Fractured Shoulder

[gingerarab]

Has anyone had any experience of a fractured shoulder and the prognoses and recovery.
I have a 16 year old pony that fractured her shoulder 14 weeks ago. She has been on box rest since then and has been x rayed today for the 3rd time. Initially she was hopping lame and this has gradually improved and now is sound in walk but approx 3 tenths lame in trot. She has been x rayed again today and there has been no improvement since the last x ray 6 weeks ago. If anything it looks worse. Just wondering if anyone else has had an experience of the same injury and what the outcome was.

 

[utter-nutter]

Yes! my cob had a suspected fractured his Xmas 2019 out hunting and 8 months later he was out on hound exercise and been sound ever since. We were told as the horses shoulder was too much of a ‘muscley joint it would be hard to see anything on the X-ray. They initially x-rayed the elbow and again 10 days later (can take 10 days to come up) but that was clear. As he wasn’t insured, and we didn’t want to pay £££££ for an MRI to be told it was a fractured shoulder anyway, we treated it as such. He was meant to have 6 weeks box rest, 6 weeks in pen in the field and then turned out. As the weather was horrendous (remember storm Dennis and then storm Ciara!) that Jan/feb and he was coping okay being in, we went with 9 week a box rest, pen for two weeks and then as he was desperate for grass and behaving we turnt him out. I got on him that June, and he did initially stumble a little on that leg, I put this down to lack of muscle on that shoulder and not used to using it!, by August this didn’t happen at all. He did a full (Covid season) hunting and jumping everything and was 100%. Wouldn’t necessarily say he would be on a 10m circle on hard ground! but he’s 15 and with me for life anyway
He was initially hopping lame and then 80% sound within two weeks, vet said this is common with fractures, owners are then inclined to turn the horse out thinking it’s getting better and not that bad, only for the horse to throw some shapes in the field and then completely shatter the fracture/not heal properly. But if yours has only been in, I can’t how that could have happened, maybe some just take longer than others.. either way good luck!