lameness; long.

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tinafletcher1

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my horse went lame 5 weeks ago, he was refered to equine clinic for investigation. Had nerve blocks and xray. xray showed a lesion in coffin joint, pedal bone area. put on box rest with controlled exercise, ie walked in hand 30mins per day. Took him back thursday, had further xray which showed deteriation. looking like infection to pedal bone. Vet is wanting MRI scan to confirm. my dilema is : (considering cost of MRI scan not fully covered by insurance) surgery is inevitable, therefor, you would think all would be revealed at time of surgery, so why the scan. This I will discuss with vet on monday. Question: has anyone been thro anything similar? how long for recovery? how successful?
 
My horse is in a similar position, although without the infection to date. The process I am going through is consulting further with my vet and farrier, checking information on the internet and with horsey friends, finding out how the injury happened so I can take steps to prevent is recurring, resisting invasive treatment which can introduce infection not already there i.e. further injections into the coffin joint (he's already had the nerve block there which was inconclusive), is box rest the best cure? mine lives out naturally so he's now in a much smaller area so he can move but not charge about, with over-reach boots on, checking his hoof balance is right for him. It is going to take months, assuming I have the correct information to help him heal. It's early days still, and I ahve more questions than answers, but I hope something I have written helps you!
 
From my understanding the coffin joint is a complex structure full of soft tissue and bones. Surely your vets want to know what they're dealing with prior to MRI. I understand that cost is a huge issue, so maybe it is important to talk through with the vets whether an MRI is vital. I hate to sound despondent but it may be they want to check whether surgery is a viable option or not rather than put the horse through a GA only to find that surgery is not viable.
Good luck.
 
The vets will want to see what they need to operate on before they operate. Also there are many foot injuries that cannot be cured by surgery and the vets will want to know if that's the case.
 
What a horrid situation
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My boy has been lame since March
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xrays have shown he has a counter-rotated pedal bone (opposite to what happends with laminitis because the solar surface has become level, rather than the toe end dropping forward even more) but no changes to the coffin joint or symptoms of navicular disease.
He is on box rest now (he was on grass rest but just wouldn't stay quiet enough) as the vets are assuming it must be a soft tissue injury that allowed the pedal bone to move; unfortunately they cannot confirm it is soft tissue damage because, like you, I cannot afford £2000 for an MRI, especially when it is diagnostic only and not treatment
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Fingers crossed for you that you get to the bottom of your boys problems.
 
Made the desision to go for MRI. after discussion with vet. He wants to know for sure what he is dealing with. he explained: if bad infection can be cut away and prognosis is good 85% if keratoma(benign tumour)again good, but if malignent, then we need to know. Think you may have been mis quoted for charge, I am told 1,000 of which the insurance are willing to pay half.
 
tina1, i would do no surgery, he most likely has fluid build up in his navicular area, rest him without shoes, and watch him heal.
ALI-M counter rotation is a myth, his bone cant move down at the back without the laminae letting go, and laminitis,while everywhere, always stretches at the toe first, so what i expect you,v got is a horse with low or no heels, this looks on an xray like counter rotation. rotation must be related to something like hoof wall or sole, you will find that thin sole in the seats of corn is making the bone look counter rotated
 
journeyman.... How do you know that about the counter rotation? I hope it is a myth. I am on the point of buying a horse with counter rotation of pedal bone on back feet. He has been fitted with pads and compound and the farrier who shoes him currently says this is enough. Does that sound sensible and liveable with to you? He is an ex pointer and now eventer. Sarahlou
 
update; Had MRI scan which reveals Keratoma. taking him back to clinic monday to discuss findings with vet. The plan being to surgicaly remove. Lots to think about, but assured that prognosis is good. aftercare is long, 6months to year. I am prepared for this as long as my boy recovers.
 
My horse has just come back into work following his keratoma op last October. Here's another thread discussing keratomas in July where i detailed what my boy had been through etc and some photos.

http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/forums/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/4634326/an/0/page/2

I'm so glad he had the operation to remove it and although we both went through hell and back when he suffered the complications he did, i wouldn't change it for the world. A couple of weeks ago he got given the all clear and i can start competing him again, something which at the time of diagnosis seemed pretty remote. Hope your horse goes on ok and if you need someone to talk to about it who has been through it, don't hesitate to PM me.

Hope this helps!
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