Possible stifle or reverse rotational pedal bone lameness

[tinkerbelle1]

Hi, I’m looking for a bit of advice. I’ve owned my horse since he was 7 months old and backed his when he was 2 1/2 / 3 years old. He is 17hh and 6 this year. When I backed him, he wasn’t quite right, I have him about 6 months or so to mature brought him back and again still not right. He was reluctant to walk forward and trotting was a nightmare. He seemed to rush, very unbalanced with a short stride. The vet assessed him and immediately thought he had OCD in his joints. He had all the tests under the sun and turned out to be a reverse rotational pedal bone issue as he had flat feet.
After corrective shoeing, wedges and some more time off I brought him back into work, schooled lightly and hacking, started to ask for more collection and started to jump but he has gradually started to struggle. His canter has gradually got worse, bucks when I ask for canter and bunny hops in canter – his canter was always his best stride. He started to tye-up in the front after he had been ridden, but mostly after a hack, his stride was very short when I pulled him out of the stable in the morning and when he was tacked up he would shuffle out of his stable as if he had a sore back. He doesn’t show any obvious lameness but got to the point where he was stumbling and fell over. I got the vet out and he trots up sound but is slightly lame on the lunge. He is very sore across his back and lower neck, but vet reckons this is due to him having a problem elsewhere and having to over use these muscles to avoid the pain from the hind. The vet doesn’t think his lameness is due to his previous problem and is convinced it is in his stifle – possible OCD in the joint. The vet wants to do more tests at their clinic but I’m worried about going through all the expensive tests and it turns out that it’s the reverse rotational pedal bone issue again and I’m left with a hefty bill. I am insured but have claimed for the reverse rotational pedal bone issue so this has been excluded from my policy now. Can anyone help me make a decision?

 

[be positive]

A few x-rays and nerve blocks to either rule out or confirm the pedal bones are causing problems again would not be too expensive, in the overall scheme of things, that would be my first thought. Then depending on findings further investigation as required.
If it is the feet at least you know that the previous work did correct it and the outcome should be positive but make sure your farrier then keeps on top of it, regular physio would help keep him working more correctly also if he is getting sore.

 

[Nocturnal]

I would have the feet blocked first to rule out the reverse pedal bone rotation.

I disagree with bepositive, though. If it is reverse pedal bone rotation again, then obviously the treatment used last time did not solve the problem, as it has returned. I personally hate wedges, as they force the pedal bone into such an angle that a correct heel first landing is impossible. This incorrect landing of the foot puts the flexor tendon under a great deal of strain, and can lead to issues in the feet. I would instead look at the underlying reasons of why the pedal bone has rotated, and fix that instead.

Of course your vet may be right, and it is indeed the stifle. As you haven't claimed for that, your insurance should cover the bill for investigations?

 

[flintfootfilly]

Did you have bloods taken when he "tyed up in front"? And have you had any bloods taken since? It'd be interesting to see if his muscle enzymes are up, and whether it's muscular damage causing his reluctance.

Did you change your farrier when the reverse pedal bone rotation was diagnosed? If not, then I probably would change now, or at least have a second opinion from another trimmer/farrier who understands reverse rotation.

Whereabouts are you based? Just wondering because I use an excellent trimmer who is based in Derbyshire and travels up to us in Yorkshire, and to some in Lancashire too. And she was talking to me on her last visit about a reverse rotation combined with inappropriate trimming that she'd seen recently.

I would think that if the pedal bone has been at the wrong angle, that would put stresses in different leg joints and may potentially at least contribute to problems further up the leg. So I'd want to be clear on whether the stifle was going to be covered under insurance if I did decide to investigate that further.

Also, if they do find something in the stifle, is there going to be anything they can do about it? In other words, is it worth putting your horse through the investigations (and paying for it!) if it would only provide a diagnosis but not a solution? I know sometimes it just helps to know for sure what's going on, but other times it just feels like handing more money to the vet whilst still having a horse who can't be worked.

Sarah

 

[AmyMay]

Get his feet x-rayed first. Back pain often equals front feet problems.

And I'm assuming that your farrier worked from x-rays when his pedal bones were found to be rotated, to help him shoe effectively?? (And of course, he was not necessarily (if at all) to blame for the problem in the first instance.....)

 

[SusieT]

I'd get him referred personally. As he is so young you want to take him to the top guys to get the best chance of solving his problem. As current vet doesn't seem to have done much.. I wouldn't be happy with a 3yr old being unsound!

 

[soulfull]

I too would ask for a referral to a specialist equine clinic. It could be any number of things including proximal suspensory ligament. The reason I mention this is because this is similar to how my horse was except the tying up part

He was lame on front and 'off' behind. His back was sore in the same place as yours. We are hopeful the front lameness was being caused by the PSD and now surgery has been done he will be fine. fingerscrossed!

 

[tinkerbelle1]

Thank you everyone for your advice. I have unfortunately changed farrier since the last one that did the remedial work due to us moving out of his area. It was a shame because he was brilliant. I've been using an experienced guy that the vet recommends and vet reckons his feet don't look bad, but as you say an X-ray would be the best answer. My last vet said he had bad feet but she'd seen horses with worse feet that were sound. I just feel like I have been through all of this with the last vets and that we're going to through it all again and get the same result. I think I'm probably best taking him and start with the nerve blocking and then poss X-rays. Thanks again for your advice everyone!

 

[Perissa]

I spent ££££ trying to find a problem with my horse knowing that he wasn't right. He would go disunited in canter. In the end the vet suggested xraying his feet as a last resort and guess what we found. There was no sign of it from the foot balance on the outside.

I had someone on here say again and again that they will have long toe low heel conformation and I said again and again that wasn't the case with my horse.

Get him xrayed first as it could save you a lot of money in the long run.