Full lameness workup

[Birker2020]

Quick update, pony is back to Rossdales on Thursday for another lameness workup as his front leg issues have deteriorated. Honestly feel sick to my stomach with it all

Will be keeping my fingers crossed you have a good outcome. Hopefully be something simple that can be medicated.

 

[Sprogladite01]

Thanks everyone. To make a stressful situation just that extra bit special, Rossdales have called this morning and pushed his appointment back to 16th February as the vet he was due to see has gone and caught covid. Apparently there's nobody else available to see him.

So...I'm meant to keep him in full work until 16th Feb so he stays lame until the exam, but ethically and morally I can't do that to him, especially as he looked super uncomfortable yesterday. For all we know it could cause a minor problem to escalate into something major doing that so...will likely give him a few weeks off and reassess how he's moving closer to the time. He's fairly restricted at the moment as he's just on the yard with access to a lunge pen/loafing area and his stable so it's not like he's hooning around the field constantly.

Sooooo frustrating!

 

[Sprogladite01]

Ponio had his chiro this morning, which was interesting. She's also a vet so I gave her his full history etc before she looked him over. We started off with a trot up, she agrees he's lame in the front and that there's heat in his left fore but no pulses. He was very sore in his left shoulder which she thinks is a result of compensation for whatever is going on. He also flat out refused to stand square for her which is something that's been going on for a while, and was one of my first hints something might be happening.

In some ways it's reassuring to know I'm not making a big deal out of something small - especially as he's been out of work for a couple of weeks so it's not like he's been straining himself. I'm just ready for some answers now, my little welsh section A companion pony has been asserting his dominance over him for the last couple of weeks and I strongly suspect it's because my boy isn't feeling good enough to fight back currently. He's an 11h tiny terror now he's the boss lol!

Just want my boy to feel better!

 

[greenbean10]

I'm sorry to hear you're still having trouble. I had my horse operated on N&F last summer and have had anything but smooth sailing. It's so disheartening. I can't really say anything to make you feel better as I'm in the exact same boat and extremely despondent, but I'm sending hugs.

 

[Sprogladite01]

I'm sorry to hear you're still having trouble. I had my horse operated on N&F last summer and have had anything but smooth sailing. It's so disheartening. I can't really say anything to make you feel better as I'm in the exact same boat and extremely despondent, but I'm sending hugs.

Thank you, I'm really sorry to hear that it's not going well for you - it's heartbreaking isn't it. I just keep reminding myself I'm doing my absolute best for him and that's all anyone can do. Always here if you need a chat or a shoulder to cry on x

 

[Sprogladite01]

Quick update, pony has now gone super super lame on his left fore. The heat in his left fore is back, and he's lame to the point of almost not bearing weight. I called rossdales to see if I could give him painkillers but they've said no because he's going there on wednesday and they want it out of his system before they see him. He looks dreadful and is clearly miserable

Did query abscess as the lameness came on quite quickly and severely but the heat isn't constant, it comes and goes, and doesn't seem to be getting worse. I can't see any potential exit point yet and he seems worse first thing in the morning after being in his stable all night. I'm only letting him toodle around the yard at the moment as I don't want him running round the field, just so he can leave his stable (he is terrible on box rest) and am basically giving him as much hay as he wants (screw the diet for now!) as I'm worried the stress of the constant pain is asking for stomach ulcers.

Also using the arc equine on him every evening on the "pain management" setting...don't know what else to do for him really. Wednesday needs to hurry up and come around, it's actual torture for both of us I think

 

[SEL]

That's rough - mine ended up doing 2 days last week at hospital (I'm dreading the bill) but at least I got her in quickly and know what's wrong. Your current hopping lameness could still be an abscess - I hope you get to the bottom of it

 

[Flowerofthefen]

I'm so sorry to hear he's worse. I really wouldn't be happy waiting til Wednesday ?

 

[Sprogladite01]

I'm so sorry to hear he's worse. I really wouldn't be happy waiting til Wednesday ?

