Help! Even the vets don’t know what to say!

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Cturner98

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Hello,

My horse has now been lame for over 7 months, he’s had lower leg X-rays in which they found a bone fragment however they don’t think it was a significant find. As he walks his hind leg slips inwards, the injury occurred after he fell when I was lunging, his leg just went however he saved himself and stayed up, a few months before that he slipped (or the leg went) when I was riding. I feel so stuck on what to do he is a 19year old standardbred… I wish I could post a video to explain better.. the leg literally twists… I don’t know what it could be:( what would you do?! I want to investigate further however my insurance hasn’t paid yet and we’re already 1k in ?
 
ester

ester

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the easiest way to post a video on here is usually to upload to youtube and share the link, the forum isn't great for direct photos/videos.

what's your insurance max and how much can your vets do. It can be more cost effective to go to a referral vets for a full work up.
 
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Cturner98

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No only the lower leg has been checked, they’ve done flexion tests but that’s all… they seem to be dragging it on a bit, at first vet came out, put him on danilon for 4 weeks, came out again, then I sent him to the vets, then they came out again, now I’ve been told to take him off the danilon and they will come again in two weeks… I just don’t see the point because they’ve already said they don’t think further examination will achieve anything.. however I just want to know what’s wrong and how I can help my horse.

my yard owner thought it may be something to do with the pelvis too x
 
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Cturner98

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ester said:
the easiest way to post a video on here is usually to upload to youtube and share the link, the forum isn't great for direct photos/videos.

what's your insurance max and how much can your vets do. It can be more cost effective to go to a referral vets for a full work up.
Click to expand...

my insurance is up to 5k and well I think he should’ve been referred a while ago, as they are only able to X-ray the lower leg and nerve block
 
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Cturner98

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Amymay said:
So, speak to your vets tomorrow and ask for them to refer him.
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That’s what I want to do but I’m worried I’m not going to be able to afford it all if insurance doesn’t help
Tiddlypom said:
Whereabouts are you based? Someone may be able to suggest a good local referral practice to send him to. I agree with others that it often works out cheaper to get this done.

Your current vets seem to be rather limited in what they are able to do.
Click to expand...

I’m in Staffordshire, I’ve been told the best to be referred to is three counties or poolhouse:)
 
AmyMay

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Cturner98 said:
It’s been 5/6 weeks since I put my claim in and it’s our first claim, it’s been given to the underwriters and just seems to be taking so long I’m a tad worried
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Who are you with? Have you spoken to them to see what’s delaying the claim?
 
ester

ester

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Cturner98 said:
No only the lower leg has been checked, they’ve done flexion tests but that’s all… they seem to be dragging it on a bit, at first vet came out, put him on danilon for 4 weeks, came out again, then I sent him to the vets, then they came out again, now I’ve been told to take him off the danilon and they will come again in two weeks… I just don’t see the point because they’ve already said they don’t think further examination will achieve anything.. however I just want to know what’s wrong and how I can help my horse.

my yard owner thought it may be something to do with the pelvis too x
Click to expand...

Def just get him referred at this point.
 
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Dynamo

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Take him to Poolhouse. They are excellent and will get to the bottom of it. Just put a bit of pressure on your insurers. All companies are struggling with staff absences, so get a referral to Poolhouse, contact the insurer and say you need their go-ahead and you need it straight away, and apply a bit of pressure to them. You have to take control of this yourself and not wait for your local vets who don't sound particularly specialised. Tell them you want a referral to Poolhouse immediately, and be insistent and assertive about it.
 
Red-1

Red-1

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I was with Petplan when one was recommended an MRI for a slight offness that we couldn't track. I asked them to confirm before he went that they would pay. Took a few weeks to come through but I was glad I did as no, they would not.

The horse had a history of being on off lame since before he was mine, just a touch off, including after a year at grass. I spoke with the vet who said that even if it conformed what they thought, there was no real cure other than to stab him with steroids, so I just did that.

However...

This was a horse who was sound in a straight line and just off when working hard. Not even lame enough for someone to comment on dressage. So it was easy enough, with his history, to retire to light work.

