Pedal bone rotation - question

R

RachelB

Well-Known Member
Joined
25 December 2004
Messages
6,881
Location
back of beyond
Visit site
Does pedal bone rotation HAVE to cause pain/lameness? I've had nothing much to do with my novice friend's laminitic since she came sound in July; all I know is that she had two sets of X-rays, one when she first showed laminitic signs and one once she had come sound, and both showed no signs of pedal bone rotation.
I've been riding her recently and although she's sound, when picking her feet out I noticed that her pedal bone has rotated - there is a depression a few mm below the coronary band (suggesting it's been there a while and grown down?) and the toe of her sole has become convex (both front feet). She hasn't been significantly lame since her last X-ray but I thought a horse HAD to be lame whilst the bone was rotating?
Sadly her novice owner is becoming stubborn (I am on livery with her at cheap rates so I can help out, but recently she's started not listening as much to my advice...) and would rather take the advice of her friend who has a pony that had laminitis for a week this year and treats the pony in the "old fashioned way" (forced walking, no box rest, starvation diet...) than listen to me (I have a equine degree and have done a lot of research on laminitis and the currently recommended ways of tackling the condition). Therefore her poor horse was taken out in walk and trot for 45 minutes "as normal" after her two and a half months of rest for very, very severe lami. No doubt this is what caused the rotation but that aside, I am baffled as to how the mare wasn't lame??
 
No, she's not lame (I've ridden her too and she was fine) so that is my question - I would have thought she WOULD be lame but she hasn't been. What I AM saying is that she's been rushed back into work but has NEVER been ridden/worked while lame.
Her feet have not only just shown signs of pedal bone rotation, it looks to me as if it was a few months ago (as I said I haven't had anything much to do with the mare for a long time, and she's a hairy cob so her feet are covered with feather hence not noticing the indentation of the coronary band) but obviously it has to have been between now and when she was last X-rayed as fine.
I said her owner is a novice, not stupid...
 
Ok im with you now! Think she needs to go carefull though with the riding and do it gradually. My mare had lami, and was almost sound in trot, then went down hill rapidly, & became a sinker and had to be PTS (RIP Lacey pops! x).
The depression in the hoof wall does take a while to appear after an attack so that is normal, as it will take about a year to fully grow out.
Really she should have have had another xray before riding, to make sure all was ok??
 
She did have two X-rays, one when the lami first appeared and one when she looked sound enough to be turned out again and start to work. Both X-rays showed no signs of rotation. I have been telling her owner to take it slowly, not give her so much grass (she's being strip-grazed) and not to listen to her other friend who thinks it's ok to be taking her out for 45 mins in walk and trot as a first ride... but she won't listen. Up until now I've thought she's going to get away with it but I wouldn't be surprised to see her laminitic again after this new grass growth, and have to be shot.
Did your horse show severe lameness all the way through?
 
No not all the way through, after weeks of box rest she was getting alot better, and you could hardly tell she was lame, but she was very slightly lame in trot, thats when I got her xrayed again at this point to see where she was at, and xrays showed a slight rotaion but hardly anything, so vet suggested imprint shoes, but slowly she got worse and then sunk, which was horrible, as she could hardly move.

This is when I made the hard decision to have her PTS. Vet said she could go to horse hospital, to see if she could be saved, but I could not put her through it, I could tell in her eyes it was time. And did not want her in pain any longer.
 
That must have been horrible
frown.gif

I really don't want my friend's poor mare to end up like that, but if she doesn't start listening to sense soon I wouldn't be surprised if the horse ended up PTS. It's so difficult!
 
My mare had laminitus (she had stress induced) and it eventually led to her pedal bone rotating and coming through the base of her foot
crazy.gif
frown.gif
Safe to say she was severly lame all the way through and ended up being put to sleep.

RIP Maple
frown.gif
 
Yes it was horrible, but she is free of pain now, and I know I did the right thing. Just miss her loads. Just wish a cure could be found.
They found a cure for laminitis in cows, just takes a injection and hey presto...sorted!?
confused.gif
 
I remember your original posts about this and thought the owner had realised that you were talking sense and that she should take notice of you. What a pity she has got this far only to risk it all.

From my experience (happy one as horse recovered well) and from all the info I got from vet, farrier, Lami Trust etc, the laminae take a whole year to grow down properly together (sorry you probably know that) so until then the bone is not supported properly, so I agree it sounds as if a jolly good walk and trot ride has done the damage.

As for pain, as most of the pain in laminitis is from the swelling and break down of the laminae, then as she is past that stage maybe the actual rotation is not painful in itself? Just mulling that over, can ask my vet friend when I see her. My pony has convex toes, as a result of the rotation, and he gets foot sore without shoes, and is hopeless walking on even little bits of gravel, but it is how his feet are now and doesn't seem to give him any pain. So maybe if the bone rotates after the lami attack due to lack of support, it isn't painful in itself.

But in the longer term, sounds like a recipe for disaster. Think if she carries on trotting the bone will drop further and possibly founder, which is much worse. Can you point out the depression and the concave sole, or suggest for peace of mind she has one last set of xrays done? Is she insured, so hopefully she might agree to that option? Could you phone her vet and/or farrier, and get them to phone/drop in to see how mare is doing? Anyone on the yard need a flu/tet jab and so vet just happens to be passing?

Sorry, no answers, just typing and thinking here...
 
Thanks Llewelyn, those are my thoughts too. She is very much a novice and really needs to keep the mare on full livery, but gets upset when people try to tell her things she doesn't want to hear
crazy.gif

Luckily the other lady who has her horse there also has the same farrier as her... she is going to "have a word" with him. I can guarantee nothing I say will make any difference but if it comes from her farrier hopefully it might sink in! I've already upset her by asking her not to leave her hot, sweaty horse un-washed in the field at nightfall when it's getting cold at night... She is learning all the time and would never intentionally harm her horse, but she's not very horse-savvy
frown.gif

Depending on what the farrier says I may try to suggest more X-rays. Money isn't an issue, it's getting through to the owner that it's necessary that's the trouble!
 
sounds like she needed upsetting !!
it was going to get a chill as well as everything else.
Poor Horse !! hope she listens to the farrier .

it's hard to say nothing when it the horses comfort and well being is a concern .
 
I am very interested in what happened to your friends horse, as my boy has laminitis and I am trying so hard to gain all the information about it that I can about it. Hope it all went well but please let me know if possible. Thankx
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top