Possible Collateral / DDFT / Navicular in Front Foot

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Gorgeous George

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Feeling quite down at the moment, George has been recovering really well from his PSD op on his hindlegs back in July, but for the last 6 weeks he has been having further problems with his front leg. Vet noticed an almost imperceptible problem with it at the same time as his psd diagnosis and along with xrays and a nerve block diagnosed a coffin joint strain. Whilst he was rehabbing from the psd we had him in heartbar shoes in the front and all was going well and come January we cantered for the first time since May and I was over the moon. Then he went lame again in front.

Vet found a corn, possibly from the heartbars or simply grit washed in from all the wet, healed well and seemed ok, but then lame again, so vet suggested now was the time to medicate the coffin joint as we always intended to do, but unfortunately 3 weeks later he is no better. So vet back yesterday, blocked the back of his foot and he came sound. Without an mri there is no way of knowing what is going on and unfortunately my insurance company decided that this injury was as a result of his psd so won't let me claim and I can't afford an mri. The vet thinks it could be collateral ligament, DDFT, navicular changes or something else in the foot area.

Our plan of action is to field rest him for 3 months and then see how he is, but we are now talking about getting him hacking sound. I am completely gutted, not about the hacking sound (although that is a disappointment), but more because we may not even get him that sound. I am seriously considering taking off his shoes as this might be the ideal time for him to get used to being shoeless and I understand it could make the world of difference to his prognosis, but I have reservations, he has huge flat feet, they are really tough, but flat and have very little heal at the back (sorry I don't know the correct term). I tried him without hind shoes to assist with his psd recovery, but he struggled so much that I ended up having them put back on because he needed to be doing regular controlled exercise. I do and did have him on a hoof friendly diet, he also has turmeric to help his joints and respiration (he also has RAO), I have also read the Rockly Farm website inside out, but just don't know if I can manage the transition at home and I certainly can't afford to send him there.

Any advice, ideas appreciated - thanks.
 
Oh dear, I really feel for you, how long did you try the barefoot for, did you try any boots to help him? I'm sure the good bf mafia of hho would be able to help if you posted some pics of his feet. :) his 3 months field rest sounds like an ideal time to give bf another go

I would query your insurance company though, how has the psd and treatment caused this, it seems a bit ridiculous? And if the treatment can be proved that it caused these problems, doesn't that mean your vet is liable? Sorry sounds fishy to me, which insurance company is it?

If he isn't right after 3 months of field rest, I would give him another 3 months, horses need more time than modern medicine dictates IMHO
 
Field rest is not the right answer for a lot of these horses. They need movement. Barefoot rehab can be done at home but you may need to treat the horse like a dog and do a lot of miles on the end of a lead rope.

Do not despair. There are so many horses at the Rockley Rehab Reunion every year that they hire an entire equestrian centre!!
 
Vet said movement was important, but didn't want him hand walked yet, not sure why? Thanks for yr positive reply, I won't give up on him.

Stencilface the insurance company say the front leg problem was caused by him compensating because of the psd, so no fault of my vet at all. I am in contact with them to see if they'll budge, but neither me or vet hopeful.
 
Did the vet say that the recommended course of action for either of those 3 conditions was 3 months field rest? I think I would speak to the vet first about taking the shoes off; when mine had PSD op I had the hind shoes removed because I didn't want the stress of him being shod behind however as soon as he was in work I kept them on as I did not want any lameness that might be related to the PSD disguised by footiness/sore feet. Now I am terrified to take back shoes off (he coped for years just being shod in front) as it has taken me 2 yrs to get him sound(ish) and I don't want to break him again.
 
Gorgeous George said:
Vet said movement was important, but didn't want him hand walked yet, not sure why? Thanks for yr positive reply, I won't give up on him.

Stencilface the insurance company say the front leg problem was caused by him compensating because of the psd, so no fault of my vet at all. I am in contact with them to see if they'll budge, but neither me or vet hopeful.
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How do they prove that?'
 
Just a word of caution, if it is collateral ligament damage then that needs complete rest - box rest. Only an MRI scan will confirm it. If you are uninsured then the equine hospital usually do it cheaper. I paid about £600. I wish you luck and hope you get him sound again.
 
Isn't it a mindfield, I am so confused. I will ask the vet again about what treatment he would recommend if we knew what was wrong, but he seemed to imply that the mri would be helpful in that we would know what was wrong but it wouldn't change the treatment greatly, but it seems that may not be the case. Zuzzie, can I ask where you had your mri done, £600 might be doable.
 
Please have a look at my horses story on Rockley - his main problems were ddft issues,impar ligament issues, start of problems with navicular bone,pedal osteitis and bone bruising and suspicious collateral ligament (mri were inconclusive as to whether they were a lameness causing issue)- yes he did it properly :) He is nearly three months home from Rockley,barefoot and just starting small canters in the school - it can be done - if you need a chat just shout
 
Mine was at Rockley as well with ddft, collateral ligament and DSIL strain. We did months of box rest and everything else suggested but it didn't help. He needed the right sort of work to come right.

