MRI of hoof

[PinkRoses]

Hello everyone,

I’ve been a long term lurker but thought it was time to make my first post.

my mare has been 2/10 lame for the past month. It’s more noticeable lunging on a circle (even more noticeable when she hasn’t got side reins on). She’s well in herself though.

the first time the vet came out he suggested bute and box rest for a week but she was no better so we booked in for a lameness work up. Unfortunately we had to wait a couple of weeks to get the appointment but in the mean time she stayed on box rest.

the appointment was yesterday and it was very nerve wracking. He did nerve blocks (first one was in the coffin joint) which did improve things so she had x rays done of her pedal bone, her coffin joint and something else (basically her entire foot was done - wasn’t physically at the appointment due to work so was watching on FaceTime but the signal was bad). The x rays showed nothing at all so hes suggested she goes for an MRI which she is booked in for next week. The vet said it’s not as common to be lame in the foot behind.

I made the mistake of googling MRI’s in horses and really scared myself and I’m terrified her ridden days are over (She has a home for life with me whatever happens).

has anyone had x rays showing nothing and a slightly lame horse but the MRI doesn’t show anything too dire? I can’t stop overthinking

has anyone got any tips with helping her cope with box rest too as I’m worried she’s going to start getting fed up soon.

 

[Sossigpoker]

Honestly , stop worrying about it, as hard as it is! The MRI could show something or nothing , you will just drive yourself crazy trying to predict an outcome.
Horses can be lame for so many reasons so whatever is wrong with one horse has no bearing on what's wrong with yours.
I've been in your situation so I know that trying to predict it will only achieve you being am anxious mess.

For box rest , things like a treat ball, hay ball ,.swede hanging from ceiling can help.?

 

[nutjob]

I have had one MRI'd which wasn't good news, his xrays were clear. However, there can be many things that are shown on MRI and the main thing is to find out what is wrong so that you know how best to treat/rehab. Good luck, hope something not serious is found.

 

[jenni999]

I had MRI's done of front feet in my 14 yo ISH. Showed some navicular changes and he had steroid injections, it all stemmed from hock issues and he also had both injected once the front feet had calmed down in terms of inflammation. Any horse that has had a life is bound to show something, even if it's old.

Get it done and at least then you know, would be my recommendation

 

[Annagain]

I've had one with more or less clear x-rays (tiny changes but nothing you wouldn't expect in a 12 yr old horse - and we now suspect he's a few years older than his passport suggests as well).
We didn't MRI as, back then, there were only 2 in the country so he'd have had to do a 10 hour round trip and it wouldn't have changed his treatment. We field rested him for 6 months and he recovered and carried on working for an other 12 years after that. We didn't really jump him again (just the odd small log out hacking or on a fun ride) but that was more that he wasn't an easy horse to jump and I couldn't bring myself to ride him as strongly as he needed knowing it could be hurting him. He did eventually retire due to coffin joint arthritis - the changes in those first x-rays did deteriorate over time - but we don't think they were the original cause of the lameness.

Even if the MRI does show something, it's not necessarily the end of the world. The chances are she'll recover and maybe going barefoot could help her.

 

[Greyirish]

I’m in the same boat as you and currently waiting for my MRI appointment this Monday- but of the front feet. My vets have been scratching their heads as he’s not even 4 so not your usual candidate for wear and tear injuries as older horses would be. Like you, I’ve been driving myself mad googling outcomes from an MRI… I bought him to show jump so I’m getting downbeat listening to all the possible diagnoses.

Mine is also getting bored on box rest, trying to entertain a young fresh sports horse is never easy! He has various vegetables and likits hanging from the ceiling however they only tend to last a matter of hours, it’s getting expensive?

 

[Melody Grey]

Yes, horse in my profile pic was MRI scanned to reveal a ligament enlargement thought to be caused by strain within the hoof capsule. He was remedially shod for 12 months or so, also addressing hind suspensory issues (may or may not have been related). All good now, touch wood!

 

[bouncing_ball]

Hello everyone,
has anyone had x rays showing nothing and a slightly lame horse but the MRI doesn’t show anything too dire? I can’t stop overthinking
.

