Dorsal Wall Resection

F

fathorse

Well-Known Member
Joined
11 March 2008
Messages
290
Location
Bristol, UK
Visit site
Hi
My 19yr old mare is having a Dorsal Wall Resection followed by imprint shoes on Monday due to hoof wall separation from her first attack of laminitis this year.

I've been told good prognosis from the vet, 9 months ish box rest and she should have a good quality of life once she recovers from the treatment.

I would just like to hear some success stories please and how you and your horse got through it :)

Thank you, Kerry.
 
My lad had a fairly radical resection, followed by imprint shoes. He wasn't on box rest for 9 months mind, it was about 9 years ago now and I can't remember but I'm thinking it was about 12 weeks when he didn't actually leave his stable.
He did box rest really well but was so excited to let out.

We had a full recovery and I was able to ride him again.
I eventually lost him to cancer that I suspect was caused by the continued use of pain killers.
 
Sorry, meant to post:

Read it before Monday or not at all or you will only upset yourself.

I would ask your vet to explain to you why he thinks your mare cannot regrow a piece of attached foot without him cutting off the bit that is unnattached. My own laminitic horse had a stripe of unattached hoof with a hole an inch wide at the coronet and at the floor. If I squirted peroxide in the hole, as I did daily to keep it clear of infection, it ran straight out of the bottom. As the hole grew down, the foot above it was attached again.

Presumably as your mare is 19 she is not insured for this and it's going to cost you a fortune? If so, I would urge you to postpone the op, read the book, and try to find other people who have had similar attachment problems resolved without a resection, perhaps by asking on here. There are vets who do not believe that a dorsal wall resection is either justifiable or necessary. If you feel you need one I hope for your sake that there is one close enough to you for you to consult.
 
Last edited:
What CP says.

This is a significant step, and not wihtout risks. Personally, I wouldn't. Not on a 19 year old horse, I'd try other avenues first.

I don't know where you are int he country - but it may be worth getting an opinion from one of the UKNHCP experienced trimmers before going ahead.
 
Yikes, 9 months of box rest is not a good prognosis in my book, in that time the horse should grow a whole new foot. Echo CP Trayes, Lucy and Bruce's advice. I take it you have x-rays of these feet, how bad is the rotation?
 
I had a horse who had a small and necessary resection - he was turned out 24/7 and handwalked on tarmac daily barefoot with no shoes and it grew out in 15 weeks.

I certainly wouldnt box rest and that must be some separation to reach the top of the coronary band!!

What the others have said really!
 
Um hate to say this hun; of course you want to try everything for your horse, BUT this is radical invasive surgery and presumably your vet is doing this after exhausting all other options.

I had it done for my boy five years ago; he was laminitic plus cushings, 22 years old. Bless him, we'd struggled with his laminitis for years and this was a last, very last resort. Afterwards, he was lying down in the stable a lot, and poo-ing where he was lying, he couldn't be bothered even to get up to eat, so to cut a long story short the vet decided to pts. This was about a fortnight after the dorsal resection. My poor boy.

Would I do it again? Not sure, it put his system under a lot of strain and weakened him. Bearing in mind his age, I'm very gently suggesting that you might have to accept the prognosis for your horse might not be good, long term. Of course we all want to do the very best we can to keep our horses going for as long as possible, and sometimes its so hard to let go.

On the last morning with me and my boy before the vet came to pts, I let him out in the field with all the lovely lush grass around him. He looked around, and a light came back into his eye - after being on box rest so long he'd forgotten about real grass and doing the things that real horses do. He ate his fill, as much as he wanted, then we brought him in for the vet to pts.

Nine months is an awful long time for box rest. You know your horse and how he'd cope with that, and you have to weigh the pro's against the cons. I don't envy you your position; having been there, its awful, just awful. My thoughts are with you. This is a hard time for you and your horse but sometimes one has to think about quality of life, and what your horse would choose if he could.
 
Echo the above, read the Jaime Jackson book Founder: it's Prevention and Cure. I wouldn't let anyone cut half my horses foot away for separation. My girl had an operation in Feb and had post-operative laminitis. After the six weeks box rest she had to do with the operation, she went out with bare feet and no painkillers. She is now doing really well, with the new hoof growing in beautifully - she is sound to work and has galloped a few times. She would have gone crazy with the amount of box rest that traditional laminitis rehab requires, and I think she would have suffered in terms of her joints too. She is still a bit stiff now after the 8 weeks in total that she stood still. She is 18.
 
This is an agonising decision but you need to know as much as possible about what to expect, realistically, post op.
In my opinion it is too much to ask of a horse and it will break your heart.
I have seen one such case and the kind, gentle mare lay groaning on the floor for days before pts.
Do the right thing for your horse and remember her as she was.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top