Side Bone???

[clydesdale]

My mare has been diginosed with a fractured sidebone she is a clydesdale so side bone is apparently quiet common in the heavy horses was just wondering if anyone else had experiance of side bone??

 

[PolarSkye]

Hi . . . Kal has it in both front feet and vet reckons it isn't contributing to his lameness (that would be the holes/lesions in his navicular bones). As I understand it, sidebones don't generally cause a problem. Any vets on here care to shed some light?

P

 

[clydesdale]

thankyou just interested to hear other people storys she was lame at first but i think this was due to her fracturing the sidebone she currently has egg bar shoes on and is on a good couple of months rest for it all to heal and settle down. my vet has advised we just gotta wait to see weather she will be able to return to full work or not she is only 6 years old and has a very easy life so far mainly just happy hacking

 

[clydesdale]

 

[moorman]

Sidebone is ossification of the lateral cartilages, in crude terms the wings that are attached to the pedal bone have turned to bone, as to how this happens I would rather leave for another time.
Suffice to say that concussion and lack of expansion and contraction plays a major roll!!
I have given my views on egg bars many times on various threads here, so I will not go into great detail, but you may want to ask your vet/farrier if it would not be better to support the central column with a hart bar shoe fitted with balanced pressure on the frog
That is if you wish to go down the road of using a shoe to try and correct the problem that could well have been caused by the concussion that a shoe creates
I will not preach the barefoot treatment for sidebone, but will say that for the sidebone to stand any chance of being reabsorbed the caudal (rear third) of the foot needs to be working as efficiently as possible.
Often small pieces of bone will breakaway which can cause discomfort, but it does mean that there is activity in the area which is better than having large thick sidebones that restrict movement

 

[cptrayes]

Hi . . . Kal has it in both front feet and vet reckons it isn't contributing to his lameness (that would be the holes/lesions in his navicular bones). As I understand it, sidebones don't generally cause a problem. Any vets on here care to shed some light?

P

Polarskye you might want a second opinion.

Holes in the navicular bones are known to be a poor indicator of whether a horse will be lame, but sidebones are equally well known to cause lameness, in my own experience and reading of a lot of stuff over the years. There may be something different about your own horse that makes your vet so sure that it is not the sidebone. It is also not that likely to be the navicular either. On MRI most horses with back half of the foot lameness will be seen to have soft tissue injury which is actually the cause of the lameness. Unfotunately MRI is very expensive and many insurers will only pay half if they will pay at all.

 

[PolarSkye]

Polarskye you might want a second opinion.

Holes in the navicular bones are known to be a poor indicator of whether a horse will be lame, but sidebones are equally well known to cause lameness, in my own experience and reading of a lot of stuff over the years. There may be something different about your own horse that makes your vet so sure that it is not the sidebone. It is also not that likely to be the navicular either. On MRI most horses with back half of the foot lameness will be seen to have soft tissue injury which is actually the cause of the lameness. Unfotunately MRI is very expensive and many insurers will only pay half if they will pay at all.

Interesting, thank you. So when you say "soft tissue" you mean things like DDFT?

And if sidebones DO cause lameness, then what's the treatment?

Not being challenging, genuinely interested.

Thanks in advance.

P

 

[cptrayes]

Interesting, thank you. So when you say "soft tissue" you mean things like DDFT?

And if sidebones DO cause lameness, then what's the treatment?

Not being challenging, genuinely interested.

Thanks in advance.

P

Yup, ddft and collateral ligaments are the most common culprits but also impar ligament and one other whose name I can't remember.

I've never had a horse with sidebone so I don't know the current treatment. The only one I have been close to was years ago and that was buted until it fused, when it came sound again.

 

[meesha]

My girl was diagnosed with sidebone at around 8 years old, hers was HUGE and i mean HUGE - it feels like a golf ball coming out of side of foot. I had only had her a year but had been riding her for previous owner for another 2 years. She was never worked hard, lightly hacked, lived out mostly etc etc.

Vet was gobsmacked at size of sidebone - said may settle down - I had shoes taken off and she was immediately slightly improved (had tried sidebone shoes with and without pads before that - pads almost crippled her!) she was rested etc but never came sound - she could be lightly ridden but hated going downhill - vet thinks sidebone so big was interfering with action in foot (had xrays, nerve blocks etc) I decided to get a youngster to concentrate on - she is a very very happy field ornament (now 18) has not got any worse or better and was no different with or without work - also bute made no difference.

However, she is not the norm as I said the sidebone was HUGE

Hope it all comes right for you.

 

[clydesdale]

Thankyou for all of your replyies she was bare foot when she did this injury was recommended a egg bar shoes by the vet but i want to do whats best for her i am hoping she will be able to return to bare foot

 

[Slightlyconfused]

Egg bars are not good for sidebone, it doesnt support it.......pm bojangles on here, her horse beau has sidebone(as well as a keatoma sp?) She did alot of research.


Also if she was bf i would prob keep her that way as if the sidebone is making her sore then banging nails into it wont help any. Once it's fused it wont cause a problem.