soft tissue damage in foot - any chance of recovery

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Maverick1

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Hi
i have just found out that my horse has 3 ulcers in his navicular, a rough bone and soft tissue damage in one foot. he has one cyst in the other navicular,
the pieces of the jigsaw have been found as when he has been shod in front he 9 times out of 10 is lame but then is ok.
he is very lame at the moment.
The flexion tests the vet did - well my horse could hardly walk let alone trot!
My gut feeling is he will never come sound.
he is 7 years old and is doing dressage.

so i just wondered if people have had any experience with a similar issue.
 
Found a few of links for reading for you


http://www.chronofhorse.com/forum/showthread.php?177076-Navicular-Bone-Cyst
http://michaelporterdvm.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/navicular-bone-cyst-in-sound-horse.html
http://www.horsechannel.com/horse-e...wthread.php?88831-Cysts-on-the-Navicular-bone

one of the articles I read someone said that a vet at Rossdales had suggested that there is a very high percentage of horses with bone cysts that cause no lameness and that no one realizes they are there until xrays are carried out. It sounds like conservative treatment consists of anti inflammatories and remedial shoeing from a brief read.

Is the soft tissue damage to do with the collateral ligament?

Hope you get it sorted.
 
http:// Rockleyfarm.co.uk

Rockleyfarm.blogspot.com

Like Applecart, I believe that bone cysts are often irrelevant. The rough bone would worry me more, but if the issue is largely soft tissue, then a barefoot rehab is by far the most likely route to recovery, much more effective than shoes or medication.

The pointers above are to a specialist rehab yard who have a terrific success rate, as do many barefoot trimmers and individuals like me who have done a small number.
 
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If it's not ligaments or tendons that are causing the problem then at 7 I'd say you have a good chance of getting him fully sound following a comprehensive barefoot transition.
 
The prognosis for damage to the different soft tissue structures in the foot varies, and obviously the degree/type/position of the damage is relevant.

Ligament strains/inflammation can def. recover, big tears in the ddft at the insertion point are not so likely to.

What I am saying is, it will depend on the actual soft tissue damage.

However, improving the feet, especially correcting m/l balance and long toe/under run heels, will always help.
 
I had a TB years ago that was lame behind and on x-ray, we discovered he had a bone cyst in his RH pedal bone. He had surgery to remove it and came sound. Took about 6 months for the hoof wall and sole to replace, and fill in the hole the vet had made!

Barefoot isn't always the answer - worth investigating obviously, as there have been good success stories, but the ones that don't work are not necessarily the most vocal.
 
thank you everyone.
his has been unshod for 3 weeks but started to dig a hole in the middle of his field, made a real mess of his front feet so i have had his shoes put back on.
The vet hasnt advised any treatments going forward. the soft tissue damage is bad is what he has said.
the tendon is catching on the navicular bone.
 
When you say mess it might just be excess chipping off tbh. I agree that barefoot and probably rockley-type rehab would be his best bet. It might not work 100% but will likely generate improvement and you never know, might be totally successful. I wouldn't consider anything else in your shoes, especially as the vet hasn't come up with other suggestions either.
 
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