SI and suspensory damage plus pedal bone rotation,help!

molly7886

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Also in Veterinary-experiences good & bad please

To cut long story short, my lovely boy has been 'not quite right' behind (but not lame) for a while and has now been diagnosed with ALL the above via x-rays and bone scans.
Plan of action with vet at the moment is- 6-8 weeks off work, remedial shoes for feet, shock wave therapy and Cartrophen injections for ligaments and continue physio before he's ridden again. Vet is guarded about what he may/may not be able to do in future.
It was so much to take in that I failed to ask a lot of questions (will do when I next speak to vet) but in the meantime I would appreciate anyones knowledge/experience of the above conditions & treatments, either in isolations or as a combined package. Thanks
 

elsiex

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How was his SI problem diagnosed? What made you investigate if he wasn't lame?

I suspect my mare has SI issues, she is the same, not lame but sometimes throws an uneven stride behind.
 

molly7886

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He became unhappy & reluctant going down hill- short stride, dragging his toe also stiff into canter and just not powering through as much. Was a bit sticky sj (but inevitably thats down to me) but knew something was wrong when he stopped at a couple of tiny xc schooling fences as he is usually fab xc.
Had general lameness work up (only slightly short after flexion tests) but lots of pain when physio manipulated the SI area. I had hock x-rays initially to rule any arthritic changes out that may have been contributing. After several sessions of physio, he was a lot less sore but still not tracking up/as powerful as he used to be I had bone scans done that confirmed the SI region as a problem area. With the other issues it looks like that is a secondary condition caused by hoof/leg issues. Hope that makes sense
 

ihatework

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It sounds to me like you have a serial 'knock-on' effect type of situation, most likely stemming from initial foot balance issues.

If the foot balance is out it puts strain higher up the limb and you then get the back/SI pain.

Now I'm not a vet or an expert in any way, haven't seen the test results and don't know the true extent of the damage, but my generalised thoughts on these types of cases are that the horses can and do come back into a reasonable level of work, but you do need to manage them carefully.

Performance/soundness at higher levels of competing I'd be more guarded about.
 

molly7886

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Thanks ihatework, It's definately a case of each condition having an adverse affect on the others. He's a bit of a tough old boot (for a TB) & I just wish he'd given me more of a clue that he was so crook!
Neither of us have the courage/ability to compete at top level! He's a nice grassroots type of horse, so I'd be happy if we can do some local RC stuff, although if he is destined to be a happy hacker I can live with that as he's the nicest boy to deal with and I've had lots of fun doing just about everything with him.
 

barneyhunter

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My boy has exactly the same (except pedal bone) - symptoms were very similar and as he is a grumpy sod most of the time and very spooky it has probably taken longer than I would like to realise something is wrong.

He has now had 6 weeks standing in (well climbing the stable walls to be precise), 2 shock wave treatments, cortizone (sp) into SI, and next week vet will do more shock wave and assess him. She is very guarded (he is a SJ tured want-to-be-eventer) and thinks I will need to do 2 months work inhand (!) then 2 weeks under saddle before he can be turned out and then a further 6 weeks walking. We won't know fully if all the treatment, physio and special shoeing has helped until back up to competition fitness so about 6 months from now!!!

I have no idea how we will do all the walk work in hand and under saddle as we are on a very small yard and to lead him off the yard would be suicidal so he will be walking circles around the muck trailer and he is so spooky to hack and is so easily wound up (until in full work and turnout) that I think some major drugs for him and me will be on order!!!

He could never be a happy hack so we are double crossing our fingers for him as I'm not sure the future looks very rosy for him if it doesn't work.
 

molly7886

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I'm lucky in that my vet is encouraging mine to be turned out (small level paddock) as he says it will be beneficial for him to be able to move around (although preferably no acrobatics, hand brake turns and skidding!!) Mine is a box walker so wouldn't get much 'rest' if he was kept in, having siad that though when he had to have some box rest previously he adapted to it very well. Apart from the odd 'moment' he's very chilled, a real dude and doesn't get to wired. You have my sympathy & best wishes Barneyhunter, as at least mine is a 'good patient' (hope that hasn't tempted fate) so I hope you can get yours right enough to do his job
 

barneyhunter

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Molly - good luck with yours too. We are in Surrey too so look out for a large grey WB doing lots of zigzags and manic leaps around the countryside. To be fair to him he has been as bad as I thought, but having taken him across the yard twice to tie up out of the sun I know what I have in store - I instantly regretted moving him and hope that it didnt put his recovery back. He is a idiot in the field (we never turn him out with others) so he is probably safest inside - just not for me!

Good luck with your boy, there is loads of conflicting views out there. I know that if my horse can canter properly on both reins after all this treatment then he is fine. If he can't then he is broken and as much as he loves jumping, it helps if we can canter!! Out of interest, who is your vet?
 

molly7886

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Molly - good luck with yours too. We are in Surrey too so look out for a large grey WB doing lots of zigzags and manic leaps around the countryside. To be fair to him he has been as bad as I thought, but having taken him across the yard twice to tie up out of the sun I know what I have in store - I instantly regretted moving him and hope that it didnt put his recovery back. He is a idiot in the field (we never turn him out with others) so he is probably safest inside - just not for me!

Good luck with your boy, there is loads of conflicting views out there. I know that if my horse can canter properly on both reins after all this treatment then he is fine. If he can't then he is broken and as much as he loves jumping, it helps if we can canter!! Out of interest, who is your vet?

I actually moved from Surrey a while back (most update my thingy) & I am now literally 5 mins from Liphook Horsepital so I use Stuart Duncan there. I know they're pretty expensive but the fact that I can pop him in the trailer (horse, not vet that is!!) saves me a load on call out fees & they can do everything on site.
 

barneyhunter

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Aha, slightly jealous that you have Liphook on your doorstep. We took mine to Arundel for the bone scan as Liphook quoted twice the price!! Liphook is a hour away in the lorry and Arundel 1 hr 40 mins so it was worth the trip as it meant that I can now spend more of my insurance money on shock wave etc. However I've prob spent the difference on call outs for my vet to come and do the treatments!

Good luck, let me know how you get on
 

EllieK

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My chap has similar (not pedal bone but pants front feet). For him it was almost certainly feet caused back caused suspensory. Back in full normal work most of the time managed accordingly. Has occasional set backs if worked on soft ground/ surfaces and if he is being a bit of a lala and spooking lots with twisting on his back legs. Good luck - stay positive as others have already said with the right management most can come back in to work!
 

molly7886

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Thanks for responses, I'll try to be quietly optimistic (without getting my hopes up too high!)
It'll be interesting to compare notes with barneyhunter, lets hope that despite their different characters we can both get them how we would like them to be- happy and comfortable in their job
 
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