Lame pony after five months rest

M

Mrstillytrotter

Member
Joined
2 April 2017
Messages
21
Visit site
Looking for advice.

My 15 yr old n/f pony has been lame since end of May 25, x rays taken in June, 25 showed nothing of concern, no external heat, lumps etc on his leg. Previous farrier ( now dumped) didn't address the balance of the foot. Previous x rays( taken in Feb 25) confirmed this- hoof balance now on track with current farrier. Arthramid injected into coffin joint, which was raised, in early June - which did not improve lameness. So wedges and pads were fitted and his walk improved, foot seemed very tender and he seemed reluctant or unable to lock his knee. Vet felt lameness would improve with time - he was out in small pen and in at night/or day time due to the extreme heat. Early September, vet was optimistic, saying he was sound and to start controlled riding in walk, I wasn't convinced but did what I was told. Vet re assessed in Oct, where pony could clearly be seen as lame. The next steps are to nerve block the foot in a couple of weeks.Vet does not recommend MRI, pony is uninsured and visibly lame in trot.

Farrier helpfully pointed out uneven wear on shoes. 2x sets of pads fitted at 6 week intervals.

So what next? Very worried as after 5 months, progress is negligible, which is such a worry. Shoes off is the next step, what will nerves block acheive - he's clearly lame?
 
Did wedges stay on? for some they can help temporarily as a bit of a sticking plaster, others it can make them significantly worse as it puts pressure on different structures.

Was he not nerve blocked originally, I'm surprised if not.

If nerve blocks to foot I'd be taking shoes off myself and seeing if he can get more comfortable that way, you can often improve angles etc superficially in shoes but if the soft tissues are compromised the horse stays lame. (been there, done that, didn't MRI as it wouldn't have changed my long term treatment/management plan)
 
Nerve blocks work to identify the issue. In your case, poor hoof balance/wear is often related to poor movement - so you could be barking up the wrong metaphorical tree focusing on the hoof when there is an issue higher up the leg.

Nerve blocks are cheap. I would block as a first course of action and then x-ray/scan that specific joint or area. Did they not do this when you first discovered the lameness?
 
Nerve blocking tells you whereabouts in the leg the lameness is coming from. It should cost somewhere in the £100's depending on how far they have to work up the leg. I had an MRI of the foot and fetlock earlier this year and IIRC it was about £1.5k. It doesn't always give you the answers you need. In my case some minor issues were identified but there was also a problem in the neck which was not seen by mri. Mine is also not insured and I would personally not mri unless you were fairly certain the hoof was the main problem which could be via nerve blocking initially.
 
maya2008 said:
Nerve blocks work to identify the issue. In your case, poor hoof balance/wear is often related to poor movement - so you could be barking up the wrong metaphorical tree focusing on the hoof when there is an issue higher up the leg.

Nerve blocks are cheap. I would block as a first course of action and then x-ray/scan that specific joint or area. Did they not do this when you first discovered the lameness?
Click to expand...
Yes, X rays taken - no causes for concern were identified.
 
Mrstillytrotter said:
Yes, X rays taken - no causes for concern were identified.
Click to expand...
So they blocked to the foot - totally sound at that point - and x rayed and scanned that area?

If so, I would want a second opinion vet to look at the x-rays and scans. If x-rays only I would want scans to check for soft tissue issues.

I once had a dog lame mare block to the hoof. Vet could find nothing. We did arthramid and it helped so I sent the x-rays to a new practice as a second opinion. They scrutinised them to death and found what the first practice had missed. One joint injection later and she lived another 7 years.
 
ester said:
Did wedges stay on? for some they can help temporarily as a bit of a sticking plaster, others it can make them significantly worse as it puts pressure on different structures.

Was he not nerve blocked originally, I'm surprised if not.

If nerve blocks to foot I'd be taking shoes off myself and seeing if he can get more comfortable that way, you can often improve angles etc superficially in shoes but if the soft tissues are compromised the horse stays lame. (been there, done that, didn't MRI as it wouldn't have changed my long term treatment/management plan)
Click to expand...
Yes, wedges stayed on, he does seem to be walking better ie in less discomfort but I'm unhappy re their use long term and what happens when they come off - assuming they must. Coffin joint was blocked five months ago, bump on coronet band etc and Arthramid administered which did nothing. Think shoes off and hoof boots with pads are a way forward? Any thoughts?
 
maya2008 said:
So they blocked to the foot - totally sound at that point - and x rayed and scanned that area?