I tell you this so you know it is possible to pre approve non urgent work.

Is yours very lame? If so, it would not be a candidate for a nice retirement, so I may have simply had to bite the bullet and find out what it is, so then I could be better informed for any decisions.

It would be cheaper to have tendons/ligaments scanned by hand rather than an MRI. Has that been done at the acute stage?
 
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Hollylee1989

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I'd personally avoid pool house from experience. They'll push for a £1500 mri, I would recommend 608 equine vets if you're not already with them.
 
Birker2020

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Cturner98 said:
Hello,

My horse has now been lame for over 7 months, he’s had lower leg X-rays in which they found a bone fragment however they don’t think it was a significant find. As he walks his hind leg slips inwards, the injury occurred after he fell when I was lunging, his leg just went however he saved himself and stayed up, a few months before that he slipped (or the leg went) when I was riding. I feel so stuck on what to do he is a 19year old standardbred… I wish I could post a video to explain better.. the leg literally twists… I don’t know what it could be:( what would you do?! I want to investigate further however my insurance hasn’t paid yet and we’re already 1k in ?
Click to expand...
My horses hind leg was quite unstable when I first had him even though he passed a 5 stage vetting and even more so after his accident when he pulled back causing acute SI strain. He was very weak and ataxic behind and would shuffle when being asked to move across when tied up and would often tread on his own feet. It was suspected by various professionals that he may have already had SI issues and his accident just exacerbated what was already there.

But lots of ground work, core work and building topline has helped him tremendously and he is a different horse now and rarely 'loses' his leg when ridden and it doesn't twist inwards hardly as much as it used to. He is also stronger behind and doesn't shuffle or tread on his feet anymore when asked to move out of the way.

Would you say your horse is quite weak behind anyway?
Did they check his SI at any point to see if it was painful when palpated?
 
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Trouper

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Spend a few hundred on getting Tom Beech (the Osteopathic Vet) to look at him. I would trust him to find the things that other vets can't. He holds clinic around the country so have a look at his FB page for dates/locations.
 
littleshetland

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I would get an examination from the best' local to you' osteopath just to get another quick opinion...it does sound pelvis related, but so hard to say from a chat room post, and then take it from there for more extensive and thorough treatment. It might help give you an idea of what lies ahead. Good luck.
 
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Cturner98

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Dynamo said:
Take him to Poolhouse. They are excellent and will get to the bottom of it. Just put a bit of pressure on your insurers. All companies are struggling with staff absences, so get a referral to Poolhouse, contact the insurer and say you need their go-ahead and you need it straight away, and apply a bit of pressure to them. You have to take control of this yourself and not wait for your local vets who don't sound particularly specialised. Tell them you want a referral to Poolhouse immediately, and be insistent and assertive about it.
Click to expand...

Thankyou, insurance claim actually came through today! Obviously posting this gave me some luck? yes I think poolhouse it’s the best local to me, I’m just wondering why a lot of people on here don’t recommend there
 
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Cturner98

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Red-1 said:
I was with Petplan when one was recommended an MRI for a slight offness that we couldn't track. I asked them to confirm before he went that they would pay. Took a few weeks to come through but I was glad I did as no, they would not.

The horse had a history of being on off lame since before he was mine, just a touch off, including after a year at grass. I spoke with the vet who said that even if it conformed what they thought, there was no real cure other than to stab him with steroids, so I just did that.

However...

This was a horse who was sound in a straight line and just off when working hard. Not even lame enough for someone to comment on dressage. So it was easy enough, with his history, to retire to light work.

I tell you this so you know it is possible to pre approve non urgent work.

Is yours very lame? If so, it would not be a candidate for a nice retirement, so I may have simply had to bite the bullet and find out what it is, so then I could be better informed for any decisions.

It would be cheaper to have tendons/ligaments scanned by hand rather than an MRI. Has that been done at the acute stage?
Click to expand...

yes I’d say he’s very lame, actually looks worse in walk than trot! I deffo don’t think he should just be left the way he is, the weirdest thing is there’s no heat or swelling anywhere, they did have a feel of ligaments and tendons said everything seemed ok x
 
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