Lameness investigation options a WWYD

[sbloom]

Vettings and healthy movement patterns tend to not overlap much, vets have plenty to learn and deal with, learning about healthy movement is a whole nuther area (though it would be amazing if they would refer to in hand rehabbers more often). I've had long discussions with my friend who's an ex equine McTim, now a vet tech (partly equine), and does lots of in-hand and Legerete type work with her horses on this.

 

[Michen]

I’m not sure why you’d scan the suspensory unless the issue blocked to them. Which you can do.

 

[Sossigpoker]

I’d put steroids in the hocks and see if it improves. If it does its hocks. If it doesn’t you’ve ruled out hocks for the price of a nerve block.

I certainly wouldn’t go for the bone scan. If anything I’d do nerve blocks, which will be more accurate than the scan. Scans can throw up all sorts that look significant but isn’t actually what is bothering the horse. If you let the horse tell you when it stops hurting you can then treat the right place.

But like I say, I’d medicate the hocks first because it’s usually hocks.

Not responding to steroid doesn't rule out hocks plus you'd need several weeks of rehab to see if there is a response
Mine didn't get any better with steroid at all but has hock arthritis.

 

[Sossigpoker]

Start with nerve blocks , once area of pain is hopefully identified, then x-ray and /or scan the area
If you have insurance, a bone scan is a good diagnostic for more overall issues but I wouldn't use it unless the nerve blocks and scans had been done first

 

[SEL]

I’m not sure why you’d scan the suspensory unless the issue blocked to them. Which you can do.

Mine blocked to hocks, but had a poor response to steroids. I insisted on them scanning the suspensories and after two attempts (first vet was awful) they found damage right by the hock. The block to the hock likely acted as a block to the ligament too. Second vet said they should have scanned the ligaments to start with.

 

[Michen]

Mine blocked to hocks, but had a poor response to steroids. I insisted on them scanning the suspensories and after two attempts (first vet was awful) they found damage right by the hock. The block to the hock likely acted as a block to the ligament too. Second vet said they should have scanned the ligaments to start with.

Different vet approaches I guess, I would be trying a successful block first and only scanning if nothing then blocked to begin with.

 

[Roxylola]

To be clear, the OP mentioned just blocking hocks and my response was to that. You can't start at hocks as it will block below the hock as well.

 

[BronsonNutter]

Just to clear things up, you can start at hocks. There are two types of 'nerve blocks' - either around the nerves themselves (which will block everything below that point), or into the joints or synovial structures themselves (which will stay within that structure for a certain period of time). So sometimes we will start with a particular joint if we're particularly suspicious of one joint, but the norm is to start with nerve blocks from the bottom and to work your way up, because blocking a joint involves a risk of infection

Personally I would always recommend nerve blocks over a bone scan unless your horse is needleshy (likely to be more dangerous to block, and stressful for the horse), but everything I've ever referred for a bone scan has always come back inconclusive as they all had soft tissue issues in the end which it doesn't pick up. So I'm possibly biased!