laminitis/bone spavin

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brandybuck

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my 9 year old highland has had low grade laminitis on and off over past 5 years, i manage it with difficulty mainly because of ex-dairy grass like rocket fuel and because she also has bone spavin, which is minimal on xray but even after 2 tildren treatments remains lame at trot which means the faster exercise which would help reducethe lami risk is out. Moving yards is tricky as i can't find anywhere locally who really caters for laminitics - they just want them stabled most of the time which i just can't do to her. I really feel at the end of the road, i have read endless info on both conditions i think her diet is right, trimming is as good as it can be, but we are stuck in a rut where she doesn't get worse but is certainly no better than a year ago. There is no insurance cover now for either condition, my family have had it up to here with my worry about her, if anyone out there has been in a similar situation and has any suggestions as to what else i can do i would be most grateful! She is well in herself so can't face the final decision yet, as several well meaning folk have suggested
 
just to add her lameness is suspiciously prolonged and have thought about further investigations but if it turns out to be the bone spavin alone i will be liable for the bill. At present in trot she is extremely short on the right hind on a circle , straight line, what ever surface, and hikes her hip and twists to the right - yet it can disappear for a short time then reappear and some days she looks better than others. The 2 occasions i have had the vet watch she looked stiff but ok so i don't think he understands that she can go like a crippled goat - that i am just dopey owner? I have never seen lameness like it, currently i work her at walk in hand with the odd lunge session just to see if there is any improvement and walk hacks in boots and pads, chiropractor thought maybe kissing spines but that does seem the latest thing, and of course vet says she will have a sore back if her leg hurts. She has never done a hard days work in her life!
 
I've had my tb on metaform over the summer months, can't conclusively say it's worked or just management. Mine can't handle rye grass at all, livery yards are a problem!
 
My welshie has had laminitis in the past and I have had to resort to stabling him at night all year to keep his weight down and act as a preventative measure against laminitis. He is on sparce grazing all year round.
This year he has been on and off lame / not quite right and I suspected arthritis but always treat for laminitis just in case. However he was a lot worse for stabling - down right stiff walking out in the morning. The vet has now diagnosed arthritis in the hocks, however compromise is needed as he still needs to be stabled at night to avoid laminitis - which is not ideal for his arthritis flare up!
The pasture in your case is always going to be an issue and I would keep looking for a better option than cow pasture. Can you get her off the grass for periods of time on soaked hay?
 
i have tried metformin but she tested negative for ems and ppid and it didnt seem to do anything, i think the grass is the main problem, she has been muzzled 24/7 the last few days and is moving better but the yo has decreed no more grass livery so she has to be stabled over winter and we will see if that makes her more stiff or if being off the grass makes the difference, i just hate stabling ideally i would have a grass free track system but its slow to catch on, particularly for livery yards. I wonder how many horses struggling with sore feet from low grade lami get arthritic because they carry themselves to avoid pain - she is young to be so lame from arthritis especially as she hasn't really done much in the way of ridden work, very frustrating!
 
brandybuck said:
my 9 year old highland has had low grade laminitis on and off over past 5 years, i manage it with difficulty mainly because of ex-dairy grass like rocket fuel and because she also has bone spavin, which is minimal on xray but even after 2 tildren treatments remains lame at trot which means the faster exercise which would help reducethe lami risk is out. Moving yards is tricky as i can't find anywhere locally who really caters for laminitics - they just want them stabled most of the time which i just can't do to her. I really feel at the end of the road, i have read endless info on both conditions i think her diet is right, trimming is as good as it can be, but we are stuck in a rut where she doesn't get worse but is certainly no better than a year ago. There is no insurance cover now for either condition, my family have had it up to here with my worry about her, if anyone out there has been in a similar situation and has any suggestions as to what else i can do i would be most grateful! She is well in herself so can't face the final decision yet, as several well meaning folk have suggested
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I suggest you ask your vet about chemical athrodesis (also called fusion with ethanol).

It is very effective and gives immediate pain relief. Hocks take up to 18 months to fuse, but the idea is that your horse is out of pain straight away.

It sounds like you will never get very far whilst the horse is shifting all his weight from his hind quarters onto his front end in an attempt to relieve the pain from his hocks as this will make the laminitis worse I would have thought.

I can't understand why this isn't a more frequently used form of treatment. The vet will inject contrast dye into the space between the hock joint and if the dye goes down or straight ahead then the ethanol (which is pure alcohol) can be injected. If the dye rises into the upper hock joint then the procedure cannot be carried out, as ethanol injected into this space would result in your horse losing the use of the leg which would obviously result is pts. There is no gamble as the vet won't proceed if this is the case, and its worth trying to see. The procedure is approx £300 for both hocks (or this is what it cost me). The actual injection of alcohol costs something like £1.28p but its the xrays and technique that you pay for!! They normally do both hocks at the same time. I had this for my horse as he was transferring his weight from his off hind onto his diagonal opposite (n/f) and as it was injured it was hindering recovery.

Before his recent accident my horse recovered enough to be doing elem dressage, and 1m jumping classes every weekend. :)
 
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thanks, we are going for further workup once my field shelter sells to fund it! Wil ask about fusion, has nver been offered, i think vet was excited about tildren but was useless in her case.
 
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