I can understand how daunting it can be to do it alone though, I would be looking for a reasonably local trimmer who has experience in rehabbing these sort of injuries to support you through the process.
 
Zuzzie said:
Just a word of caution, if it is collateral ligament damage then that needs complete rest - box rest. Only an MRI scan will confirm it. If you are uninsured then the equine hospital usually do it cheaper. I paid about £600. I wish you luck and hope you get him sound again.
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No it doesn't.

Horses go to Rockley all the time with collateral ligament damage. They are never box rested.
 
Mine had a ddft injury in foot and had hock spavins and stifle arthritis behind. The ddft injury was diagnosed in 2012. I rehabbed him myself barefoot at home, he is now moving better than ever behind and is sound in front. We are back in full work and hoping to event again this year. It can be done 😀
 
Movement is the answer for any form of foot damage. Also going BF can be the answer.

The frog and the bulbs of the heel need to be stimulated and this can not be done with shoes on. I would find yourself a good Equine Podiatrist that will help you succeed in going BF. It may be that you will need some boots but they are well worth getting.

My own Arab mare is now going down that line. She was diagnosed in May 2012 (via MRI) with Navicular and damage to the Coffin joint. We went down the vet line of Egg bar shoes and Medication but in June last year I took her shoes off. To start with she was trimmed by my farrier but for the last month she has been done by a Equine Podiatrist. She is walked every day with boots on with some special pads in them, these are helping her build a better heel. Although we have a long way to go I am sure that she is more comfortable.

If you think of people with Arthritis they are stiff if they do not move around. Horses should live out.

It would be worth looking at the horses diet too as this is as important with BF as the rehab itself.
 
I would query the insurance co. on their assumption that the psd caused the forefoot lameness. In my experience vets are good at explaining to insurance companies that A did not cause B, even if there may be a partial relationship.

For example, friends horse had check ligament strain, then a year later, impar ligament strain in the same leg/foot. Vets made sure that their report worded so that the insurance did pay for an MRI for the impar lig. Horse now sound.
 
Thank you for your positive stories, they make me realise there is still hope! I have emailed Nic at Rockley, to see if she has any advice, but I'm guessing she is rather busy!

Criso & toomany horses, which are yours on the rockley blog? So glad for you that things are improving.

I've looked at G's diet & he is now on a hoof friendly one, including pro earths pro balance, linseed, low sugar etc.
 
When something similar to this happened to me .
I box rested twelve weeks then turned out and started walking .
The horse came sound .
I saved the cost of the expensive diagnostics but we never knew what was wrong which was not a nice feeling .
 
Mine is Frankie who was there in 2010. He came sound enough to jump and was in full work however about 18 months ago he developed a very rare bone cyst in his shoulder so is now just a field ornament.
 
OP - I managed to rehab mine at home barefoot after diagnosis of hind limb PSLD, navicular, bilateral spavin and arthritis of the fetlock. She is sound, in work now after being told the prognosis was "guarded" when I brought her home from hospital. Mine had three months off work with just an hour or just over of turnout each day to keep her sane. She is fantastic to long-rein, so I started long-reining her on the roads with front hoof boots on. We started off with 10 minutes a day, then after six weeks she was doing about an hour. I then took the hoof boots off and did the same long-reining for six weeks barefoot - started off at 10 mins per day and then built up to about an hour or over in six weeks. I then hacked her out in hoof boots for six weeks and then took her completely barefoot. It worked. :)
 
As another person whose horse was diagnosed with the same problems that you may have, can say that box rest did not help our girl at all.

She has been lame for 12 months and in that time we tried very treatment available with no success.

She had her shoes off and went to Rockley in November last year like everybody else says it is a slow process but she is now doing some road work.

The prognosis that we were given by the vet was either pts or denerve and never ride her again, as she is only 7 we had nothing to lose by trying something different. So glad that we did.

She is on Rockley's blog under the name of Brigitte, if you look at her videos you can see the difference that it made to her in a very short space of time. She is still a work in progress but now we have a little light at the end of the tunnel so there is always hope.
 
Sorry this is a late reply. I took him to the Royal Veterinary College in Hatfield, Hertfordshire.It was a couple of years ago so the price has probably increased. However, you could ask your vet to inquire from the hospital how much it would cost and get him to emphasise that you are not insured.
 
My horse had psd in both hinds and collateral ligament damage in one front.
He had an MRI paid for by insurance however both the psd and collateral ligament injury also were taken as one claim.
Treatment was irap, box rest with I hand walking that slowly increased over a period of time, and a rehab program.
He had shoes on after the MRI as the vet wanted the foot supported. Is now sound
 
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