Ringbone

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Layla77

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Hello,

Admittedly i haven't read through the forum so if this has been posted before please excuse me for the repeat.

I brought a horse 2 weeks ago, was very silly and didn't get him vetted, i trusted his 'owner'

I since found out she was a dealer and since i have had him he has got progressively lame. (wasn't lame when i rode him which makes me think he was drugged)

I called my vet out and he has diagnosed ring bone.

I have had no joy from the person who sold me him and i am currently in the process of taking her to small claims court, the RSPCA are also involved.

I wasn't going to keep him but he has found his way in to my heart in a very short space of time, I want to make sure he is well cared for and as happy as he can be, so im now looking at ways that i can manage his condition.

My vet is going to be phoning me tomorrow to discuss options but i wondered if i could get any info from fellow horse suffers first.

He seems to be worse in the mornings when i turn him out, I think being in his stable over night does make him a bit stiff, Once he is out and walking about in the field he looks out. I cant turn him out 24/7 on my yard as the other horses are stabled at night and he doesn't like to be on his own.

Can he be ridden??? Light hacks? i have heard corrective shoeing might help? any supplements anyone can advice??

Or is my boy a lost cause.

Any help/advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance

xx
 
I used to ride a horse with ring bone , he hunted, hacked and did advanced level dressage. He was on glucosamine and winergy medium I think. He was 14 when he was sold and still hasn't had any lameness issues. Good luck
 
Thank you Lurcher, Sounds promising, Im boy is 16, i have a rescue center looking in to his background for me and my farrier is coming out on Monday to have a look at what he can do.

I will look in to those supplements.

Im not a big rider to be honest, I only walk and trott and maybe pop the odd low log, but i want to make sure i dont put him through any pain

x
 
My boy was diagnosed with ringbone when he was 10. There are different ringtones, some are worse than others, and TBH I don't that much about them. Vet told me, that where Mac's is, once it was fully formed, wouldn't give him that much trouble. He is a happy hacker, walk, trot canter. Does a few fun rides a year. We don't really jump him, but do pop the odd logs on hacks, and do the odd jumps on fun rides. He is now 16, has the odd bute as when needed, but he does also have arthritic hocks now. Turnout is the main thing. He lives out all summer, stabled overnight in winter. He is noticeably stiff in the mornings during winter.

He loves his life at the moment, and is managed on a day by day basis. He does have a joint supplement. Have also found, keeping his weight down helps a lot.
 
Thank you :)
Yes the vet told me there was 2 different types and without an x ray he couldnt tell me how bad it is, thats a route i dont want to go down yet untill i have more information.
Unfortunatly he is carrying a lot of extra weight so im trying to control his diet so see if that helps but its ealy days at the moment
x
 
My horse was diagnosed with high ringbone, DJD and side bones in her RF in January 2012 with xrays. The vet said she would be a light hack at most. She is barefoot and had steroid injections into the joint the day she was diagnosed. He said to put on remedial shoes but myself and the farrier decided against this. She had a few months off but became unmanageable so I decided that quality was better than quantity for her as she doesn't cope well without work and bought her slowly back into work. We hacked for a year and she came completely sound with 1 bute a day. When we went back in the September for the follow up the vet suggested we tried Tildren as she was and ideal candidate. Since that day we haven't looked back! She is no longer on bute, just has glucosamine supplement everyday, and she does everything any other horse does except lunging and jumping. She hacks for miles, school work, charity rides and we have just started doing some dressage which she actually seems to be very good at! I keep her weight slightly below perfect and am careful on the ground she is worked on (nothing too hard or deep). She had a second dose of Tildren in september just gone as the vet figured we may as well top it up before the insurance claim ran out.
From what I have read, each horse reacts differently and its just a case of finding what is right, same as Tildren can do wonders for one horse yet nothing for another. My mare is 15 now and completely sound with no bute at all. She lives out 24/7 in summer and is in at night during winter. On really cold nights I put stable chaps on to help keep her joints warm which seems to help.

If you want to pm me then feel free!
 
