slow fusing spavin

[ChristineCorp]

We have a Connemara mare who suddenly went lame in canter on one rein 18 months ago. Originally it was diagnosed as a a pulled adductor muscle very high up on the inside of the leg near her teats.

After 9 months of turning out as much as possible with an occasional lunge to check progress there was little improvement. The action in the hind leg was similar to stringhalt but only in the canter and usually in the canter trot transition when she had to stretch the muscles.

Yet again vets diagnosed a muscular problem and prescribed quite long lungeing sessions for a few weeks followed by a progressive return to ridden work. After about 6 weeks we had to try her in canter and the lameness was very severe.

In desperation we tried another vet who nerve blocked and xrayed and found spavin. There are no visible or palpable lumps and the xrays show that fusion is nearly complete so there is no treatment only time and patience.

It's a strange sort of spavin as several vets have confirmed that it has been caused by a knock to the leg, probably just by catching it with a front shoe when getting up from lying down. Apparently she's knocked the periosteum (covering of the bone) which has become inflamed and it's at a point directly under the path of a ligament so the movement of the ligament has rubbed and made it more inflamed. It's just become a vicious circle.

She's now working normally in walk and trot and has amazing paces with no sign of any unsoundness. On the lunge she was totally sound when tested both at the beginning and end of November.

We were really hopeful of a full return to work but she broke into canter for a few strides when trotting a couple of days ago and was severely lame. It was only in the canter, she trotted away sound afterwards. It's only there when she's carrying weight so there's a definite improvement.

It's just soul destroying wondering if she'll ever be totally sound again even though the vets reckon she will. She's happy and healthy and we are being so patient with her.

I just need some reassurance from others who've been in this situation. The vets say to keep working her to encourage friction to help with the fusion but I'm beginning to wonder if we'll have a permanent canter problem.

 

[pinkcatkin]

Gosh, how unusual this sounds. I see nobody has replied to you so I guess nobody has ever had this problem before?

Not being very helpful, I know, but do you think complete turn out rest might do the trick. Very often these things just take time to heal and maybe she should be off work for a bit?

I am no expert and I am really sorry for you, how horrible.

 

[monstermunch]

There is nothing more frustrating than a horse who's progression is slow. However, just to reassure you that this condition is extremely common. It does have different degrees of severity from horse to horse but the prognosis can be very promising. it is a case of being extremely patient. unfortunately comparing to other peoples experiences won't really help as different horses heal at different rates and every situation varies slightly. It is essentially a waiting game. Exercise can encourage a faster fusion and I would therefore just listen to any advice your vet can give you. You are unlikely to be left with a permanent canter problem once it has healed, though some horses do get in the habit of moving in a particular way. In this case I would therefore suggest that she is not cantered until she has healed and this will reduce the chance of her picking up a habit.
Be patient and keep smiling - the majority of these cases have happy endings. Good luck.

 

[ChristineCorp]

Thanks Monstermunch. It's just so good to have some reassurance from someone who's clearly experienced the problem. We're quite sure that we have the correct info from the vets it just becomes frustrating as the months run into years. We're determined to give her all the time she needs and there's obvious improvement it was just heartbreaking when she accidentally broke into canter. She was running like a dog on three legs. It couldn't have been more than four strides so no harm done just distressing.

She's obviously on the mend as she now canters around the field and jumps up and down small banks . We'll just continue to be patient and try her once a month on the lunge to check her progess. It'll take as long as it takes I suppose.