OCD Shoulder - experiences/advice please

[Battytwoll]

I am hoping to hear about any experiences any of you have had with this condition please, good or bad.

My beautiful girl has been diagnosed with OCD of her offside shoulder. Veterinary had her with him for a week in which time she had bone scintography, x-rays, ultrasound etc etc. Anyway, the results are conclusive and she has a very poorly shoulder. Her scapula is very ragged and there is a bone fragment floating in there. Arthroscopy not an option as sadly she is beyond this. She has had her shoulder injected with corticosteroids and hyaluronic acid. She appears to be slightly less lame but I understand the treatment can take a while to work.

Veterinary is coming back in 2 weeks to assess her. He has basically said its a bit of a 50/50 whether the injections will work and that if they do we are looking at between 2-6 months of soundness before reverting to lameness and more injections. She is only 10 years old and is the most beautiful and loving horse I have ever had the pleasure to meet. I am totally in love with her. However, veterinary said that her shoulder is about as bad as any he has seen (this is usually a bilateral problem with falabellas and shetlands rather than bigger horses due to breeders making them smaller) and that hers was probably caused by an accident which was not treated when she was younger. Hocks and stifles are much more prevalent and everything I have looked at has had a bias towards them and not shoulder OCD.

Veterinary mentioned PTS if the injections don't work. Or indeed if they do work initially but then cease to be effective. He also said if she comes sound and is pain free we could possibly hack sedately and if it goes really really well then we may even get a trot out of her - the only problem is although she will not feel pain, the problem will get worse.

She lives out 24/7 and is in a very happy and loving little herd of 3. She is happy, she initiates grooming of me (!) and a testament to her amazing nature, she has never tried to get anyone off even though she must have felt the pressure on her shoulder when ridden. My worry is that she will be masking discomfort so well because she is just so lovely :/

 

[Battytwoll]

Anybody please?

 

[chocolategirl]

Anybody please?

So sorry about your mare. I don't have any experience of this condition, but am going through a very similar type of thing as we speak. You could be describing my mare in your post and it brought tears to my eyes reading it. I have every sympathy with you but like me, I think you have to be prepared for the worst. Good luck and I really hope she improves. I can't imagine life without my girl but I'm starting to accept that she may never come right.

 

[MotherOfChickens]

I'm so sorry, I only have experience of stifle OCD. What helped my horse quite alot was iRAP injections-not sure if they are possible in the scapula though? Steroids had no effect with my horse's stifles but iRAP made him instantly more comfortable and after an extensive rehab (18months when I also trained and qualified in bodywork) he made a comeback into work-after an initial prognosis of field sound at best. I then sadly lost him to something completely different.

Ask about iRAP and I would then investigate some body workers that also have an interest in classical in hand work. Keeping her well elsewhere can only help her shoulder.

eta iRAP wasn't that expensive in the scheme of things-a few hundred pounds for three injections at two weekly intervals.

 

[Battytwoll]

Thank you for your reply. It's just so devastating isn't it? What is happening with your mare? You want to best by them but it's hard to know what is the best particularly when they just don't seem to show any pain. I gave her her second cartrophen injection today and she just stood there and let me do it. Such a sweet girl.

 

[Battytwoll]

So sorry about your mare. I don't have any experience of this condition, but am going through a very similar type of thing as we speak. You could be describing my mare in your post and it brought tears to my eyes reading it. I have every sympathy with you but like me, I think you have to be prepared for the worst. Good luck and I really hope she improves. I can't imagine life without my girl but I'm starting to accept that she may never come right.

Sorry I seem to have replied to you as a separate entry further down - the post asking about your mare is the one I meant to answer you with. I'm a numpty!

 

[Battytwoll]

I'm so sorry, I only have experience of stifle OCD. What helped my horse quite alot was iRAP injections-not sure if they are possible in the scapula though? Steroids had no effect with my horse's stifles but iRAP made him instantly more comfortable and after an extensive rehab (18months when I also trained and qualified in bodywork) he made a comeback into work-after an initial prognosis of field sound at best. I then sadly lost him to something completely different.

Ask about iRAP and I would then investigate some body workers that also have an interest in classical in hand work. Keeping her well elsewhere can only help her shoulder.

eta iRAP wasn't that expensive in the scheme of things-a few hundred pounds for three injections at two weekly intervals.

I am so sorry to hear about your boy. I will ask veterinary when he comes to see her next week - I hadn't heard of this and like you say, it may be awkward due to location but it's definitely worth an ask. Cost hopefully will be covered by insurance but if not, she costs me nothing otherwise so it should be financially viable. Thank you for the suggestion

 

[chocolategirl]

Thank you for your reply. It's just so devastating isn't it? What is happening with your mare? You want to best by them but it's hard to know what is the best particularly when they just don't seem to show any pain. I gave her her second cartrophen injection today and she just stood there and let me do it. Such a sweet girl.

My girl was diagnosed with facet joint degeneration in the neck in december. She was injected into the joints and I was told there were no guarantees it would work, but there had been much success as well. It did seem to work, and we started hacking out but then due to the fact she has been compensating for so long, her back then started to go into spasm. This was then treated with long acting muscle relaxant followed by water treadmill therapy. I bought her a massage pad and use it daily and everything seemed to be going ok but the last few days I feel as though her neck stiffness has returned which is what I have been dreading. This means the effect of the injections has probably already worn off which is not good news. Her only other option now is a lifetime on bute which is something I have always said I wouldn't consider. Vet is coming next week so I guess I will know for sure then. This mare is so damn stoic though, she was competing at BE90 and 100 all last year right up to the end of September and never gave us any indication there was a problem. She had 3 weeks off after her last event and then on being brought back into work for winter dressage, started tripping and stumbling quite badly so I decided to get it investigated. I couldn't believe she had been putting up with this pain for so long, it just broke my heart thinking about it. I haven't given up on her yet and I will try anything to make her more comfortable, but as its a degenerative condition, I accept it won't get any better. She's only just coming 12 and is the most beautiful kind and generous horse I have ever had the pleasure of coming across. Right now I'm praying for a miracle probably much like you are!

