Lame horse, no heat , no swelling and no injury .

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xoxellaxox

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Hi everyone, to cut a very long story short, my horse went lame in January on her right front leg. She went sound one week then lame another. She is extremely lame in the school but not out hacking. Three weeks ago, she wasn't showing any signs of it improving so i got a physio out. He straight away said she has torn the muscle in her shoulder. Although when you press this or move it she shows no sign of pain. He told me a month of box rest and not to pick her feet out so her feet stay on the ground...

So three weeks into the box rest I decided that i'd quite like my vet to look at her. He came out and was not very happy about the physio saying to not pick her feet out, he spent over a hour checking her whole body and doing all the necessary lameness tests on her . He said it is NOT her shoulder, her shoulder is fine . He then used two nerve blocking injections into her fetlock on her right front leg, he explained this would numb any pain from her fetlock into her foot. I when trotted her up and she was sound! No sigh of lameness at all . So he knows it is something to do with her foot now.

She is now booked in for an MRI and x-ray scan of this foot next week, my vet also advised me to have her shoes taken off which I did yesterday .

She is a big chunky Irish cob and she is clean limbed and only 6. Apart from hacking she has hardly done anything to warren how lame she is . I am so so worried about her and really want her to be better. She has taken to box rest so well and is being such a calm good girl through it all .

Has anyone got any idea what could be causing this ?
 
The four things that come to mind are laminitis, abscess, navicular or pedal bone fracture, with abscess being the most likely. Xray and mri should obviously give you more idea.
 
Firstly, next time your horse is lame, please speak to the vet before following a physio's advice about a month's box rest. You would be getting to the bottom of the problem three weeks ago if you had just rang your vet. Physios cannot diagnose properly and they really shouldn't be telling you to boxrest a horse when they don't know exactly what is wrong. Vet then physio, not the other way round.

Otherwise, what wagtail said. You will need to wait for the results of the scans, but it should show up something like wagtail's options.
 
Believe me I'm kicking myself for not getting the vet first . When your on a livery yard and everyone on the yard is telling you you don't need a vet just a physio to check her back, and me being quite a novice to owning a horse I just went with them.
But its a learning curve and and in future the vets is my first port of call . Seriously hope I can get her sound as shes a very special girl .
 
My mare was hopping lame last month. No heat, no swelling and no reaction when tested, then one day she was sound. We could see that an abscess had broken out from the bulb of her heel. No-one found it and it had taken a while to 'brew'. Hoping you have as simple a solution to your horse's lameness.
 
OP, my advice would be to wait and see what the outcome of the mri is. We could list a tonne of stuff and you could go and google it and panic yourself crazy, but ultimately it is all pointless until you have a proper diagnosis. Mine has recently been through a full lameness workup including bone scans, xrays and mris. Throughout the process I tried to second guess results based on my existing knowledge and that caused me more stress than just waiting and seeing. Its hard, but really what is the point of reading (in my case) all about suspensory damage and panicking about that only to find suspensories were fine and problem was something else entirely.

Also in your position I would nevr use that particular physio again.
 
Fun Times said:
OP, my advice would be to wait and see what the outcome of the mri is. We could list a tonne of stuff and you could go and google it and panic yourself crazy, but ultimately it is all pointless until you have a proper diagnosis. Mine has recently been through a full lameness workup including bone scans, xrays and mris. Throughout the process I tried to second guess results based on my existing knowledge and that caused me more stress than just waiting and seeing. Its hard, but really what is the point of reading (in my case) all about suspensory damage and panicking about that only to find suspensories were fine and problem was something else entirely.

Also in your position I would nevr use that particular physio again.
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This. And please let us know how your beautiful girl gets on . . . will be awaiting updates and keeping everything crossed for you.

P
 
Have you had farrier out to check her feet? My mare was lame a few years ago (on and off) - vet came out dug around looking for an abscess, said wasn't sure if it was or not but poultice it anyway .. and got a huge bill (the vet was soon replaced!) farrier came the next day found it within seconds, burst it, horse was fine! £15 bill!!!
 
Staggered that your physio suggested box rest and not picking out feet.

good luck with the work up, fingers crossed you might get away with just xrays, they can also block different parts of the foot to help with locating the issue too. If it is an abscess it has been there a long time so I would be wanting to xray to see if they could locate it anyway.
 
I've had my farrier the day after the vet . He's took her shoes off as the vet adviced and given her feet a good trim . She was not happy about her right front foot being messed with . My farrier was quite on the defensive if I'm honest and sept not to happy when I told him about the x rays ect . Which has made me wonder why . I've looked on here for reviews on my farrier and they haven't been good at all which has not made me very worried . Plus her x rays are being taken 9 Friday 13th . Just my luck! I'm feeling sick worrying about her :(
 
Don't worry too much - some farriers just get nervy and defensive knowing that vets will be interrogating what the farrier thinks of as his "territory". My vet and farrier work closely together as a team, but I am conscious that not all have a harmonious relationship. Good luck on friday, let us know how you get on.
 
