PLEASE Help- fetlock sprain/ possible carteledge damage?

[clairencappelli]

please bear with me this is going to be long.

Almost 3 months ago my horse came in from the field with a very hot and swollen fetlock joint. I call the vet out the next morning and he wanted her in for a scan as he thought it could be tendon. The scan revealed no tendon or ligament damage and advised box rest for a few weeks. She got no better so i then the another vet keren came out and we took her back to the vets and she was still 2/10ths lame on the straight and very lame on a circle. She injected the joint with some local anesthetic and she seems a bit more comfortable but still lame. So they took xrays to look for a bone chip these to showed nothing

There was a lot of fluid in the joint capsule which you could see bulging so she drew some off while it was numb and sent it of for testing to see if it had any carteledge fragments lose in the synovial fluid. It came back showing nothing but synovial fluid. So we assuemed it was a very nasty sprain and to give her furtherbox rest and in a weeks time take her back for a hydrocloric and sterriod joint injection which we did. She had a futher 4 weeks box rest ( so been in for 6 weeks now but when i was there i turned out out in a small elecetric taped pen so graze no bigger than her stable as she became very withdrew ).

She looked to come sounds and the leg looked good so vets said bring her back into work. I was so careful and only walked but the leg didnt hold and swelled again.

The vet said ok dalion again for another 4 days to blast the joint and stabled and night and in her fenced off pen during the day. The vet said if shes not 100% better in 3 weeks we will have to call in the orthopedic surgeon as there could be cartledge damage but it didnt show as she has have cut a flap in it and not broken it off so maynot have show in the test of fragments.

Well the vet is due out this thursady but the swelling goes up and down but never goes right down. Its always worse in the moring but some night like last night there was lots fo fluid in the joint again.

So its looking like they will be taking her in to but a scope into the joint to find out why it wont heal.

Does anyonce have any pearls of wisdom to offer me or had this happen to them.

I feel like all ive done has been for nothing and im worried sick at the thought of my beatuiful Tb having to go throught surgery but i have no other choices now.

If anyones has been throught this of similar it would be great to hear your stories and how long your horses took to recover from surgery.

My horse hasnt taken well to doing nothing and loves her work and is being a bit irratic and ive had to write off 3 months so far and am wondering how much longer this will drag on for. I just want my baby girl back to health

Im sorry its so long- but i do feel better for sharing it and i know you HHO'ers may be able to advise if you have been throught this of similar.

 

[foraday]

My horse had similar but vet sent horse to hydrotherapy spa and 6 weeks later sound horse.

xrays and scans proved nothing.

Good luck

 

[lastresort]

Hi there. Dont give up. My mare was jumping and landed badly on her fetlock and first i was told digital tendon, scanned , nothing, so xrays nothing, 2/10 lame on leg without bute so was told 4 weeks box rest and it was prob ligament but couldnt be 100% sure as nothing showed anywhere. Anyway she due back to vets on 25th but she is now sound. She has had Aquavlan injections and out in the day in at night with magnetic wraps. My horse was so lame when she did it she held her leg off the ground. Dont ask me why or how but she seems 4 weeks on ok. Hopefully can bring her back into work slowly when i have been back. My YO says sometimes they do things and seem bad and just a bit of rest and common sense is all they need Obviously your situation is different but you may find that its a similar injury to mine. the vet said its so hard when they can find anything on xray or scan and almost implied they were guessing??
How old is your horse and what does she do. I believe like with humans that how well they are before an injury makes a difference to the healing time. I would not consider surgery without looking into other options Hydrotherapy is fab and seems to be 100% with everyone i know who has used it

 

[clairencappelli]

Cappelli is 13 and i do a bit of everything on her.

I dont think anymore rest will help as shes now been rested for almost 12 weeks and even with the joint injections have not sorted it out and the infusion is more filled than ever with synovial fluid.

As far as im aware there is no hydrotherepy spar anywhere around here and it might help a bit i suppose but it wont cure it.