Me. Had various areas of foot blocked but not conclusions, but horse sounder with whole left hind blocked. Nothing showed on x-rays.

Did MRI (took 2 days and about 9 hours, as MRI not designed for hind feet, and horse needs to hold foot perfectly still for a couple of minutes or something like that. Mine kept fidgeting. If they sedated he wobbled. Was a very slow!

Nothing of clinical significant was found in MRI. Think they did both hinds, and nothing different in lame versus non lame foot.

 

[PinkRoses]

Hello everyone,

Thankyou all for you comments it helped keep me sane. Sorry for not replying sooner.

she loves her carrot ball so Thankyou for the suggestion of that.

she went in to hospital for her MRI yesterday morning. The plan was she would come home late afternoon today as they wanted to spread the imaging over 2 days. Yesterday they did her foot and today the plan was to do her pastern. Unfortunately, this morning she was colicing so it’s not safe to sedate her and carry on with the scans. She’s not crashing so they’ve managed to catch it early. They want to keep her in for the rest of today/overnight which I would prefer to be honest as shes in the safest place. She’s quite a sensitive soul so I suspect it’s just been a bit too stressful for her hence the colic. They also found a heartbeat irregularity yesterday but it’s vanishe

apparently imaging of the foot showed no cysts/bruising/fractures. He said something about a tendon in the foot but the signal was quite bad and the dog was barking at me so I’ll have to wait for the proper report.

the vet said that he believed with medicating the coffin joint and corrective shoeing she will be ok to come back into ridden work. I asked if he could make that decision without the pastern imaging and he was fairly confident. He is going to go away and look at the hundreds of images and produce a proper report by tomorrow so I will have the official diagnosis and plan of action so I will update you all properly tomorrow.

I asked again about the heart irregularity and he said she’s been checked multiple times today and it’s gone so he’s putting it down to stress. Apparently if shes struggling when in work again they will fully investigate it. I’m looking forward to going to see her tonight and give her a bit of tlc as I suspect she’s probably feeling quite miserable.

so feeling slightly better about the lameness but now worrying about the colic and heartbeat!

 

[Melody Grey]

Sorry to hear of the colic, but she is in the best place. My OH’s con was so stressy at the vets they had to keep him on sedivet to prevent him climbing over the door. It’s probably due to the stress and not eating, so not a ‘sinister’ cause. Hopefully they can sedate her suitably to be comfortable and eat?

 

[Birker2020]

Hello everyone,

I’ve been a long term lurker but thought it was time to make my first post.

my mare has been 2/10 lame for the past month. It’s more noticeable lunging on a circle (even more noticeable when she hasn’t got side reins on). She’s well in herself though.

the first time the vet came out he suggested bute and box rest for a week but she was no better so we booked in for a lameness work up. Unfortunately we had to wait a couple of weeks to get the appointment but in the mean time she stayed on box rest.

the appointment was yesterday and it was very nerve wracking. He did nerve blocks (first one was in the coffin joint) which did improve things so she had x rays done of her pedal bone, her coffin joint and something else (basically her entire foot was done - wasn’t physically at the appointment due to work so was watching on FaceTime but the signal was bad). The x rays showed nothing at all so hes suggested she goes for an MRI which she is booked in for next week. The vet said it’s not as common to be lame in the foot behind.

I made the mistake of googling MRI’s in horses and really scared myself and I’m terrified her ridden days are over (She has a home for life with me whatever happens).

has anyone had x rays showing nothing and a slightly lame horse but the MRI doesn’t show anything too dire? I can’t stop overthinking

has anyone got any tips with helping her cope with box rest too as I’m worried she’s going to start getting fed up soon.

Sorry I haven't experience but make sure your insurance company are aware that she is going in and have agreed to it. Otherwise they may not pay out. My insurance company SEIB says any CT scan or MRI or bone scan has to be agreed by them in writing before the vet can go ahead.