It's torture honestly. I've checked and the only way they will see him earlier is on an emergency basis as they are so completely booked up. My usual vet practice doesn't have MRI facilities and neither does the practice I was considering trying to get him seen earlier, they both refer to Rossdales for MRIs. As he's almost certainly going to need one, may as well go straight there. The worst part is, he wouldn't have had the chance to get this bad if we had not had our original appointment pushed back. However, the rational part of me understands it's not anyone's fault and I certainly don't want to risk catching covid (I'm high risk and so are both my parents, who I live with) so there's that. It all just feels very frustrating at the moment, I hate seeing him so unhappy.

 

[Lady Jane]

Its not long now until your appointment and I don't know where you live but there are other very good MRI facilities around. My practice uses the RVC and Donnington Grove. They often have a preference but will refer my horse to any practice I want (not just these). I have had to wait 2 months to see Roger Smith at the RVC (and did wait as my horse was so complicated it was a last ditch attempt to find out what was wrong). On another occasion I went to Donnington as they could see him the next week instead of in a month's time. The delay for Roger was Covid. Good luck this week, you are having a terrible time and I know we all feel for you x

 

[BronsonNutter]

If he's gone that lame (to the point of being toe touching) is it not worth seeing if your own vet or farrier will come out to check for an abscess tomorrow? As if there is an abscess then that will muddy the waters more for your full lameness work up, if not then at least you've ruled it (mostly!) out.

 

[Sprogladite01]

If he's gone that lame (to the point of being toe touching) is it not worth seeing if your own vet or farrier will come out to check for an abscess tomorrow? As if there is an abscess then that will muddy the waters more for your full lameness work up, if not then at least you've ruled it (mostly!) out.

Yes absolutely, I'll be calling my usual vet as soon as they open tomorrow morning.

The thing that makes me believe this is not an abscess is that he's had a problem with his left fore for a few months now, starting with very minor toe dragging, progressing to tripping and stumbling, heat in the foot on and off and now full on lameness. He also went lame 3 days after being brought back into work ahead of this vet appointment (I use the phrase "work" lightly as we did 10-15 mins each day in hand and only at walk and trot) and he's then gone really lame - having not been right while he was off work anyway, which I find rather coincidental.

But as you say, better to check...can just imagine going off to horsepital and racking up a huge bill to find an abscess!

 

[Sprogladite01]

Soooooo vet came out this morning and....pony has a flippin abscess!! Aaarrggghhhh!! Just waiting to hear back from Rossdales as to whether they want to push his workup back...again...

Can literally feel myself going grey at this point

 

[Birker2020]

Soooooo vet came out this morning and....pony has a flippin abscess!! Aaarrggghhhh!! Just waiting to hear back from Rossdales as to whether they want to push his workup back...again...

Can literally feel myself going grey at this point

Well its good that the lameness on the front can be attributed to an abscess, have one at the moment on box rest with an abscess too. Hoping he's okay to go on Wednesday, if not maybe they can get you an appointment in a weeks time.

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

At least its only an abcess but they won't do a work up with that going on, just to say abcesses can rumble on for months so maybe the original lameness was the start of it hopefully it was anyway!

 

[Sprogladite01]

At least its only an abcess but they won't do a work up with that going on, just to say abcesses can rumble on for months so maybe the original lameness was the start of it hopefully it was anyway!

If that turns out to be the case I will the happiest person in the world lol. I really hope you're right! Fingers crossed...

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

If that turns out to be the case I will the happiest person in the world lol. I really hope you're right! Fingers crossed...

I will keep mine crossed for you

My mare was slightly lame for 6 weeks before she went totally non weight bearing from an abcess.

 

[SEL]

Soooooo vet came out this morning and....pony has a flippin abscess!! Aaarrggghhhh!! Just waiting to hear back from Rossdales as to whether they want to push his workup back...again...

Can literally feel myself going grey at this point

I had a sneaky feeling it was going to be an abscess and you weren't going to get your vet work up

 

[Red-1]

I hope all the issues were due to an abscess, and the workup will be pushed back and then found to be unnecessary as he is now fine!

I know of a horse on and off lame for almost a year. Nothing to show. It was a very deep abscess, when it came out the whole sole came away, pus all over as it had underrun the entire foot area.