If so, I would want a second opinion vet to look at the x-rays and scans. If x-rays only I would want scans to check for soft tissue issues.

I once had a dog lame mare block to the hoof. Vet could find nothing. We did arthramid and it helped so I sent the x-rays to a new practice as a second opinion. They scrutinised them to death and found what the first practice had missed. One joint injection later and she lived another 7 years.
Click to expand...
No scans, just X rays, vet was happy with what they saw- not navicular just what you'd expect from 15 yr old pony. I'm trying to get X rays from vet atm, thanks for you advice- all useful
 
So it blocked to coffin joint but arthramid then didn’t help?

If so mine was similar, blocked to palmar then coffin joint, steroid helped but only until we started trot work. Nothing very exciting on X-ray other than flat palmar angle vague diagnosis of djd but given the next 10 years obviously didn’t degenerate 😅 ( I presume yours had flat/negative angle if wedges put on) 2 cycles in bar shoes.
Presumed some soft tissue stuff going on but mri wouldn’t have changed my management plan by that point

Shoes off, 6 month slow rehab (did need boots for roadwork week 6 to 6 month point)

He was 19 then, spent his 20s hunting and hacking for miles, still totally sound in front when PTS at 29.
 
maya2008 said:
Nerve blocks work to identify the issue. In your case, poor hoof balance/wear is often related to poor movement - so you could be barking up the wrong metaphorical tree focusing on the hoof when there is an issue higher up the leg.

Nerve blocks are cheap. I would block as a first course of action and then x-ray/scan that specific joint or area. Did they not do this when you first discovered the lameness?
Click to expand...
We had x rays done, but only coffin joint nerve blocked prior to Arthramid injection
 
Many years ago we had one like this. xrays clear, scan clear, blocked to foot. MRIs were new but we had one done and it showed a partial rupture of the medial collateral ligament. It was not total but was a big big rupture. Box rest for months did nothing. He had previously had poor foot balance but this had been corrected but I think it was that that ultimately caused the initial damage. Sadly he did not come sound and was not field sound either. i would be doing MRI and getting a lameness expert 2nd opinion.
 
Mrstillytrotter said:
Looking for advice.

My 15 yr old n/f pony has been lame since end of May 25, x rays taken in June, 25 showed nothing of concern, no external heat, lumps etc on his leg. Previous farrier ( now dumped) didn't address the balance of the foot. Previous x rays( taken in Feb 25) confirmed this- hoof balance now on track with current farrier. Arthramid injected into coffin joint, which was raised, in early June - which did not improve lameness. So wedges and pads were fitted and his walk improved, foot seemed very tender and he seemed reluctant or unable to lock his knee. Vet felt lameness would improve with time - he was out in small pen and in at night/or day time due to the extreme heat. Early September, vet was optimistic, saying he was sound and to start controlled riding in walk, I wasn't convinced but did what I was told. Vet re assessed in Oct, where pony could clearly be seen as lame. The next steps are to nerve block the foot in a couple of weeks.Vet does not recommend MRI, pony is uninsured and visibly lame in trot.

Farrier helpfully pointed out uneven wear on shoes. 2x sets of pads fitted at 6 week intervals.

So what next? Very worried as after 5 months, progress is negligible, which is such a worry. Shoes off is the next step, what will nerves block acheive - he's clearly lame?
Click to expand...
Not bones then likely soft tissue which will only show up on mri or ultrasound. Doesn’t really change the outcome of treatment unless surgery which as uninsured may not be an option. Only 15 years old, take shoes off and let Mother Nature take her course. Bodies are amazing and try to heal themselves although doesn’t match the original. Nerve blocks will pinpoint the area, many structures within any area. I would just give it time- 5 months isn’t long with soft tissue or ligaments. I ruptured my Achilles, took me a year before I could bend my ankle, and two years and a bit of laser treatment before I could wear small heels - I still have a slight limp in heels 12 years later.
You can spend all the money in the world, but if it’s soft tissue it’s a waiting game
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top