'd be on a hiding to nothing persuing much more treatment.
Sorry you have found yourself here, it's heartbreaking!
Click to expand...
Thank you. Yes, I had sort of arrived at this conclusion myself but I’m willing to try any ideas within reason. He’s such a lovely boy and he is my absolute dream horse - if only he would stay sound.

As it stands he’s not currently field sound so I can’t really keep him going if he can’t be comfortable just being a horse.
 
Nicnac said:
Funnily enough I've just taken a friend's horse to horspital today for a 2nd MRI and insurance covered it. Sounds very similar to yours in terms of diagnoses to date and treatment. It's been ongoing for over a year but she hasn't hit her £6k vet bill maximum yet. Worth a try?
Without it you'll struggle to find an answer. It's so tough and very sorry to read you're having such a frustrating time of it.
Click to expand...
Thank you. What diagnoses has your friends horse had? I’ve maxed out his insurance for navicular/coffin joints already and had to pay for arthrimid myself. Nevertheless my vet is going to see if the insurance will agree to MRI under the fracture claim.
 
Firstly I’m sorry you’re going through this and sympathies for the loss of your older boy.

I would agree with @AShetlandBitMeOnce that if he is unable to be pain free in the field and in no work I would be strongly considering pts. Euthanasia is also a treatment option, this is something we as horse owners forget when it is something we are facing as an option.

Which insurance company are you with if you feel comfortable Sharing? If the pedal bone fracture was a separate claim to the one that covered the MRI recently, then they should cover another as it is within time limits unless your insurance has renewed since? Definitely worth your vet trying to obtain pre approval for the MRI although this normally needs to be done by the practice/hospital that will be undertaking the scan.
 
DPDOT said:
Firstly I’m sorry you’re going through this and sympathies for the loss of your older boy.

I would agree with @AShetlandBitMeOnce that if he is unable to be pain free in the field and in no work I would be strongly considering pts. Euthanasia is also a treatment option, this is something we as horse owners forget when it is something we are facing as an option.

Which insurance company are you with if you feel comfortable Sharing? If the pedal bone fracture was a separate claim to the one that covered the MRI recently, then they should cover another as it is within time limits unless your insurance has renewed since? Definitely worth your vet trying to obtain pre approval for the MRI although this normally needs to be done by the practice/hospital that will be undertaking the scan.
Click to expand...
Thank you. I’m still reeling from the loss of my old boy and I’m struggling to come to terms with the fact that I might lose Joe too. His welfare is paramount to me and I won’t let him suffer.

Insurance is with animal friends and to be fair they’ve been brilliant. We are going to try for a pre authorisation, we did last time and they were very fast in approving and haven’t quibbled a thing. If I can get the MRI at least I’ll have a definitive answer but ultimately I don’t think there’s any treatment avenues left to go down.
 
I really do sympathise, having an injured horse is hard enough without it being a mystery diagnosis AND grieving on top. Please make sure you take care of yourself too in this time!

I may have missed this in your previous replies, but is Joe currently on box rest now? If not, is he sound/happy enough on Bute to be on stable size pen turnout in the field so he can get the sun on his back and some grass whilst you wait for the insurance company to get back to you?

I wish there was some advice or words of comfort I could pass on
 
I’m going to suggest slow growing keratoma. My youngest mare had this in one foot but a friends 2 year old had one in each front foot. Usually show up on mri but possibly missed if vets concentrating search on bone etc.
 
MrRoo said:
Thank you. What diagnoses has your friends horse had? I’ve maxed out his insurance for navicular/coffin joints already and had to pay for arthrimid myself. Nevertheless my vet is going to see if the insurance will agree to MRI under the fracture claim.
Click to expand...
Pedal osteitis but possible bone bruising, DDFT damage, coffin joint changes. All left fore. He's just 6.
 