It had been having all sorts of investigations, for hocks, kissing spines, ulcers etc etc etc as it was having really weird and seemingly unrelated issues. In fact, when it finally resolved, it was away being prepped for sale as a lower level horse, the owner simply putting it down to the horse not being able to stand up to proper work.

Once the abscess went, the horse was supercharged! Came back to proper work and went on the do more than anyone had thought he would.

 

[Sprogladite01]

I hope all the issues were due to an abscess, and the workup will be pushed back and then found to be unnecessary as he is now fine!

I know of a horse on and off lame for almost a year. Nothing to show. It was a very deep abscess, when it came out the whole sole came away, pus all over as it had underrun the entire foot area.

It had been having all sorts of investigations, for hocks, kissing spines, ulcers etc etc etc as it was having really weird and seemingly unrelated issues. In fact, when it finally resolved, it was away being prepped for sale as a lower level horse, the owner simply putting it down to the horse not being able to stand up to proper work.

Once the abscess went, the horse was supercharged! Came back to proper work and went on the do more than anyone had thought he would.

Gosh I do hope that's the case, the abscess was quite deep and the poor vet really did have to dig (she sliced her hands up in the process poor thing). Hopefully it'll drain completely now and heal up nicely and we can have a proper look at whether or not that's what was causing the issues during his rehab.

For now, Rossdales lameness workup has been pushed back to 9th March - let's all pray to the horsey gods it won't be needed!

 

[Sprogladite01]

We had our appointment at Rossdales yesterday and pony had nerve blocks (showed lamenss in both front feet and in right hind) followed by an MRI on both front feet. The MRI of the right fore showed nothing remarkable. The MRI of the left showed the tract from the abscess is still there and very deep. It's caused severe bruising on his pedal bone and he will need a month off to recover from that. There was also a slight abnormality in the DDFT tendon but the vet did not deem this to be significant. She believes that the issue with the toe first landing/repeated stumbling is a shoeing issue, so their farrier is looking at his scans today, trimming and shoeing him before he comes home and will be advising on how to proceed in that regard. I've had doubts about my own farrier for a little while now and this confirms to me I need a new one, so will be asking them if they can recommend anyone in my area.
With the lameness in the back, the vet wants to wait and see how that looks after his month off, and if it's still an issue, we will medicate his SI to see if that helps.
Just so relieved it wasn't a catastrophic outcome, was a bit shell shocked yesterday as was fully expecting to receive terrible news - thank the horsey gods!!

 

[Birker2020]

We had our appointment at Rossdales yesterday and pony had nerve blocks (showed lamenss in both front feet and in right hind) followed by an MRI on both front feet. The MRI of the right fore showed nothing remarkable. The MRI of the left showed the tract from the abscess is still there and very deep. It's caused severe bruising on his pedal bone and he will need a month off to recover from that. There was also a slight abnormality in the DDFT tendon but the vet did not deem this to be significant. She believes that the issue with the toe first landing/repeated stumbling is a shoeing issue, so their farrier is looking at his scans today, trimming and shoeing him before he comes home and will be advising on how to proceed in that regard. I've had doubts about my own farrier for a little while now and this confirms to me I need a new one, so will be asking them if they can recommend anyone in my area.
With the lameness in the back, the vet wants to wait and see how that looks after his month off, and if it's still an issue, we will medicate his SI to see if that helps.
Just so relieved it wasn't a catastrophic outcome, was a bit shell shocked yesterday as was fully expecting to receive terrible news - thank the horsey gods!!

I've been following this post with interest and I'm glad you have received positive news, or much better than you expected anyway. So pleased for you.

 

[Sprogladite01]

Very interesting today speaking to the vet after he had been seen by Rossdales' farrier - he has very healthy feet, white line looks good, no previous evidence of laminitis which is fantastic given he had two occurrences last year!! BUT he has thin hoof walls. The shoeing issue the farrier at Rossdales believes is because my farrier has been cutting into my pony's hoof walls to make the clips fit, instead of using a wider shoe - which has been causing him pain and discomfort for goodness knows how long. His front feet look fantastic now he is home and he's clearly been hot shod today (can smell it) whereas previously my farrier would only cold shoe.
I am simultaneously raging that a qualified professional would do this to my horse and also relieved it's something that can be fixed! Pony has to go back to Rossdales in a month to be re-shod to make sure his feet are ok and to potentially re-assess the lameness in his hind end/treat the coffin joints if necessary. He now gets to have a month off and I've contacted his physio to have him seen before he starts work again in a month

 

[ester]

Probably worth a diet overhaul/check too?