 

[Battytwoll]

My girl was diagnosed with facet joint degeneration in the neck in december. She was injected into the joints and I was told there were no guarantees it would work, but there had been much success as well. It did seem to work, and we started hacking out but then due to the fact she has been compensating for so long, her back then started to go into spasm. This was then treated with long acting muscle relaxant followed by water treadmill therapy. I bought her a massage pad and use it daily and everything seemed to be going ok but the last few days I feel as though her neck stiffness has returned which is what I have been dreading. This means the effect of the injections has probably already worn off which is not good news. Her only other option now is a lifetime on bute which is something I have always said I wouldn't consider. Vet is coming next week so I guess I will know for sure then. This mare is so damn stoic though, she was competing at BE90 and 100 all last year right up to the end of September and never gave us any indication there was a problem. She had 3 weeks off after her last event and then on being brought back into work for winter dressage, started tripping and stumbling quite badly so I decided to get it investigated. I couldn't believe she had been putting up with this pain for so long, it just broke my heart thinking about it. I haven't given up on her yet and I will try anything to make her more comfortable, but as its a degenerative condition, I accept it won't get any better. She's only just coming 12 and is the most beautiful kind and generous horse I have ever had the pleasure of coming across. Right now I'm praying for a miracle probably much like you are!

Oh that indeed is so very sad. I feel terrible for both of us and our lovely mares who are both far too young. And yes, looking for that miracle. I scrutinise my girl every day trying to see if she has improved or not although I am sure I am now hypersensitive to any changes as I'm looking too hard/looking for them. The only upside is that I know I will care for my girl how she deserves to be cared for. She will never leave my care however long she has left. I do so hope for both these girls that they can remain pain free and comfortable for as long as possible. My usually fairly upbeat vet was very negative about my mare's prognosis so I knew (and know) that things probably aren't looking good for anything long term. The difficulty is the knowing. My friend had a beautiful horse who she only owned for two years before she lost him to a catastrophic episode of colic so did her grieving after he died as it was all so sudden. I feel that I am doing my grieving beforehand and I need to get a grip and enjoy her as well as I can just in a different way X

 

[chocolategirl]

Yes I know exactly what you mean I feel I'm already preparing for her departure and like you I'm watching her every move . It's so emotionally draining. She looks so normal on the outside and she is so beautiful and alive it's hard to believe she is so broken.

 

[Eggshells]

I've not got experience with OCD, but my horse was diagnosed with damage to the Infraspinous and remodelling of the greater tubercle of the Humerus. His lameness was pronounced but only when going up hill or when lunged with the bad leg on the outside. This was because while there was no physical block to the leg extending forward, there was some pain and the mechanical means of doing so were compromised. He had cortisone into the bursa and joint, physio, ultrasound therapy, electric muscle stimulation and a year off work in a hilly field. Sadly the degree of lameness was as pronounced if not more so a year later. Due to various other health issues, the fact he couldn't be kept on long term bute due to propensity for high grade gastric ulcers and that he was becoming bored and dangerous in the field I made the hard decision that enough was enough and he was PTS two weeks ago. Sorry mine isn't a happier outcome. Fingers crossed you can make your mare more comfortable.

 

[Battytwoll]

I've not got experience with OCD, but my horse was diagnosed with damage to the Infraspinous and remodelling of the greater tubercle of the Humerus. His lameness was pronounced but only when going up hill or when lunged with the bad leg on the outside. This was because while there was no physical block to the leg extending forward, there was some pain and the mechanical means of doing so were compromised. He had cortisone into the bursa and joint, physio, ultrasound therapy, electric muscle stimulation and a year off work in a hilly field. Sadly the degree of lameness was as pronounced if not more so a year later. Due to various other health issues, the fact he couldn't be kept on long term bute due to propensity for high grade gastric ulcers and that he was becoming bored and dangerous in the field I made the hard decision that enough was enough and he was PTS two weeks ago. Sorry mine isn't a happier outcome. Fingers crossed you can make your mare more comfortable.

That's very sad, I am so sorry for your loss. Unfortunately I think with these types of problems PTS is eventually inevitable. My vet is usually so upbeat and I saw the warning sign when he phoned me and already mentioned PTS. He asked me if I had ever had a shoulder injury as that would give me some idea about how debilitating it is - I had a frozen shoulder for two years and I have to say it was like being stabbed. Life is poop sometimes isn't it

 

[Regandal]

Possibly of no use, but boswellia has been shown to slow arthritic changes in humans. Also has an analgesic action. Just a thought, if you were looking for something to help long term. I take the human grade stuff, and can vouch for it's effectiveness.

 

[Battytwoll]

Possibly of no use, but boswellia has been shown to slow arthritic changes in humans. Also has an analgesic action. Just a thought, if you were looking for something to help long term. I take the human grade stuff, and can vouch for it's effectiveness.

Thank you for that - my vet said that he didn't think supplements would improve her symptoms any more than the injections, however he said it wouldn't hurt to try - so I'll give that a go - I think I'll try it for me too!