Lame on painkillers, do they ever become sound again?

Birker2020

Birker2020

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I will try to make this as short as possible.

I got a call from a friend at the yard some three months ago to say my horse had got his leg stuck in a wheelbarrow and in his panic had carted it half way across the yard banging into things in the process. My friend who is a total God send managed to calm him down and applied an ice pack to the leg with minutes. Bailey had received PRP to this leg in Oct 2011 following an injury in June 2011 to the lateral branch of ths suspensory ligament, so the leg was extremely vulnerable to injury.

As soon as I got to the yard I treated it very quickly with more cold therapy, hosing and ice cupping it. This led to a quick recovery and within six weeks he was back in action again and jumping really well. However it became clear with time that he was still hopping on the right rein, so he went in for investigation and they have found an increase in calcification which has resulted from the inflammation caused by what is believed to be the wheelbarrow injury. He is pushing off on the left leg on the right rein, and this is what is causing him to hop.

Since last Wednesday the horse has been on two Danillon a day as a loading dose and he remains 2/10ths lame on the right rein on a circle. I am devastated as it looks like we will be unlikely to come back from this injury to even be able to do dressage if he is unsound on drugs. The vet has explained that surgery is not an option. They have done this kind of surgery on a cadaver horse and it is impossible to remove the calcification without disrupting the ligament, and taking part of it with them, which is obviously no solution at all.

The vet has asked me to bring him back into work, doing most of my trot work on the left rein - he is very sound on this rein, the vet is very pleased as he is using his off hind hock to compensate for his near fore injury by bringing it under him more (he has spavin in this hock which has been treated). But he remains two tenths lame on the right rein which is noticeable by the nodding. The vet doesn't know yet that the horse remains unsound on the right rein with the drugs. He has another four or five days on the 2 x danillon and then he is on 1 x danillon for another ten days.

Has anyone had similiar with their horse. Can a horse that is lame on painkillers at present ever become sound again with time?

This could of course be mechanical lameness,which the vet has said can happen due to restriction caused by scar tissue.
 
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Have you discussed the option of turning him away for a year to see what happens?

I've known a few write offs (various issues) come good with enough time.
 
It is something I have considered and even went as far as asking my vet about, but he does not see that this would be a good option in Bailey's case as he feels it would be more beneficial for him to be kept 'ticking over' due to his arthritis.

He also said that a lot of horses that have worked and competed reguarly go down hill very quickly when turned away for any length of time and he has seen horses that have done this and have never recovered.

I rode him tonight, he is sound as a pound on the left rein, someone knowledgable even said "there's not much wrong with him" until I said "watch this" and changed the rein. We were met with the response "Oh dear". :(
 
The ones I knew were all turned out in herds in large fields with undulating or hilly terrain and quickly adjusted to their new life (no sulking or wanting to come in ;)). Of course it's not a 100% guaranteed fix or the right thing for every horse.

If your vet wants you to keep him ticking over, would it be best to stick to straight line work?

What an awful accident - such bad luck. I really hope that he does improve.
 
Faracat said:
What an awful accident - such bad luck. I really hope that he does improve.
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Yes I am very lucky that he didn't break his leg in his panic. He is lucky to still be here to be honest. Bless him. Thank you for your good wishes Faracat, I am feeling very despondent at the moment and sorry for myself and I must press on now and pull my finger out....
 
Shockwave to break down the calcification?? It's used in humans to destroy kidney stones so that they may be passed more easily. Other option would possibly be neurectomy.....leave the calcification in place but sever the nerve and possibly also fasciotomy to give room for the calcification. Dunno.....not a vet.....just some random thoughts for you to explore.
 
gunnergundog said:
Shockwave to break down the calcification?? It's used in humans to destroy kidney stones so that they may be passed more easily. Other option would possibly be neurectomy.....leave the calcification in place but sever the nerve and possibly also fasciotomy to give room for the calcification. Dunno.....not a vet.....just some random thoughts for you to explore.
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Thanks Gunnerdog. My first reaction when the vet told me it was a calcification was shockwave but he said it the calcification was too big for that. Haven't thought about neurectomy. It would be a major operation presumably under GA, and a big lay off and many months box rest afterwards I am guessing. And something I would have to finance myself as the leg has an exclusion on it now with the insurance. Hmm, worth thinking about though. Big decision.
 
Just be aware that the current rules prevent any horse that has had a neurectomy from competing in BE events. This doesn't stop all sorts of people, of course, and perhaps the ruling will be amended at some point, but that is how it stands now.

Re horses working on painkillers coming sound. . .impossible to predict, really. The pain relief may allow for improvements in way of going that help to keep the horse sounded but there isn't any way to predict. I would also be tempted to consider "proper" turning away but I understand this is a difficult route for many people now. It is also, of course, no guarantee. Have you investigated any other pain relief modalities, such as acupuncture?
 
TarrSteps said:
Just be aware that the current rules prevent any horse that has had a neurectomy from competing in BE events. This doesn't stop all sorts of people, of course, and perhaps the ruling will be amended at some point, but that is how it stands now.

Re horses working on painkillers coming sound. . .impossible to predict, really. The pain relief may allow for improvements in way of going that help to keep the horse sounded but there isn't any way to predict. I would also be tempted to consider "proper" turning away but I understand this is a difficult route for many people now. It is also, of course, no guarantee. Have you investigated any other pain relief modalities, such as acupuncture?
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Haven't thought about acupuncture to be honest. Good point thanks.

Its very much early days and a week into pain killers but its a briliant suggestion. x
 
It's probably worth trying whatever you can, tbh. There may be a few contradictions with the horse on an NSAID but you can always talk to a specialist about that.
 
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