 

[Polos]

Sorry I haven't experience but make sure your insurance company are aware that she is going in and have agreed to it. Otherwise they may not pay out. My insurance company SEIB says any CT scan or MRI or bone scan has to be agreed by them in writing before the vet can go ahead.

.

 

[Polos]

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[Birker2020]

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??

 

[PinkRoses]

Sorry been stuck in meetings all day.

still not heard back from the vets but assuming no news is good news. I will be seeing her in a couple of hours. My mind has gone a bit blank so is there any questions I should be asking the vet in terms of her colic and heart irregularity?

and she’s not actually insured. When I bought her a good few years ago the x rays showed small bone spurs on the hocks so I couldn’t get any insurance that would actually cover her legs. So I’ve just been putting money in a savings account over the last few years. Other than now she’s not needed a vet aside from vaccinations

 

[bouncing_ball]

I think heart irregularity probably just stress related.

The colic, I’d ask if been any more episodes. If eating and drinking, weeing and pooing at normal output now?

 

[PinkRoses]

I think heart irregularity probably just stress related.

The colic, I’d ask if been any more episodes. If eating and drinking, weeing and pooing at normal output now?

I’m hoping it is!

I’ve been told she’s tolerated a small net of hay so can have hard feed tomorrow which makes me feel better.

thankyou, will ask those questions when I get there

 

[racebuddy]

Hope shes doing ok xxx

 

[throwawayaccount]

your mare is lucky to have you, fingers crossed for her xx

 

[PinkRoses]

Hope shes doing ok xxx

she was very spritley when I saw her last night. A bit cross about being stuck a stable but I don’t blame her! We are hoping she can come home today but waiting for the vets to confirm.

she’s progressed onto mash and she’s coped with it which is a good sign

 

[PinkRoses]

your mare is lucky to have you, fingers crossed for her xx

i feel very lucky to have her! She was very well in herself last night (albeit a bit cross but who can blame her) so hoping she can come home later today but waiting for vets to confirm

 

[Greyirish]

@PinkRoses sorry to hear about the colic, what a stressful time! Mine is also having an injection into his coffin joint following his MRI last week. Hope yours is on the mend too??

 

[PinkRoses]

@PinkRoses sorry to hear about the colic, what a stressful time! Mine is also having an injection into his coffin joint following his MRI last week. Hope yours is on the mend too??

it’s been a stressful couple of days!

does your horse have arthritis in his coffin joint? I’ve been told by the vets that is what she’s got and they’ve recommended corrective shoeing and hand walking for a few weeks then she will be reassessed and have the injection in the joint if no better. I’m still waiting for the full report though

 

[Greyirish]

it’s been a stressful couple of days!

does your horse have arthritis in his coffin joint? I’ve been told by the vets that is what she’s got and they’ve recommended corrective shoeing and hand walking for a few weeks then she will be reassessed and have the injection in the joint if no better. I’m still waiting for the full report though

Hope your girl is doing better now??? Mine has fluid in the coffin joint so he’s had steroid injections this morning. They think it’s possibly from an impact injury, not arthritis.

 

[PinkRoses]

Hope your girl is doing better now??? Mine has fluid in the coffin joint so he’s had steroid injections this morning. They think it’s possibly from an impact injury, not arthritis.

she’s doing much better since she is home. She’s had the farrier for her corrective shoeing/pads and has been trotted up infront of a vet who has said already there has been a massive difference in her soundness.

ah I see! Has he had his injection yet?

 

[PinkRoses]

So I thought I’d give you all an update after the MRI report came in.

the report said she has minor arthritis in the coffin joints of both back feet, one of the ligaments in her foot (I can’t remember the name right now) is slightly inflamed from the arthritis but the vets believe if we treat the arthritis the inflammation will go down, the bone angles in her feet need altering (poor foot conformation) so she needs corrective shoeing and pads to alter these.

she saw the farrier the day after she got home. My farrier had a call with the vet to discuss the corrective shoeing and together they’ve come up with a plan. She was shod and the next day trotted up infront of a vet and there was already improvement in her soundness.

they also mentioned wanting to medicate her coffin joints but we are going to discuss it again at the end of her 3 weeks handwalking.