As a last-ditch resort I'd be tempted to get a really good barefoot trimmer and rehab on a track. I'm not a barefoot cultist at all (current horse is fully shod because it works for us), but I have seen with my own eyes chronically lame horses that were a mystery to vets come sound and back in work using this approach. No idea why, perhaps time being a healer was a big component, or perhaps there is just more to feet and biomechanics than we really understand. I definitely wouldn't send somewhere like GTL and would want to do it under my own care and supervision, and I wouldn't be prepared to persevere for too long with a horse that couldn't be comfortably field sound, but if you have exhausted all options and genuinely have nothing to lose it could be worth a shot.
 
KikiDee said:
As a last-ditch resort I'd be tempted to get a really good barefoot trimmer and rehab on a track. I'm not a barefoot cultist at all (current horse is fully shod because it works for us), but I have seen with my own eyes chronically lame horses that were a mystery to vets come sound and back in work using this approach. No idea why, perhaps time being a healer was a big component, or perhaps there is just more to feet and biomechanics than we really understand. I definitely wouldn't send somewhere like GTL and would want to do it under my own care and supervision, and I wouldn't be prepared to persevere for too long with a horse that couldn't be comfortably field sound, but if you have exhausted all options and genuinely have nothing to lose it could be worth a shot.
Click to expand...
Time aka Dr Green, with movement continuous and slowed. No shoes so the horse can move ‘oddly’ at first to minimise pain while healing.

For soft tissue, gentle movement is key to eventual full healing. For gentle arthritis, keeping moving and reducing concussion is also very helpful.

They need to be field sound in walk at a minimum though, which is not the case here.
 
I am facing a similar decision with one of mine albeit, she is older now (13).

Have been trying to get her sound for 2 years now (including steroids, arthramid, fancy shoes, barefoot, turned away etc) and vet out next week as we are at final decision time - mine are on full livery and as much as i would like to keep her forever it costs circa 700 a month to have her and i need to be realistic never mind factoring that she isn't 100% sound. Looks ok on the soft but as the fields dry up i would guess she will have a low level of discomfort when turned out.

If i was in your shoes and he was field comfy i would try turning away for a while without shoes and reassess. At this stage is sounds like you have nothing to lose by giving that a go.

I'm sorry you are also in this situation, it really is rubbish.
 
If you like him and can get him comfortable enough then I'd seriously consider turning away for a year (monitored of course, I'm not saying abandon him) on a decent sized field with company and seeing how things look then. Mybe look for a retirement livery if you don't have the means to do this where you are? I wouldn't be looking at more box rest, that seems to be making matters worse rather than better. If that isn't an option then I don;t think pts would be wrong.
 
MrRoo said:
Hi,

I’m stumped for what to do with my rising 6yo following repeated episodes of lameness over the past 2 years, he’s had all the treatment and diagnostics the vet has suggested and I still have a horse that can’t even stand comfortably. The saga of Joe the cob is below and if you have any suggestions at all please let me know as I’m at the end of my tether with him.

Purchased 4yo may 2024, bumbled around on a few hacks then didn’t do much with him at all as my older horse was ill for a few months and I didn’t have the time to ride the youngster so he spent the summer living out.
Started very very light work again in Sept 2024 and mid October he went lame. Blocked to near fore but was then lame on off fore. Xrayed both front feet and nothing remarkable came up, vet advised slight adjustments needed by farrier to improve hoof balance. This was done and he came sound and very slowly brought back into work from January 2025. Went lame again May 2025 and MRI in June. Findings from MRI as follows:
Mild osteoarthopy of the coffin joint left fore.
Mild tendonopathy of the DDFT left fore with moderate swelling of the navicular bursa.
Mild navicular apparatus pathology bilaterally, more severe left fore.

He had both coffin joints medicated with steroid in July, then with arthrimid 6 weeks later.

My old boy was PTS in September so I didn’t do much with the youngster until October then very very slowly started bringing back into work.