 

[Sprogladite01]

Probably worth a diet overhaul/check too?

He's on Baileys lo cal balancer (no 14) and spillers happy hoof, plus seaweed and brewers yeast. He doesn't really need the chaff other than to slow him down a bit because he really bolts it down! Otherwise soaked hay the rest of the time. Because he's had lami a couple of times I've tried to keep his diet foot-friendly as much as possible. More than willing to hear if anyone has suggestions for alternatives!

 

[Sprogladite01]

Ponio now booked in to go back to Rossdales on 7th April for his re-examination after his month of rest, plus repeat farriery. He and his little pal don't understand why they're not allowed to socialise (aka beat each other up) so there's lots of face biting over the fence going on every time the hay runs out lol. He's much happier on the bute (understandably) and today is his last day of both doses, then we're switching to half sachet for 4 days then he's coming off it. Nice to see him toodling around without that pinched pain face!

 

[Sprogladite01]

Unfortunately at our reassessment yesterday we had absolutely no improvement on the lameness - if anything, he was slightly worse in the front than before, about the same in the back. I am so disappointed the vet wanted to start treating 'potential/most likely' problems but i've said no as I don't think it's fair to poke and prod at him without anything being clinically indicated or visible on the scans/x rays etc and given his history of lami, don't want to risk a lami attack for something that probably isn't even the problem (vet wanted to inject steroids for potential coffin joint arthritis).

For now, he's going to have another 2 months off, get chucked in the field and hope time sorts him out. He's had pads put under his shoes just in case it's the bone bruise that hasn't healed up causing the lameness to help with concussion in the feet.

I feel defeated today.

 

[greenbean10]

I am really sorry to hear this. I am still in a similar boat - muddling through trying to get my horse sound/comfortable after PSD surgery. Sounds as though a 2 month break will be good for you anyway. Rehab is unbelievably draining and I often forget that there's a life outside of my horse's injury!

It's not over until it's over! You have a plan and that's the main thing.

 

[Birker2020]

Unfortunately at our reassessment yesterday we had absolutely no improvement on the lameness - if anything, he was slightly worse in the front than before, about the same in the back. I am so disappointed the vet wanted to start treating 'potential/most likely' problems but i've said no as I don't think it's fair to poke and prod at him without anything being clinically indicated or visible on the scans/x rays etc and given his history of lami, don't want to risk a lami attack for something that probably isn't even the problem (vet wanted to inject steroids for potential coffin joint arthritis).

For now, he's going to have another 2 months off, get chucked in the field and hope time sorts him out. He's had pads put under his shoes just in case it's the bone bruise that hasn't healed up causing the lameness to help with concussion in the feet.

I feel defeated today.

So sorry to hear. You have tried so hard to come to a diagnosis, it must be immensely frustrating not having one. I've always said I'd rather a diagnosis however bad than not being able to get to the bottom of a problem and find its root cause.

Big hugs to you.

 

[ycbm]

Unfortunately at our reassessment yesterday we had absolutely no improvement on the lameness - if anything, he was slightly worse in the front than before, about the same in the back. I am so disappointed the vet wanted to start treating 'potential/most likely' problems but i've said no as I don't think it's fair to poke and prod at him without anything being clinically indicated or visible on the scans/x rays etc and given his history of lami, don't want to risk a lami attack for something that probably isn't even the problem (vet wanted to inject steroids for potential coffin joint arthritis).

For now, he's going to have another 2 months off, get chucked in the field and hope time sorts him out. He's had pads put under his shoes just in case it's the bone bruise that hasn't healed up causing the lameness to help with concussion in the feet.

I feel defeated today.

I agree with Birker, I'd actually find that harder to deal with than an unequivocal terminal diagnosis. I hope you can have a nice break without worrying about rehab for a while.
.