My Poor lame Horse Long Story Sorry!!

[asommerville]

Any ideas on what is wrong with my horsie? At the start of April I was grooming her outside and she twisted her leg (off fore) when she turned round on the concrete. She was then lame when i rode her. I kept her in for a few days and there was no improvement, so called the vet who advised that she was a wee bit fat and had laminitis, so put her out in the fatty field, put her on a very strict diet, stopped giving her all her supplements and glucosamine (which i give her as she has a wee bit arthritis in her hocks) So after a month there was no improvement, she was still lame and was actually trotting up lame on both front legs. Got the vet up again who said it was arthritis in her near fore - so start giving her supplements again but still keep her weight down. So back to the bute and being turned out in the fatty field on her own. A week after that the big monster jumped out of the fatty field as there was not enough grass in it for her obviously!

After a week she appeared to be worse and started refusing to eat her feed with the bute in it, she actually started to become lame in walk on her near fore. Got the vet again....vet did nerve blocks and advised that she is lame in her foot, give her a week of danilon and see what happens, still no improvement...told to give her another week of danilon and if there is no improvement then to get her x rayed which is happening next week. Vet has said to continue riding her on the soft ground until we find out what is wrong.

When i bought her she was in pretty bad condition and she had really flat front feet (so flat that you could not pick them out) and i have spent a fortune getting remedial shoeing done and there has been a massive improvement, however now i am starting to suspect that she has navicular disease but the vet is really hesitant to say what it could be until she sees the x rays. She's 15 this year btw and i bought her from a dealer with no background info.

Am i just worrying about nothing? Has anyone had a horse with navicular or is there anything else that it could be? She has been lame on and off for the past 4 years but not for anymore than a few days at a time. Most specifically as soon as she was shod or if you turned her in a really tight circle. But it hasn't stopped her doing anything. I'm wondering if because she had a bad start it has maybe made her age quicker?

Does anyone have any ideas what could be wrong - I was soo looking forward to enjoying this summer with her as she did superb last year and now i am so worried about her and 2 months down the line still don't know what's wrong - I am starting to imagine the worst :-(

 

[neddynesbitt]

Really sorry to say you could well be right. My horse has navicular, sadly the only way to know for sure is to have an MRI scan. Two of my friends horses have also had MRI for suspected navicular only to discover that one has torn his DDFT inside his foot & the other has damaged his collatoral ligament. Neither of these conditions show on xrays.

My lad has navicular with bone changes visable on xray.

Please keep us posted, try to keep your chin up. When my lad was first diagnosed so many people told me to shoot him & get another!! It took a long while after trying various options ie barefoot, natural balance shoes & eggbars. My lad has come sound with eggbars but a lot of people have had great success with barefoot.

 

[asommerville]

She already has wedges with silicon pads on which are apparantly one of the best shoes for horses prone to lameness or with navicular - and she is still lame :-( Also i can't take her shoes off, as when she is shod the farrier has to take one front shoe off at a time (normally they would take them all off and leave them standing) she can't stand with no fron shoes on both feet, if she does she rears up and i need to put something under her feet.

I think she has probably always had it but for some reason it has come out now.

I feel so sorry for her as she is such a good horse and i just want her to be ok :-( and to know what it is that's wrong.

 

[Izzwizz]

You vet needs to refer your horse to an Equine Lameness clinic, as in Horsepital. She sounds to me like she needs a full lameness work up and needs to be seen by lameness experts. My mare was on off lame and sound on a straight line but not on a small circle. She was diagnosed via MRI to have a tear in her DDFT within her hoof and this wouldnt have been found by any other method. Soft tissue damage is extremely difficult to diagnose any other way. At hospital they had all the best equipment and diagnosis needs to be made sooner rather than later. I would push your vet to refer you as soon as possible so you can get to the bottom of the problem and start treatment. If it is navicular there are lots of treatments available and its not the end of the world as it used to be once upon a time.

Good luck with your horse.

 

[Box_Of_Frogs]

I'd echo Izzwizz - I'd want a referral to a specialist lameness clinic for a full and comprehensive workup to get to the bottom of the problem. I wouldn't start to panic until you know exactly what you're dealing with. And whatever happens, I'd continue with the joint support - Cosequin is superb though not the cheapest. Goodluck and do let us know how she does x

 

[doris2008]

It does sound like she really needs a proper workup at an equine vets.
My boy was diagnosed with caual foot pain due to unbalanced feet. I guess this woudl also be known as navicular syndrome as opposed to navicular disease. No changes to his navicular bone.
Xrays helped the remedial farrier properly balance his feet & roll toe type shoes was fitted. He was 100 times better within a couple of weeks, although was prescribed a low dose of bute for life for any inflammation. I was unable to get him mri'ed for financial reasons.
This was a couple of years ago, and much like your horse he had suffered intermittant lameness, and also raced as a youngster.
Since then I have removed his shoes & bute completley, and around the field he is completley sound. Roadwork is an issue, and he will need boots but his feet have improved dramatically as a result.