I would strongly recconend that you have him xrayed, so that you know the extent of the ringtone at the moment, it is likely to become worse as he ages but you can still keep him comfortable and there's no reason why you can't keep him in work and have a happy life together, with the right management!
X-rays will also help your farrier shoe him correctly for the best support, and you may wish to look at barefoot options (lots of barefoot advocates on here I'm sure will advise!) you may need to keep him on low dose of bute to keep him pain free and reduce any inflammation, especially in cold weather. I'd also try and manage his diet so that it is high fibre and as low sugar as possible and yes, getting weight off him will help his joints! Consider putting him on a good joint supplement too, I've had success with cortiflex but what works for one might not work for another! Lots of great advice on here if you do a search for ringbone xx
 
Thank you all so much for your replies, Its really given me hope.

He is such a sweet boy so i want the best for him.

Im going to speak to my vet about getting an xray done, unfortunately because i have only just got him i haven't yet got him insured so i will probably have to fit the bills myself! Eekk!! Im going to look in to insurance but im not sure i will get it now he has this?

With regards to food, Im not sure what he was on before but i am only giving him 2 hay nets a day plus grazing, and maybe a hand full of chaff in the evenings if he appears really hungry.

Is this the right thing to do? I have been reading about balancers for overweight horses, Its all very confusing!

Thanks

x
 
I'm by no means an expert here, I'm sure others will chime in! But for what it's worth, if he were mine, I'd be soaking his Haynets for at least 3 hours in clean water - this reduces the sugar (and therefore calories) in the hay but means he'll still have fibre going through his system. I feed top spec top chop lite chaff and top spec 'anti lam' feed balancer as its low calorie but contains all the vits and minerals my horse needs. If you soak hay you'll need a decent low calorie feed balancer. Essentially getting weight off a horse is the same as human, decrease input and increase output so excersize is important as well as high fibre low calorie diet. I'm a big fan of top spec feeds, have a look at their website for advice.
Re insurance, you'll find that most insurance companies will exclude all ringbone related claims now that a vet has diagnosed it, unfortunately. And if you try to insure him without informing them of his condition it will mean they refuse to pay out in future as they will ask for his medical notes from the vet anyway.
He's lucky to have found you and a home where he's looked after! There are some charlatans out there when it comes to selling horses! Prepare to have a big hole in your bank account...welcome to horse ownership ;) x
 
Thanks :D

So soak the hay, get a lite balancer and chaff, i will also get supplements.

With regards to exercise, i will have to speak to my vet tomorrow but i will start taking him on walks down the lane via lead rope until i know i wont hurt him to sit on him.

I have just insured him this minute, I haven't declared the ringbone as without an Xray to confirm it, I will probably pay for the first Xray myself and if he does need further treatment i will approach them then, if they wont pay then so be it, at least he is insured for other stuff.

x
 
Totally agree with rjd84 with regards to the xrays, you need to know which type of ringbone and also if his feet need certain balancing. My mare is pidgeon toed so my farrier spoke with my vet who advised how she should be trimmed, and she is to be trimmed strictly every 6 weeks.
Once you know what you Are dealing with you can then adjust his management to suit you both.
also another vote for topspec feeds! My mare has recently gone on to their top chop, cool balancer, and cool condition cubes and is looking and feeling fantastic on this. When I was getting her weight down (she was also overweight when diagnosed) I soaked her hay.
 
Thanks guys, Its lovely to have so much support :)

Any ideas on the cost of Xrays? lol Im guessing he will have to go in to have it done

x
 
Getting the xrays done will allow you to have a much clearer idea of what you are dealing with and what treatment will be best, they can be done at your yard if the vet has a mobile machine, many have digital ones that can be processed immediately and mean that you have no risk of any not coming out clearly, they are around £40 per plate and I would think you need no more than 4, one from each angle possibly less.
 
When I had my boys front feet xrayed a couple of months ago the vet did them at the yard as we have electric and the bill came to around £300, that included vet visit with vet nurse, X-rays of two feet (don't know about plates and angles as mine were for pedal bone) sedaline, and injection of high dose painkiller along with blood test, so your costs may be slightly less x
 
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