Nerve damage?

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GoldenWonder

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hi all

basically my horse has been lame with a short stride so had vet down and said it could be an abcess so treated it like an abcess but was still lame after 3 weeks, SO had x-rays done and confirmed no other problem so must of been the abcess (which is now all clear)

so was advised to get a shoe on and leave the week to settle and harden the foot (he has a soft sole). so its been a couple of days down the line and he started to drag that same leg with his heels digging into the ground ( if that makes sense)? oly when you ask him to back up and he lightly drags that toe when he walks?
so got vet down again and said it could be nerve damage but said to see how it goes by the end of nxt week as it could be from the abcess?

has anyone ever had a horse with nerve damage can it be a big problem in the future?? i cant seem to find much on the internet.

any info would be appreciated and thanks in advance.
 
Sorry but how can the vet just say nerve damage?
If he is not right he needs to be investigated eg nerve blocked to find the area of pain and then further investigations to establish exactly what is wrong.
If he has soft tissue damage eg ligament or tendon damage he will have clean xrays so they are no reassurance except to know that he has no bony injury.
I would either want the vet back for nerve blocks scans and maybe MRI if nothing shows or at least a proper investigation by a 2nd vet. This is all a bit vague for my liking.
Sorry but I think "nerve damage" at this stage is a bit of an odd diagnosis.
 
the vet did nerve block him and he came sound so the vet was convinced it was in the foot but he put the injections in the fetlock joint? i am all new to this so dont know much about nerve blocks ect.

sorry i forgot to mention this.
thanks for your reply
 
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Sorry but how can the vet just say nerve damage?

[/ QUOTE ]

Maybe the OP has just not written down everything the vet did when he/she visited? I very much doubt the vet got out of the car, had a quick glance at the horse across the yard and declared nerve damage as the diagnosis!
 
LMAO, you beat me to it!

An abaxial sesamoid nerve block at the level of the fetlock (not actually in the fetlock joint) blocks out the whole of the foot and the pastern and is the standard starting point for localising lameness.

I would imagine your vet has ruled out lots of things with what he has done and has suggested nerve damage as a possibility. Obviously to be sure you would need lots more investigation- I don't think there's anything specific to diagnose nerve damage so it would be more a case of ruling out everything else.

I don't really know much about nerve damage (I probably should
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) but I think some nerves can regenerate so it could be a temporary thing.
 
If you get on well with your vet why not ring them tomorrow and ask them what they think is happening and exactly what they expect the future to hold?
They will be used to people forgetting what has been said or getting muddled up (people like me
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).
If he had done all the investigations then he will be able to help you better.
mine is always very informative and is very used to having to re-explain to me
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Your vet may have done a abaxial nerve block were the local is injected at either side of the fetlock. This will block out the whole foot.
If he performed a fetlock joint block he would (should!) have clipped and scrubbed the area as it is a sterile procedure. This would only block the fetlock joint.
Hope this makes sence!
Sorry i can't help with anything else. Hope your lad is showing improvement
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the vet didnt clip or scrub the areas he injected should he have done this?? the vet i have is new so maybe i should get a 2nd opinion

thanks for your replies
 
No, no, don't worry! Clipping and scrubbing are not strictly necessary for nerve blocks, although some vets do. The local anaesthetic is injected just under the skin, so it's similar to your horse having his vaccinations (although that's into the muscle, so even deeper) and they're never clipped for that. Dottie was saying that he would have clipped and scrubbed if he'd injected into the joint, as it's essential to do this if you're going into the joint space.
 
I imagion your vet did the abaxial nerve block which wouldn't need scrubing and as minnies mum said is the general starting point for a lameness work up.
I see no reason why he would have gone straight into the fetlock joint block unless he was conviced that was the problem.
Sorry to worry you!
I think if your worried give your vet a call next week for a chat. xx
 
Try not to worry! I would say just trust your vet- often asking things on here leads to lots of people giving lots of (often) conflicting advice. After all, your vet is the one who's spent 5 long years training (I'd know, I'm 4.5 years through it!) so he's probably the one to listen to.

I find people on here are sometimes very quick to criticise vets they've never had any experience of, just because of what someone posts, and one day it might be me
crazy.gif
 
Any horse that is dragging its foot should be a big cause for concern it is not normal and needs investigation, if there is nerve damage then it should be dealt with as soon as possible so the area can be treated and give it the best chance of recovery, nerves are difficult things to rehab at the best of times and a diagnosis needs to be made as quickly as possible. a foot abscess is very unlikely to cause those symptoms, could your horse have been kicked in the field? this is the most common cause of nerve damage to the forelimb, usually you would start seeing some loss of muscle bulk at the top of the leg, have a look and feel the muscle on both sides to see if they differ. if they do then you def need to get some more treatment soon. minnies mum i appreciate your comment to trust the vet but honestly there should be more investigation being done with this horse (I also spent 4 years at the rvc doing vet med and now am an osteopath so have a very good understanding of this area)
 
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