It just gets worse.....Foal problem.

Enfys

Enfys

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Right, experts, I am sure someone can tell me something their experiences, has anyone dealt with Flexural Tendon Deformity please? I have got to the stage where too much knowledge (thankyou Google) can be a bad thing I think. What a crappy year I am having.
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If so what did you do? Physio? Drugs? Time? Other?

Thankyou.

 
A combination of physio, drugs and time is usually what it takes. Speak to your vet, they will tell you how to handle it. I've seen it in TB foals when working on studs and they never seem to get too het up about it!
 
First of all don't panic, you can sort it. We had a foal last year with this problem (severe and really upsetting to look at).
We tried to sort it out firstly by diet, remedial shoeing and physio (our blacksmith is also a qualified vet, so very lucky) In the end it was operated on (both legs) by a specialist from Cambridge (I think!)It was a complete success and her legs are absolutely fine. The handbrake turns and emergency halts she regularly performs would test the most perfect of tendons
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On no Enfys....really sorry to hear this. Unfortunately we dont have any knowledge on this front, and yes "google" and the Internet can turn any horse owner into someone completely paranoid......have been there!! Best of luck and keep us posted. xx {{BIG HUGS}}
 
One of my 1999 fillys had this. Had her operated on early, she recovered quickly and is absolutely fine (apart from a tiny scar from the op). She's bred me two foals both of which have been 100% straight. Good luck, I am sure yours will be fine too
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Thankyou everyone.

At the moment we are just doing physio, Vet due back today to see what he thinks....she has improved a bit judging by the photos I take every day. It is much easier to compare photos than rely on the eye when I see her all the time.I got her age wrong, how could I do that?!!! She is is only 17 days old, not three weeks plus, so it could just be a matter of time.

Bless her, she has her halter on, then all by herself, backs into the corner of the stall and plonks her little foot in my hand for her exercises. No problems with feet handling for this one.

I have been reading about the operation and will consider it if necessary, no choice really.

I am umming and ahhing about breeding the mare again to the same stallion.

What if it is congenital? All her other foals that I have seen were perfectly straight.

On the other hand it could just have been one of those things.

This foal is just what I have been aiming to breed, looks and temperament, a perfect combination for a useful riding horse. It is just those legs that are making me pause. The stillborn foals by the same stallion out of another mare were, as far as I could see, quite normal. Ho hum.
 
I think you mean hereditary not congenital .
Hereditary is inherited and congenital is something that happens during the embryos growth inside the mare and isnt hereditary.
 
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Oops, Thanks, I did mean hereditary you are quite right. Fingers not working at the same speed as brain. So, as it happened during growth it is obviously congenital, so congenital AND hereditary maybe?
 
Well to be hereditary it has to be a fault that is passed down in the genes from either mother or father .
congenital is something that possibly get damaged as the egg is splitting or can be due to infection or even drugs administered at a crucial stage of development.
Often you dont see foals with congenital defects as mares have a habit of reabsorbing the embryo.
Sorry cant help with yours as dont know what the problem was but foals that have a congenital defect are often born with contracted tendons as a side issue so my vets tell me.
 
I call it 'bun in oven syndrome' as we see a lot of mild cases where the foal is VERY big - and/or overdue. These cases usually respond to exercise with no additional treatment required.

In more severe cases, physio, wrapping the legs, and high dose oxytetracycline therapy can solve the problem. If these don't work, then surgery is an option but the prognosis is not as good.

It really depends on which tendons are involved.

Severe cases are thought to have a possible genetic element - no-one really knows. I have a mare who has had three foals in a row to the same stallion and all have had some degree of Flexural Tendon Deformity. They have all straightened out with minimal treatment and all foals were born VERY big! I am going to use a different (smaller) stallion this year just to see if there's a difference - but I suspect there won't be.
 
Janet, Thankyou.

This foal WAS very leggy, and although the stallion is a QH I don't think he was too big, he's only 14.3 now, mare is 14h.

We are still on the physio at the moment, because it is her knees wrapping isn't quite so easy. The tetracycline bolus is next on the list if the Vet thinks she hasn't improved enough. I am just gutted, because otherwise she is a really nice little pony, no foot no 'orse though.
 
We had one last year with contracted tendons that had 3 oxytetracycline injections over the first 5 days and also had casts on.
He couldnt even put his toe on the floor he was stood on the fronts of his fetlocks.
He didnt need surgery for that although did have surgery for another congenital problem.
I have the 2 full sisters who didnt have any probles at all.
This is a picture of ours at a couple of days old with is casts on.
The injections and physio did do the trick but sadly we lost this little cahap at twelve months old because of another problem related to the operation.
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