Sidebones - talk to me!

[Ranyhyn]

(also posted elsewhere)I have a few questions that I seem not to be able to get any real answer for.

Some of you may remember after hoolying around in the field, my 6YO mare came in on 3 legs. After weeks of not being sure she was xrayed and nerve blocked, where upon vet found she had sidebones forming.

Am I right in saying this is a fairly long process, not days..? ie these didn't form overnight?

Although I read there can be some degree of discomfort, is it reasonable to assume the soft tissue damage the vet suspects is the real reason for lameness and NOT the sidebone (which again, I read usually come and form without much grief?)

If not, realistically how long am I looking at, for these sidebones to form and settle fully?

 

[miss_wilson]

my mare has also just been diagnosed with a sidebone, but apparently it is equal both sides, as far as my understanding goes it takes time to grow and wouldn`t come up overnight.

 

[sunshine19]

My gelding developed sidebone at 5 years old. He was lame for 2 weeks, then came sound. It took a further 6 months for the side bone to fuse. The way that it fused has left my boy slighty pigeoned toed and causes him to stumble and trip. He is now rising 8yo and has never changed his way of going. Some horses can develope side bone and you would never notice as it doesn't bother them. My lad was unlucky

 

[Ranyhyn]

Thank you

 

[JenHunt]

my sisters lad developed them at 5, he was intermittently lame for a couple of years - usually sparked by him having a growth spurt.
he was shod on egg bars when he was most sore, and given a low dose of bute to make him comfortable.

he's now 18 and he's hunted, evented and SJ'd up to 1m20. he comfortably jumped 1m40 at home though! He still hacks out and has a bit of fun, but is more or less roughed off as my sister is living too far away at the moment and won't let other people ride him.

 

[Ranyhyn]

That's heartenning thanks JH

 

[jeeve]

my fellow also has them, he was older than 5, lame for a while (not months), and never bothered him again

 

[Clippy]

My horse is 18 this time, he's got some cracking sidebones! He hunts most weekends and doesn't have any trouble at all with them.

I hope i've not just jinxed him! But seriously, once they'd settled, he was no different to before he had them

 

[Ranyhyn]

Thanks for these positive stories, have heard some negative ones so it's nice to hear it can work out

 

[JenHunt]

It's all about careful management really. my sister still avoids cantering on hard ground, and is careful in deep going, but other than that you can only go with how your horse responds to treatment and take it day by day

best case.... settles down with time and all is well.

don't get too disheartened if it takes a while!

 

[Chavhorse]

My now rising 7 year old was diagnosed with severe side bones in both fronts last summer (x-rays show what looks like a large stag hiding in both front feet!).

I was living in Holland with him at the time where the general consensus was 'horse is now totally useless and uninsurable so shoot him'.

Luckily for him I have some good friends in the UK and the HHO message board which told me that there was every hope he would be fine especially as he had shown no lameness to date and problem was only diagnosed as I was having a full vetting to increase his insurance cover lol.

He has kept up a good level of work with no lameness at all for over 6 months now, hacks out and schools with no issues, he has even been taught to jump to give him a break from schooling with no ill effects.

He is totally barefoot and wears a pair of Simple Boots for hacking out to save on percussion as there is a lot of road work, as far as feed is concerned he eats free choice hayledage, show mix, a mug of micronised linseed, Apple Cider Vinegar and a joint supplement daily.

He has done so well that he passed the annual Riding School horse inspection at my friends yard in September and has been used for the Stage III BHS riding training.

My New UK vet says there is no reason at all why he can not lead a totally useful life and die of old age in a paddock.

 

[Ranyhyn]

Thank you Chav horse, that's a great story

 

[chestnut cob]

My 17yo has sidebone in both front feet. Vet isn't concerned and my remedial farrier (who has seen the most recent x-rays) examined his feet, talked me through x-rays, tested the caudal hoof area and found no soreness. It doesn't appear to affect my horse at all. He is shod with Natural Balance type shoes in front, has heel first landing (was slightly toe first in standard shoes with toe clips) and appears to be fine WRT sidebone

 

[meesha]

sidebone should settle and not cause any problems but my mare developed them 6 years ago and had to be retired, she has a huge one on one side and vet thinks its so large its interferring with the natural movement of her foot. She is not in pain (no diff on bute) and its v unusual for them to cause problems I was just v unlucky. I now have a beautiful lawnmower, worth noting she was much better barefoot but sadly still not rideable.

 

[Chunkie]

My mare has large sidebones on both fronts. They were found when she was 8 years old and being x-rayed for lameness which the vet suspected was navicular related, but was actually laminitis.

I never stopped riding or driving her once we knew what the problem was, but for the first six months did more driving than riding. She found road work very uncomfortable, but was a different horse on grass. I was fortunate enough at the time to be on a farm with direct access onto a bridlepath, and for the next 2 years rode mainly on grass.

I built in short walks on the road in the 3rd year, but it was just under four years before I could do a "proper" road ride. She will be 15 this year, and our riding is a mixture of road and grass work, but I frequently do 3 and 5 mile road rides and include trotting in this. She does occasionally seek out the grass verges, but it's rare, and is more likely to be related to her laminitis than the sidebones. She is normally very comfortable on the roads and walks out well.

When the vet saw the x-rays he did warn me that it could take 3-4 years for the sidebones to become settled. He wasn't wrong.