I spoke to another vet this morning as when i got down the yard there was more heat in the leg. The other vet looked at her notes and said she think the leg must be scoped now as anything more simple would have been sorted by the treatment she has had. They said they need to take a look now as there are no other options.

She is either going in for surgery this week or next week and i def think its the right thing to do now. Its not something i cherish the thought of but she is otherwise fit and healthy and the vets are fab so she is in good hands.

Im hoping they find whats causing the problems and are able to fix it. The vet said often with these injuries cartledge breaks off of has a flap cut in it so thats that they are going to llook at and take a good look around the joint while she is under.

 

[Allykat]

Huge hugs Claie

I've not had any experience of this so sadly I can't offer words of wisdom.

You know where I am if you need a shoulder xx

 

[cyearsley]

Hi, is your vet from Bell Equine? If so, did you know they have a hydratherapy spa at Bell Equine, run independently but based at the yard. Its expensive but my insurer pays upto £1000 towards alternative treatment if recommended by a vet. You can also keep them at the spa if not convenient to transport as they offer livery. If it is Bell then your vet Karen is my vet and is superb but my horse is under Emanuell at the moment who is possibly the lameness specialist she mentioned - if your not under Bell then you must be near-ish to it because I see you're from Kent? Emanuell and Karen recommended the spa for my boy for the 2 weeks following his tendon strain and it has removed any swelling and my horse actually enjoyed going in there in the end- bless! PM me if you want any further details and good luck PS If it is Bell ask your vet about the spa

 

[clairencappelli]

Thanks for that!

Im with newnham court vets but i have a lorry so could get her to bell but it depeneds on the costs as insurance will only pay out upto 5 k but after the surgery there should be 1500 isk left on the claim but im wary about using too much of that up incase she needs any further treatment.

Can you claim that on top of your 5 k treatment? Im with NFU who have so far been amazing.

The surgeon is called david and is coming in from essex he is a arthroscope specialist.

I dont know if my horse would go into a small space- she wont go in the stocks and wont go into a trailer so may not get her in but its worth asking about.

 

[cyearsley]

NFU will pay upto £5000 towards vets bills but also an additional £1000 for alternative therapy so this is completely seperate which is fantastic news.
You're right, NFU are superb and wouldn't use anyone else. My horse wasn't sure about the spa at first, for the first time they sedate so that it's a pleasant experience and they may sedate them a second time if needed but mine was ok the next time. They're used to racehorses which can't be sedated and told me they've never actually had ahorse that they've not managed to get a horse in. Mine had a chifney on for one of two times but then used to stroll in with a headcollar on in the end!
Good luck and PM me if you need the spa details or contact them via Bell.

 

[FigJam]

Gosh- reading your story was as if I'd written it myself!

I completely feel your pain.

Sadly, I'm a step behind you with my mare at the moment. To sum up, she went lame middle of March, swollen fetlock. Bute and box rest eased the lameness but swelling was still there. As she was sound after a month box rest, the vet let us start walking her out in hand.

All good, progressed to walk-hack for 15mins at a time (straight lines, solid surfaces only) after a couple of weeks and was just progressing to tiny bits of trot in straight lines when she went lame again.

So vet now wanted to have a closer look- into Horsepital for ultrasound, x-rays and local anaesthetic on the joint. Same as your's. No big tendon damage found with scans (good!), vet reckons enlarged annular ligament pressing on tendon sheath and so keeping the swelling up.

More strict box rest, then the steriod etc injections a couple of weeks later followed by yet more box rest. Brings us up to today where thankfully the swelling has all but disappeared. Vet is due back out next week to check up on her and advise whether we can start back at square 1 again with the straight line walking in-hand etc and build from there.

If she goes lame again when brought back slowly, the vet has said that scoping is the next attempt.

Sorry I can't offer any constructive advice, just wanted to let you know you're not alone and I feel your pain/frustration. My poor girl has been cooped up on box rest for months now and I desperately wish I could explain to her why. She's been so good as well.

I'm with NFU also and they are indeed fab. Thank goodness for insurance!