Deep digital flexor tendon

T

thehorsediva

Well-Known Member
Joined
29 October 2009
Messages
176
Visit site
Hi there,
I have been to try a horse with view to buy which I really like but it has become apparent that about 18months ago the horse had a slight tweak to his deep digital flexor tendon (low in the fore hoof) and had keyhole surgery to remove it- horse was originally 1/10th lame. MRI scans have shown the horse has fully recovered and it was 100% successful and no problems have occured since. Any advice - should I even consider buying a horse which has had this treatment?! (pretty sure I know what the answer is but all comments helpful!)
 
18 months is a long time ago. if th horse has a clean bill of health otherwise i would go for it! you might bargain a few £s off price! the perfect horse does NOT exist..
 
Was it inside the foot?

If so, that injury is what used to be diagnosed, before MRI scanning, as navicular disease. That's not a huge issue in itself, but it may indicate that the horse is one of those which does not manage shoes as easily as others, or that it had poor farriery at the time.

I would be very wary of its foot conformation. Is the foot different from the other forefoot? Does the horse have underrun heels? Long toes?

I would ask your farrier to take a look at it and if he says "it's not right but I can improve it" then I personally would walk away, because for me that would be too much risk.

I would also video the horse walking on a flat surface and play it back in slow motion. If it lands with the toe first, I would also walk away if I were you. A toe first landing has been shown to create DDFT damage inside the foot.

But if it's currently got good feet and a flat landing in shoes or a heel-first landing barefoot and has done plenty since the operation, then it's probably as good a risk as other horse.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the feedback. Its such a difficult decision as I dont feel I will try anything as nice but obviously its going to be a weakness and I wont be able to get insurance to cover it which leaves me at risk if it were to occur again.

Yes I believe it was in the hoof itself. The horse looks to have good feet, not different from the other fore. It's shod and has a flat landing. He has been worked as normal since the recovery. I spoke to my vet today and they seemed happy it wouldnt be a problem at the moment but would be a weakness for the future.

I mainly want the horse for dressage and hacking and the odd bit of jumping- a general allrounder...oh if only I had a crystal ball!!!
 
There are enough horses on the market at the moment - its truly a buyers market. Why settle for compromising on a horse already?

Get out there and have a look at a few more.

To be honest with the amount of injuries/accidents that happen on a weekly basis at our yard and yards around the area I wouldn't tempt fate. Seems like all the horses I know have recently had, or are currently recovering from one thing or another. Why tempt fate and get something less than perfect????
 
Believe me I have looked at a LOT of horses over the last 7 months, it has been relentless work haha!!

Going to have to do some further investigating because I rang and said no thanks and its not sitting easy...
 
Every horse may have a weakness. If you want a horse with absolutely no chance of going lame then it has to be a rocking horse?

Before taking on any horse, you have to have a very good think as to what you are going to do it if goes wrong. If you don't have a plan/can't afford then best avoid ownership.

With this horse, then make sure you have enough in the bank for a MRI scan. It it does go lame on that foot then you would probably want enough in the bank to know exactly what it was - but there again, anyone who takes on a horse without a financial security blanket should be aware that possibly isn't wise.

As an aside, I self insure my horses, putting away £50 per horse per month. Everytime it reaches a £1,000 I buy Premium Bonds, on the basis that it is less annoying to sell premium bonds than claim insurance!!! So far I have a cool £3,000 of premium bonds!!
 
haha loving the premium bonds theory!!

Thanks for the advice. Have since found out the horse only had the op in Nov! So taking into account the post op box rest and recovery period he really cant have been in full work that long. So its back to the drawing board and back on the horse hunt... 7 months of searching, anyone would think I was looking for a horse with 5 legs or something!!!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top