Following with interest because my boy has the same problem. Box resting for a couple of days .... We'll see how he goes.
 
HI everyone . Ok so she had the x rays yesterday . Everything is where it should be , no breaks or fractures, but in her right foot her side bones have started to grow (forgot the medical term) . He then x rayed her left foot . On the inside on her left foot she has a huge side bone! I've never heard of side bone before so this looked extreamly scary . He said that side bone don't usually causes lameness , and as she's not lame on her left leg and this has the huge side bone I guess that must be right ? Anyways he's then used a nerve block into just her foot this time and she was sound , so I know there is something on there . He wants her to go away for an mri scan. He didn't say where . My vet said in the old days he would put it down to a badly trimmed foot and turn her away for a few months then see how she is . But now we have mri that's probably the best way forward .
So after he left I told a woman on the yard and she pretty much said my mare needs to be put to sleep as ill never be able to jump her or school her or do a thing with her again because if side bone !! I've spent the night crying ! I now don't know what to do ! The vet told me it shouldn't affect her ! He also told me to keep her barefoot as the foot is a natural shock absorption. Oh I should add that after her shoes came off she looked 90% better and the lameness is hardly showing now . She also can be turned out now ! Yay! So if anyone has any advice as what you think it might be and if there's anything I can give her to help please let me know ! Thanks
 
Side bone should not be the end of the world, listen to your vet not the scaremongering liveries remember they are the people who told you to just get the physio so are hardly experts, some horses do get sore when the sidebones are settling but once they have settled down usually give no further trouble.
Taking her shoes off will have reduced the concussion and be allowing her feet to adapt to support without the restriction, having a vet suggesting they stay off is a step in the right direction, many will be wanting to put on remedial shoes, so having a vet thinking that shoes off is the way to go is a great start. Her left foot has an established sidebone which gives her no trouble so there is no reason to think the new ones in her right foot will not be the same, the MRI will enable the vets to see if there is anything else going on that requires treatment, if nothing shows you should be able to get on and ride her in the near future.

Having her barefoot and in work may require some management/ feeding changes, there are plenty of threads on here that can help you with this, hope the MRI gives you good news.
 
I'm very impressed with your Vet suggesting that keeping the shoes off will help your mare. I used to know a horse with both ringbone and sidebone and she was much, much happier out of shoes. As above, don't listen to the scaremongering livery. Fingers crossed that there is nothing on the MRI, but if there is something that fits into the 'navicular' spectrum, then that's also better with shoes off.

Have a look at the work of Rockley Farm, the barefoot rehabilitation yard. They have a very interesting blog showing the progress of their rehab horses.
 
Great post from Bepositive. Disregard that other livery entirely, your vet is the qualified person that has been examining the horse, not her. In fact I would probably never take on board any advice from her ever again! Things will settle, its always horrid when you are going through the early days of investigations. I don't know much about sidebone but this really doesn't sound like the end of the world, honestly. Stay off google though, just listen to your vet!

Cross posted with Faracat! I agree with her too.
 
My horse has a big side bone and it doesn't affect him. He is shod slightly differently to accommodate it and has pads when the ground is hard. He also went lame with the same symptoms. X Rays showed nothing (although that's how we discovered the side bone). He was booked in for an MRI and came sound a few days before. The vet said probably soft tissue injury of the foot. So I basically left him resting in the field for a good few months and have had no issues since.

I did consider taking his shoes off and have taken his backs off. However as he seems to be doing well with fronts on and the pads,I don't want to rock the boat!!
 
Hi everyone . I just wanted to post an update on here for some advice .nothing happened since my last post regarding her MRI scan. I am still waiting for my vet to refer her which is annoying. I have kept her barefoot and she is now turned out 24/7. My vet said no shoes till her MRI results . anyways I trotted her up last night to see how she is and she seems lame on BOTH front feet. I could cry!! She was the worst I've ever seen her . she struggled walking down hill back to the field as well . she doesn't appear to be lame in the field . she's trots around and looks lovely . when I trotted her up last night it was in the school on the sand. She's been lame since January and I've been waiting since the start of march for this MRI. I'm getting a lot of people saying she needs remedial shies and not to go ahead with the MRI. The thing is my vets only referring her for the right front foot and now she's showing lame on the left !!! I'm so so fed up as she's only 7 and she is bombproof and an amazing horse and I just want her better !! A few people have no said it could be navicular problem but my vetshoesnever mentioned that at all. I live a long way from the vets where she will be going for the MRI and I will be hiring a transport company to take her and ideally I don't want her to keep going back and forth there ! I feel like getting a farrier to come out and look at her but my vet has advised to do nothing till her MRI. She's now tripping up over her toes !! I could cry for her but I'm just sat here waiting for things to happen i keep ringing the vets and they keep saying they are very busy and will send the referal soon . I'm very very fed up :(
 
Good grief OP, where are you based? Waiting over six weeks for an mri is generally accepted for humans on the nhs but in the case if horses this is not right at all. My horse was mri'd within a week of the vet suggesting he needed it. Your vet sounds next to useless to be honest. As for navicular, i am NOT saying it definitely is that but the symptoms you are describing do fit - it is often bilateral. I think you need a different and more proactive vet.
 
xoxellaxox said:
Hi everyone, to cut a very long story short, my horse went lame in January on her right front leg. She went sound one week then lame another. She is extremely lame in the school but not out hacking. Three weeks ago, she wasn't showing any signs of it improving so i got a physio out. He straight away said she has torn the muscle in her shoulder. Although when you press this or move it she shows no sign of pain. He told me a month of box rest and not to pick her feet out so her feet stay on the ground...

