Looking for advice..broken scapula

[k17sty]

Looking for some advice.. .

My 13 year old Arab gelding fell in the field and has caused several serious fractures to his scapula down at the shoulder joint. The surgeon dealing with him wasnt sure how to treat it, he has over 20 years experience and had never seem one so severe. The xrays were sent to 2 american specialists and one in glasgow and the general opinion is to give him complete box rest for 12 weeks then xray again to see how he has progressed.

Just wondering if anyone has had any dealings with this kind of break and what the outcomes were? We are currently looking at worse case that he stays as is and is lame in anything other than walk.

Also can anyone suggest the best kind of suppliment to give if any to promote strength and growth in bones?

and also any interesting boredom suggestions other that the usual likits or balls to play with (please bear in mind he is a dippy arab so nothing to scary!!)

a picture of my boy, ill try get some better ones uploaded.
http://www.corsasport.co.uk/carimages/2553/Dhessi.jpg

 

[Dotilas]

Your boy is absolutely stunning, so sorry to hear he's had an accident. ((Hugs to you))

My horses all like turnips hung on a string from the ceiling in their stable, and apples/carrots in their water

With the turnips, ram a screwdriver through the middle, wiggle it around alot and shove the string through. To give you some idea, this is my first horse Joe, who was sadly PTS three weeks ago, xx Playing with a turnip in his stable.

Horses love molasses aswel, so this could be a good treat

And we also have a feed ball, which is full if pony nuts, and the horse rolls to get them out, which are very good

Hope this helps

 

[touchstone]

Sorry to hear about your horses accident, and of the sad loss of Joe, he looks lovely.

I haven't had a horse with a fractured scapula, but knew one with a fractured elbow.

As far as supplements go, I would make sure that he has a good all round supplement, something like Benevit or Top spec, so he has all the minerals etc he needs.

Feeding comfrey (knitbone is its other name) can be useful, and somewhere like Hilton Herbs should be able to supply it.

Here's hoping he makes a good recovery!

The horse with the fractured elbow was never truly sound, but he wasn't in pain and could go hacking and do light work.

 

[rubyred]

Physio asap! (IMHO!)
For one pulsed magnetic field helps to heal bone.
Secondly the shoulder joint is stabilised by muscles rather than collateral ligaments with a break this severe there is likely to be muscle wastage due to lack of use. There is also the potential for damage to some nerves which run over the scapular spine resulting in wastage. A physio can minimise the wastage.

 

[kcgibson]

rubyred is right, physio can make a huge difference to recovery (i apply it to patients at work, dogs mainly, and the difference is unbelievable!) so i can second the need for physio. Physio will not only help to minimise muscle wastage but it will also help with healing by encouraging blood flow to the area (blood is crucial for repair/supply energy and nutrients to the area). My friends horse had a fractured scapula and he was box rested for ages (cant remember how long) then he was allowed to walk around in a very small fenced in area and slowly he recovered and is back in work. Its obviously going to be very slow (im sure you know that) but you need to remain positive and know you can get there. Best of luck to you and your horse.

 

[Worried1]

