Soft tissue damage in the foot - please share your experiences.

criso

criso

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Hi I'm fairly new on here and just started posting.
Recently my 6 YO TB was diagnosed with bilateral damage to soft tissues in the foot ( ddft, DSIL and collateral sesmoidean ligament.)
He had been intemittently lame since the end of may - 1/10 trotting on a 10m circle on hard standing and we eventually went for an MRI scan to find out exactly what was going on.
Prior to that we were on partial box rest - gentle exercise in walk.

Reading the report there are no actual tears but references to mild swelling and slight loss of definition.
There were no significant bone changes.

Recommended 2 - 3 months box rest followed by 6 - 8 weeks walk and the vet has given me a 60% chance of return to full function.

I searched amongst older posts and did find other people who had had similar problems though some were a year or more old.

Just wondered if other people who had been through the same had any experiences to share, advice etc

Thanks
 
Sounds like we have same problems I have additional tendon tear as well.I have just done a post on coffin joint lameness further down on veterinary post and had some responses that might be helpful.My horse is a 7 yr old tb and the vet thinks his soft tissue damage is down to poor hooves and bad conformation.I am having farrier out tomorrow to start remedial shoeing then he will have a course of injections. Like your horse no bone changes and mild swelling.We are doing restricted turnout and overnight stabling.
I can let you know about remedial shoeing if you are interested tomorrow.
Does your horse have long toes and collapsed heels like mine invariably most tbs have this problem.
 
Same as cellie. I have a TB with collateral ligament damage due to poor foot balance and conformation. He's not got any tears as such just chronic wear and inflammation. He was diagnosed a year ago now following intermittent lameness that led to an MRI.
Prognosis is always guarded with soft tissue damage within the foot because there is no treatment apart from joint injections (to relieve associated inflammation), shock wave (not proven to be effective) and in some cases they will operate.
Personally I wouldn't box rest. Most vets now tend to advise turning away for six months as it's better for the horse than box rest. It is important to have a slow rehan programme as it sounds as if, like my horse, your horse's damage is chronic rather than acute and thus won't 'heal' as such but will instead simply settle.
Sadly I don't view the diagnosis as a great one. I lost my previous TB to a collateral ligament tear 5yrs ago now and whilst diagnostic tools have since improve treatment is still limited. It is certainly possible your horse will return to work, although mine is now a happy hacker.
A good farrier is key in getting your horse sound.
If you want any information PM.
 
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...A good farrier is key in getting your horse sound.

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Agreed, or a good Equine Podiatrist. My horse was found to have soft tissue damage when she had an MRI scan, and we took the barefoot route to restore her correct foot structure. It also stimulates circulation to the damaged tissues and encourages healing. If you look into this, I would recommend the KC LaPierre method practised by Applied Equine Podiatrists.

MRI scans can put the fear of God into you as they pick up every little thing. Even my horse's healthy foot, which was scanned for comparision, was found to have abnormalities, so don't panic.

Foot balance is key.
 
One of his feet was poor - weak heels though not collapsed but the other is fine. Damage was slightly worse in the good foot though.
He is currently being shod by the farrier up at the royal vet college and has carbon fibre heels supports, they are having alot of success with TB feet with these, the shoes have no clips to allow the foot flexibility as it heals.
Farrier is not anti barefoot and recommends that alot of horses do go barefoot but he doesn't think it is appropriate for my horse.
I'm not ruling anything out though.

The problem with putting him out is that he will gallop up and down constantly, he injured himself in the first place galloping in the fields.
He is very very playful out in the field bless him so can't really go against the vet's advice but will be taking the rehab really carefully when we do come out in the new year.

Thanks for all the replies.
 
It is very difficult to go against vet and farrier advice in these circumstances, but maybe do a bit of research about the barefoot route, and contact the trimmers to see what experience they have had with these conditions. One trimmer is a vet as well.

If you get onto the websites you will see many case studies of horses that have been re-habilitated. Not saying that this is appropriate in your horse's case, but it might be worth having a browse.
 
Crisco I understand about not going barefoot, it would have never been an option for my horse. Silicone pads that cover his sole have really helped him as they help protect from concussion in summer when the ground is hard.
My horse is prone to being naughty in the field and it is how he damaged himself but I decided that he was more likely to do more damage after three months box rest. My vet felt that he would undo all the good the first time he went out. Just a thought, although I completely understand wanting to follow your vets advice just remember there are other options.
 
Marchtime Yes if we were right at the start of the box rest it might be different but we have been on no turnout since June as prior to the diagnosis we were on controlled exercise.
I suppose it depends on the horse - the vet was very impressed when we were at the hospital how he walked quietly behind me on a loose rope across the carpark.
He is really very quiet to handle and ride and I am so impressed with how he is coping, however loose in the field or on the lunge he turns into a different horse.

Part of me thinks if I turned him out and he hooned about and came in really lame and never recovered I would always blame myself and wonder if I did the right thing.

If he seems to be coping physically and mentally with the box rest then it won't do any harm.

These are the hoof supports he has - they were developed as a preventative measure but had good results with horses that already had a problem.
http://www.vetcell.com/vetcell/technology/hsp_hoof_support.aspx

There's nice case study if you go to the press releases page for April. They certainly seemed to help in that we put one on and that foot went sound.
They can also be used barefoot if I wanted to try that route.

If we are anywhere near sound come the summer then I will be looking to how to protect from concussion on hard ground.

I have had tendoneaze recommended from several sources so will try that.

Thanks again
 
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I have had tendoneaze recommended from several sources so will try that.

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I found that a waste of money, it didn't help my horse. You might do better with Pernamax Equine.
 
my young warmblood was diagnosed with soft tissue damage due to poor hoof balance.

He was shod properly by the vet hospital and my new farrier has been doing a great job.

as far as the tissue damage, when he was first home he was to be on box rest for a week so i put on his bioflow magnetic wraps everynight, then he was out in the field and walked out on a level flat surface (so roadwork in hand) starting from 5 minutes building up to 30 minutes.
he would come in every day for about 4 hours and i would put the wraps on.

This was for about 6 weeks, took him back to the vet school and he was sound. But i continued putting his magnetic wraps on everyday, and he got Bowen therapy sessions, but i dont know if this helped, but i havent had any problems with him since.

He didnt have any tears, but he had had 3/4 of an inch removed from the outside of each hoof to balance his feet, so vet said that must have been causing a lot of loading so a lot of slamming and stretching of tissue.
 
Thanks again

When I looked up the Pernamax, it was recommended for joint/bone issues - is it good for soft tissue damage too?

Glayva - which magnetic boots did you use - in our case the damage is deep inside the at the back.
 
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