So three weeks into the box rest I decided that i'd quite like my vet to look at her. He came out and was not very happy about the physio saying to not pick her feet out, he spent over a hour checking her whole body and doing all the necessary lameness tests on her . He said it is NOT her shoulder, her shoulder is fine . He then used two nerve blocking injections into her fetlock on her right front leg, he explained this would numb any pain from her fetlock into her foot. I when trotted her up and she was sound! No sigh of lameness at all . So he knows it is something to do with her foot now.

She is now booked in for an MRI and x-ray scan of this foot next week, my vet also advised me to have her shoes taken off which I did yesterday .

She is a big chunky Irish cob and she is clean limbed and only 6. Apart from hacking she has hardly done anything to warren how lame she is . I am so so worried about her and really want her to be better. She has taken to box rest so well and is being such a calm good girl through it all .

Has anyone got any idea what could be causing this ?
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And this is exactly why it really grates on me that people get physios out before a vet.

What a perfect example of how a horse can suffer as a result.
 
Moomin1 said:
And this is exactly why it really grates on me that people get physios out before a vet.

What a perfect example of how a horse can suffer as a result.
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OP a has already said she wished she had called the vet first, so this is hardly a useful comment unless you want to make someone feel really bad!

Hope all goes well OP and your horse can be sorted.
 
Also OP, is the horse insured? It has just occurred to me that if not your vet may be trying to save you the cost of the scan and only do it if absolutey necesssry. If insured, i cannot understand why the delay from the vet at all.
 
OP your horse probably just has sore feet due to not being used to not having shoes and the dry weather of late. I know our land is quite hard and dry at the moment. I would not shoe the horse. Instead, I would get a pair of well fitting hoof boots and thick pads for your horse to wear at least some of the time. This should help a lot. I hope you get your referral sorted out soon.
 
Wagtail said:
OP your horse probably just has sore feet due to not being used to not having shoes and the dry weather of late. I know our land is quite hard and dry at the moment. I would not shoe the horse. Instead, I would get a pair of well fitting hoof boots and thick pads for your horse to wear at least some of the time. This should help a lot. I hope you get your referral sorted out soon.
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I dont dispute this is a good idea but i think the horse had been lame and had already nerve blocked to the foot before the shoes came off, so there is probably something else underlying.
 
I read Wagtails post as advice on why the horse was now more lame and on both hooves, not as going against the vet. OP if hoof boots does not help I would tell the vet about the increased lameness. I would not shoe at this point and not use your farrier again either given that your vet mentioned (for an uninsured horse?) putting the lameness down down to bad trimming and try field rest. MRI is expensive do you have insurance?
 
Fun Times said:
I dont dispute this is a good idea but i think the horse had been lame and had already nerve blocked to the foot before the shoes came off, so there is probably something else underlying.
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I agree there is probably something else underlying. I am merely saying that the horse may now also have sore feet (in addition) and this may be the reason she is sore on BOTH feet now, because the OP is really disheartened. The horse may not have deteriorated as much as she thinks if sore feet are causing the extra lameness.
 
Wagtail said:
I agree there is probably something else underlying. I am merely saying that the horse may now also have sore feet (in addition) and this may be the reason she is sore on BOTH feet now, because the OP is really disheartened. The horse may not have deteriorated as much as she thinks if sore feet are causing the extra lameness.
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Sorry wagtail, i realise now what you meant (having a very thick morning) and its a good point. Fingers crossed you are right.
 
Yes she is insured thankfully. I shall be ringing again first thing Monday morning to see what's happening with her scan . Thanks guys .
 
I hope your horse gets better soon, in the meantime lets be clear: in case of lameness ask a vet to diagnose, not a physio. No physio should attend a horse without the agreement of a vet. That is the law.
I don't know why you would follow the advice of any unqualified person about a veterinary issue, it should be obvious that your vet is the person to ask, not a crowd of people on a forum who have no qualifications and have not seen the horse.
Any lameness is a potentially serious condition, it should be diagnosed and treated when it appears, not three months down the line.
Pain relief is available from the vet. Use an equine vet not a small animal vet.
If the feet need trimmed find a good farrier, phone up the local equine university and ask them who they use or tell us where you are and we will advise on a good vet and farrier local to you.
 
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