My old competition horse, a 17.2hh IDxWB, who is now retired sound to a hacking home, fractured his femur. He was double barralled by another horse.
He was sent to our local equine referral centre who were unsure of the prognosis as it is so rare. Fractures to the shoulder and femur are quite common in foals but not in adult horses. The only thing they could suggest was to box rest him as there was no pin or screws strong enough to plate the bone.
Following an MRI scan he was sent home to me with the words you know where we are if you need us!
The original plan was to box rest him for 12 weeks. They wanted to double tie him but I vetoed this as i wanted him to be comfortable. If his leg snapped I wanted him to be able to go down rather than hang himself.
It was pitiful to see and for a couple of days I questioned whether we were doing the right thing. He was not allowed bute or painkillers as they said he needed to be aware of his discomfort so he would save himself and be careful.
He literally blew up in front of us. A massive bulge of fluid appeared under his belly. His sheath was enormous and filled with fluid and all four legs swelled from the knee and hock down. He literally didn't move for about a week. He was still eating but nowhere near with his usual vigour!
I did everything I could to help him. I bought MSM poweder and gluocsamine supplements, I also went to the local health store and bought calcium tablets to help ensure that there was enough calcium in his diet as his hard feed had been drastically cut down. I also bought vitamin and mineral supplements and cod liver oil to supplement his diet and provide him with the best nutrition I could.
I groomed him everyday and massaged his legs to promote healing and blood flow. I also contacted a homeopath who suggested some medicines to try including arnica and sulphur. I fed him live yoghurt to stabilise the bacteria in his gut.
Twice a day I picked small buckets of fresh grass and made tiny holed haynets from fishing nets to make his hay last as long as possible. I bought tonnes of fresh vegtables and everyday gave him a complete selection, I hid them round his stable and gave them throughout the day as snacks, as well as kebabing them and tieing them up on string to keep him amused. I bought likits and stable licks to break up the boredom and rationed them so he didn't get fat. We placed a board at the bottom of his door to keep his bedding in and deep littered him and brought his bed right to the front. We also put a stall gaurd up so he could look over and I used to let his best friend visit for a mutual grooming session over the door. My YO was fantastic she always ensured he had a 'friend' on the yard at all times so he didn't fret about being in and she had a bucket and glove outside his door to whip the pooh out along with a sign on his door that said: If you see a pooh please whip it out!
We were advised not to pick his feet out for 6 weeks and as much as it killed me I didn't, I put tonnes of fresh beeding in - nearly killed me when we dug it out.
He remained on box rest for 12 weeks but within a couple of weeks he was much brighter and gradually he began moving around in his box more and more. After 12 weeks the vets were so pleased with him they said he could begin walking out in hand- BUT we decided that due to his size it might be better to sedate him and turn him out in a small paddock with his pony pal. Which we did it was very nerve wracking but he was so drugged he was fine and over the next few days and weeks we cut back the sedation and then turned him out completely for 4 weeks.
He was then brought in and I was allowed to start walking him under saddle which I did for 4 weeks, I was then allowed to introduce slow trots uphill for 3 weeks followed by slow canters on a surface or up a hill.
I was terrified and convinced his leg would snap but the vets said that once bone heals it is as strong if not stronger than before.
Less than a year later he went on to win a 2 day event and was back competing at affiliated SJ, showing and dressage. He remains sound to this day and no judge ever commented on his way of going following the accident. He competed for another 2 years before being retired at the age of 19. He remains on loan to a lovely lady as a hack.
I hope this helps, please keep us posted.

 

[Worried1]

Sorry just realised how long my last post was. Wanted to put everything in as it might be of use.

 

[aran]

JTS- if you do use a physio for this - make sure you do it under vet advise and that they refer you to a chartered physio.

Good luck - he looks like a lovely boy

 

[k17sty]

Thanks for all your replys.

It was 6 weeks after the accident that the vet finally referred him to the bush. He had been turned out daily and had had physio. Inittially when he went in they again thought muscle damage as he isnt showing many signs of pain. They blocked his foot then shoulder and he was still lame, there was also no muscle waste when he was scanned. it was only the second day when they xrayed him they found the fracture. Its more liked smashed than fracture tho. Think jigsaw with the parts all spun round.

The vet has said under no circumstances should i do anymore physio on the area.

Iv looked into getting some comfrey for him but that main problem is he isnt to have any hard feed at all, iv also to limit his apple, carrot intake etc. Im also worried that hanging turnips etc or the likits will also put strain on shoulder as he is moving around trying to grab it.

The door has been fitted with a bar so he can have a nice fresh breeze in this weather and we have put it up higher so leaning on it wont touch his shoulder.

 

[touchstone]

Hi again; you should be able to add any supplements to a bucket of Hi-Fi Lite which is safe for horses on box rest; providing you hold it it for him, or fix it somewhere where he doesn't have to strain his shoulder to reach it he should be okay, it will provide a bit of interest having something different to eat too.