Partial fracture to sidebone

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Mandie1603

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Hi all!! I'm new to this so bare with me!! My horse has suffered from intermittent lameness since around April then a couple of weeks ago went quite lame, after a visit to Newmarket for MRI he has a partial fracture to sidebone, his treatment is 3 wks box rest followed by 3mths ridden rest, then reasses if no improvement, next course of action can be injections or neurectomy. He currently competes at medium level BD what are his chances of a good recovery??? So worried about his future!!
Any feedback greatly appreciated.
 
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I have to say you need to seriously think about the benefits of neurectomy as mine dint go well. It does depend on how you get him fit and what else you do with him.
 
That's sounds quite dramatic to perform a neurectomy of I'm assuming a front leg due to a sidebone fracture ? I didn't think that kind of neurectomy was very common anymore. Do they not think the fracture may heal ? Is there much inflammation in the MRI and any ligament involvement ? What injections are they suggesting ? Seems very drastic treatment at this stage from what issue you are describing and obviously with a neurectomy he won't be able to compete bd again . Have they suggested remedial shoeing or prolonged rest, I've known a couple with side bone fractures that have come sound again with rest but believe there is a chance of refractures in the future if the sidebone is big
 
He's on 3wks box rest hoping that the fracture will heal followed by 3 mths ridden rest,slight inflammation and ligament involvement he's had and having remedial shoeing,I'm aware under BD rules he will no longer be able to compete affiliated but still would like to compete unaffiliated if poss.My priority is that he is pain free and happy!! he's only 9 yrs old,I agree this does sound very dramatic!!All this information re-injections/neurectomy was almost thrown at me and sent me into total panick!!! I'm happy to rest him for as long as it takes but hearing that there are success stories is reassuring as all the vet will tell me is that they are guarded about his prognosis??
 
I have a draft horse who has whopper side bones on both fronts (plus ringbone). He fractured one of his after being chased by a riggy gelding and sadly it's never really fused back. He is a heavy horse though so that works against him.

I would rest for as long as you can to give it the best chance to heal.
 
Rest fully until sound, could be longer than three weeks. Absolute correct foot balance is vital however, sidebone is abnormal and is formed in response to something, occasionally trauma, but more commonly incorrect medial/lateral balance.

Do you have any images from the investigation work?
 
I think the guarded prognosis is due to the likelihood of refracture and also if the collateral ligament is damaged this can reoccur again as it's generally caused if the sidebone is large and touching the ligament as the foot cartilages expand and contract. Your horse is still quite young for this sort of issue, has he had a hard working life ? If your not worried about time I would give him as much time off as is needed to come sound and then a good block of time once he has come sound in order to give you the best chance of him retaining long term soundness and coping with ridden work. I had a livery with pretty much same problem and he had 18months off and came totally sound but I'm afraid she moved out of the area so I don't know what happened when she brought him back into work. He was also an older horse in his late teens. What shoes have they put him in in regards remedial shoes ? Have they suggested taking shoes off whilst he's resting may be an option ?
 
He has not had a hard life only ever done training/dressage never been ridden on hard ground and always worked on a good surface in fact he's been wrapped in bubble wrap as regards to looking after his legs!! 😬 Rossdales have shod him with bar shoes which he has been wearing for a couple of years now they did not mention removing them,time is not an issue at all so I'll give him as long as he needs,Thankyou all advice is greatly appreciated.
 
Mandie1603 said:
He has not had a hard life only ever done training/dressage never been ridden on hard ground and always worked on a good surface in fact he's been wrapped in bubble wrap as regards to looking after his legs!! �� Rossdales have shod him with bar shoes which he has been wearing for a couple of years now they did not mention removing them,time is not an issue at all so I'll give him as long as he needs,Thankyou all advice is greatly appreciated.
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He has been in bar shoes since he was 7, was this after finding the sidebones originally? I would be inclined to think that having them on long term, holding the foot at an angle that it doesn't want to be at, may be why it has now fractured, sorry but they are a short term solution in my view not a long term cure, they will force the foot to conform to what the vets think is a normal foot and prevent the foot from developing to deal with what is going on, I would keep them on while he needs stability and be looking to get them off to allow the foot to balance itself, better shock absorbing properties than being shod could ever offer.

Other than that time, the vets weeks may be enough, it may need far longer, let the horse tell you how long it needs, not the vets who tend to have a time frame in mind that is rarely realistic.
 
I'm not going to get a cure with my draft, but what has worked in terms of keeping him as sound as he can be;

- 6 months off once we saw the x-rays and realised what had happened. In the paddock so he could move around, but only with my other horse to limit silly galloping.
- barefoot and he likes his toes very short. He will self-trim very short so that's what we go with now.
- the back lady visits him a few times a year and tweaks any sore spots.
- try my hardest to keep his weight down so there is less pressure on the bad leg.

He's just had the past 4 weeks off after knocking his leg and being very sore, but now seems to be very full of life so we're kicking off the in-hand work again. I do have vet approval to ride, but he has a weight limit of 10 stone including tack so there isn't too much weight on the leg.

I didn't get a follow-up x-ray, so generally judge on how he looks / feels as to what he is capable of doing. Danilon comes out when necessary.

BTW - I have found second opinions invaluable if you're not convinced you and the vet are on the same page!
 
be positive said:
He has been in bar shoes since he was 7, was this after finding the sidebones originally? I would be inclined to think that having them on long term, holding the foot at an angle that it doesn't want to be at, may be why it has now fractured, sorry but they are a short term solution in my view not a long term cure, they will force the foot to conform to what the vets think is a normal foot and prevent the foot from developing to deal with what is going on, I would keep them on while he needs stability and be looking to get them off to allow the foot to balance itself, better shock absorbing properties than being shod could ever offer.

Other than that time, the vets weeks may be enough, it may need far longer, let the horse tell you how long it needs, not the vets who tend to have a time frame in mind that is rarely realistic.
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Quite, bar shoes on a 7 year old is so medieval, why do vets keep following these ideas? Grrrr.
 
In 2015 he had x-rays for a separate incident the x-rays revealed side bone and slight imbalance so the vet and farrier said he would be better in bar shoes he has been completely sound for 2 yrs until now! I was innocently following 'professional'!! advice I have no images from the x-ray/MRI ideally I would like him barefoot but I know his hooves would break up.The more posts I'm reading seem to point at considerable rest.
 
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