Sidebone

[Blondiecopper]

Have your experiences of sidebone ever shown this example?
Now ossified he's presenting with bouts of sudden of acute lameness which seem to settle 48 hours or so later. He isn't sound and hasn't really been since diagnosis 2 years ago. He was retired late last year after trying everything to help him to become sound.
he can go through periods where he's 2/10 lame to periods where he is 9/10 lame.
many people say that once it's ossified it doesn't usually cause a problem but my vet disagreed with this statement by saying that the cartilage can take up a huge amount of room within the hoof capsule once formed.
Today we have severe lameness , increased bute and box rest.
needless to say I'm getting towards a sad decision.
I just wondered what peoples experiences were of this horrid situation that can happen.
thanks

 

[Sossigpoker]

Has the horse had an MRI for the foot?
This sounds like a chronic tendon or ligament injury. Mine presented intermittent low level lameness for 18 months until one day he was hopping lame , had an MRI and it was a tear in the DDFT inside the hoof capsule.
"Sidebone" shouldn't cause such a problem so I'd strongly suspect something else going on.

 

[Blondiecopper]

No he hasn't. He's no longer insured as I've claimed so many times in the past. Theres a medium amount of heat within hoof and the severe lameness subsides after a few days.

 

[Blondiecopper]

https://aaep.org/sites/default/files/issues/eve-8-3-dakin_168-178.pdf

 

[Blondiecopper]

The above report is very interesting for those who have horses with Sidebone.

 

[Sossigpoker]

No he hasn't. He's no longer insured as I've claimed so many times in the past. Theres a medium amount of heat within hoof and the severe lameness subsides after a few days.

This does unfortunately sound like either navicular or tendon injury inside the hoof.
The lameness will appear to ease off with rest with a tendon injury , but once movement starts again, the lameness returns.

The MRI isn't a treatment, it would just confirm the diagnosis. Based on my experience of this kind of injury, and if MRI wasn't possible, I would discuss with the vet the ways of getting the horse field sound and then turn him away for a number of months. If the lameness can be controlled with bute and/or injections so that the horse is field sound, I'd certainly give him that chance.

I had to have my horse PTS when his DDFT went for the second time and by then it was torn in 3 places and he was non weight bearing.

 

[irishdraft]

My horse has side bone & ringbone he's been retired for 2 years. He could probably do a bit of light hacking but has consistently only been 2/10 lame on a hard surface or a circle he's happy in the field canters about quite often he's never been more lame at any time .

 

[Blondiecopper]

Thanks both.
he's retired now and 18. A previous (former owner) hard hunting life is what paid to the problems now. He is on Danilon daily which increases on the sudden bouts of severe lameness. He's not sound enough for work so has been a field ornament since last year. He enjoys his life, looks well and still has a vibrancy about him. I struggle to deal with seeing him v lame but then since the weekend he's improved daily (although is on max amount of pain relief)
He walks out better each day and drags me to the field every morning. I do want to give him a chance and have done since the day of the diagnosis 2 years ago. We went through rehab and he came out ok but was 'footy' last year. He's under constant supervision from a brilliant vet who is also puzzled by the acute lameness that he throws at us on occasions.
I can't put him through more hospital visits, he isn't a good patient away from home and to find money for an MRI isn't feasible sadly with the cost of increased living rising and rising. The hoof is much cooler so I'll wean him off the maximum dose and see how he looks on his normal dose. Horses... such a worry.

 

[Sossigpoker]

This really sounds like a classic tendon injury , tye MRI would just confirm or dispute that, so please don't worry about not being able to find the money for it.
As he's already retired and sound like he's mostly field sound with daily medication , this is IMO a good outcome if there is a tendon injury.
A "side bone" doesn't usually cause lameness once it has formed.
I'd be inclined to keep him going as long as he's comfortable, discuss pain relief with your vet and have a "cut off point " in your mind ,as in when will he be so lame that it's not fair to keep him going.
Unless there's a re-injury , horses that are field sound can live happily for years.

Sounds like you're doing everything you can to keep him comfortable, let's hope this lovely weather continues and he gets to enjoy a lovely spring and summer

 

[Blondiecopper]

This really sounds like a classic tendon injury , tye MRI would just confirm or dispute that, so please don't worry about not being able to find the money for it.
As he's already retired and sound like he's mostly field sound with daily medication , this is IMO a good outcome if there is a tendon injury.
A "side bone" doesn't usually cause lameness once it has formed.
I'd be inclined to keep him going as long as he's comfortable, discuss pain relief with your vet and have a "cut off point " in your mind ,as in when will he be so lame that it's not fair to keep him going.
Unless there's a re-injury , horses that are field sound can live happily for years.

Sounds like you're doing everything you can to keep him comfortable, let's hope this lovely weather continues and he gets to enjoy a lovely spring and summer

Thank you. He's always been my number one and as long as he's coping he is still here. I am sensible and I do try to prevent situations where he's likely to razz around. The hard ground doesn't appeal to me as he's better when it's soft underfoot but my farrier is putting pads on next time to see if it helps. He enjoys his life which for me is what keeps us both going.?