In December he went lame on his off fore, around 3/10 vet came and box rested and Bute for 10 days. Next vet visit lameness had worsened to around 4/10. X rayed the off fore to find a slight line on the pedal bone. Vet thought fracture of the extensor process and he was box rested for 6 weeks. Just for clarity, my vet wouldn’t stake her life on it being a fracture, but we treated it as such and he was shod with bar shoes.
He was a dream box rest patient but came out 5-6/10 lame following box rest. Medicated off fore coffin joint with steroid and box rested for 2 weeks.
Following this he was sound and started turnout into a pen and hand walking daily progressing to ridden walking 2 weeks ago.
In addition, he had tildren 4 weeks ago.

On saturday he came out of his box lame, probably only 1/10 in walk. He had the vet today and he’s around 3/10 in trot on the hard, around 2/10 on the soft.

We are at a loss for what we can do. Vet suggested MRI but I can’t imagine the insurance will fork out for that considering it’s likely to be one of his existing conditions causing the lameness and I can’t afford to fund it myself. Coffin joints have been medicated multiple times so there’s little point in trying that again.

At this point hes loading his weight onto his near fore just standing. He’s on Bute for 10 days but beyond that there is no plan.

Well done if you made it to the end. Any and all ideas welcomed.
Click to expand...
Have they checked the tendons? Flexor tendin or even suspensory tendons! They can look like other problems!
 
If he’s been shod for the duration of his issues and most of them seem to involve the foot / structures adjacent to it then my suggestion would be to try barefoot rehab.

If funds would allow (& if you’ve got insurance money left they should cover at least part of the cost) then to give this the best shot of working I’d send him to Nic Barker at Rockley Farm if she would accept him.

It is possible to attempt this yourself at home but if it’s something you’ve never done before then it can be difficult to do so successfully without a good support network of professionals who have.

Another option as something else to try might be glue on shoes that offer support to the whole foot (eg Duplo shoes or Easycare shoes) but not all farriers offer this so might take a bit of research to find someone who does

If this didn’t improve things / wasn’t an option then I don’t think it would be wrong to consider PTS if you feel you’re running out of options (it also wouldn’t be wrong to turn away for a year and see what happens but doesn’t sound like is currently field sound)
 
Boulty said:
If he’s been shod for the duration of his issues and most of them seem to involve the foot / structures adjacent to it then my suggestion would be to try barefoot rehab.

If funds would allow (& if you’ve got insurance money left they should cover at least part of the cost) then to give this the best shot of working I’d send him to Nic Barker at Rockley Farm if she would accept him.

It is possible to attempt this yourself at home but if it’s something you’ve never done before then it can be difficult to do so successfully without a good support network of professionals who have.

Another option as something else to try might be glue on shoes that offer support to the whole foot (eg Duplo shoes or Easycare shoes) but not all farriers offer this so might take a bit of research to find someone who does

If this didn’t improve things / wasn’t an option then I don’t think it would be wrong to consider PTS if you feel you’re running out of options (it also wouldn’t be wrong to turn away for a year and see what happens but doesn’t sound like is currently field sound)
Click to expand...
He was barefoot when I bought him but had him shod October 2024 to see if that would help. I’ve got a gut feeling the shoes aren’t helping, particularly the bar shoes but maybe I’m just clutching at straws.

I’m willing to try barefoot or different shoes entirely. My farrier is very very good so I will discuss with him
 
Sounds tricky. If you can afford and have facilities to turn away for 6-12 months, I’d do that, on Bute if needed. Barefoot rehab/ intuitive barefoot trimmer or really barefoot aware farrier, using hoof boots if needed.

I’ve had MRIs done with animal friends/ E&L all pre-approved and without problem.

I’m guessing since you mention animal friends, that the horse isn’t insured for loss of use as I don’t know if they offer that? If you do have LOU insurance, you may need the MRI to confirm that claim?

Fingers crossed for improvement.
 
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