My horse STILL lame

[RockyB]

I am getting super frustrated about my horses lameness.

Rocky is a 14 year old holsteiner gelding. This February he made a wrong step in ice and was lame the next step on his front right leg.
After one week he was still lame, his lameness was visible on the right circle in trot.

Vet came, he did x-rays and ultrasound. X-rays showed nothing special and vet said this is probably a lateral collateral injury as "seen" on ultrasound.
He did nerve blocks (hoof and fetlock) and there vas just a slight improvement in the trot which I thought was weird.
He does have slightly raised area of collateral ligament as seen in photo - sorry about dirty hoof).
Vet suggested 6 rounds of ESWT (shockwave).
He was getting better after 3 rounds and suddenly he was lame again in trot, this time it was visible even on straight line. My worry was he was having too much fun in his paddock.

I went for a second opinion.
Another vet said the problem was in the coffin joint, as it was lacking synovial fluid (I think that is the expression), he said his joint is completely dry. This vet said the problem was NOT in the collateral ligament. He injected his joint with HA and Rocky is now resting for 6-8 weeks. This wet also did nerve block, same area which again, showed just a slight improvement.

I AM SO TIRED. I love my horse to death and i don't mind if he is just a pasture ornament. I just want to do all that is in my power to get him sound again.

So does any of you have any idea what could this be?

Thank you and Rocky says thank you too.




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[Zoeypxo]

Do you have the x rays by any chance?

If it helps i have had a simular problem, althought nerve blocks were positive to the hoof then further joint blocks narrowed it down to coffin joint, collateral ligament or DDFT. Mine is sound after 6 months rest barefoot in a field.

Its trickier as yours is not so responsive to the nerve blocks, when you say slight improvement how much?

 

[RockyB]

Do you have the x rays by any chance?

If it helps i have had a simular problem, althought nerve blocks were positive to the hoof then further joint blocks narrowed it down to coffin joint, collateral ligament or DDFT. Mine is sound after 6 months rest barefoot in a field.

Its trickier as yours is not so responsive to the nerve blocks, when you say slight improvement how much?

Thank you for your answer. Id say 30% better when nerve blocked.
My vet has the xrays I will upload them in the next couple of days.
Its just very tricky, I am not sure what to do anymore. I do think with the sudden lameness and that slip it has to be the soft tissue injury.

 

[Barton Bounty]

Sadly soft tissue does take a lot longer to heal just like it does in a human. Long process to heal

 

[Zoeypxo]

Thank you for your answer. Id say 30% better when nerve blocked.
My vet has the xrays I will upload them in the next couple of days.
Its just very tricky, I am not sure what to do anymore. I do think with the sudden lameness and that slip it has to be the soft tissue injury.

February wasnt long ago in terms of soft tissue injury, usually you are looking at 6-12 months healing

 

[ycbm]

Are you insured? You really need an MRI of the foot to answer your questions.
.

 

[Starzaan]

Soft tissue injuries take far longer than just over a month to heal. You’re looking at around 12 months for soft tissue injuries.

However, I would agree with the poster above and get an MRI if you’re still concerned.

 

[ycbm]

I would expect a nerve block which had found the issue to produce a clearer result. I've read your post again and I wonder if you have two completely separate things going on. I'm suspicious that when your horse slipped on ice he pulled a deep shoulder muscle, or something like that. But he improves very slightly to a foot nerve block because he also has developing issues going on in his feet which aren't yet causing too much of an issue. Has the leg been manipulated to try to find resentment from an injury elsewhere?

Either way I'm afraid you're looking at a long slow rehab.
.