Still lame on 2 x bute a day??

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Mandy_b

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My 7yr old 17hh TB is lame on his back left leg. Vet has been out and done all the usual tests, he thinks he is lame in hock, but cannot say until he has done more tests. He also has an extremely sore back. He prescribed bute twice daily with turnout. Was sore in the foot, so got farrier out to check shoes - nothing wrong there. He is still lame after a week and a half and so i have put him on box rest until the vet comes out on Friday, he is looking to do nerve blocks and xrays.... what can be wrong with him??
 
I'd be inclined to talk with your vet more, has your vet considered Spavin? or tendon/suspensory issues?, if they nerve block your horse to see if he comes sound, they can then xray the area to see any arthritic or bony changes in the joint. If the back is sore and tight, it can often be the hocks or a lameness lower down than the back, that is the cause-I found that out with my horse had similar issues.
Once you know what it is, your horse can be given the best appropriate treatment. Good luck , hope you find out what's wrong.
 
It could be a number of things, so best just to try and stay positive and see what the outcome of the vet visit is.

If you haven't already I would stop the bute now so that the vet can get an accurate gauge of lameness during his tests on Friday.

Good luck
 
Thanks guys... it's just so worrying not knowing what is wrong. I had expected him to be better after having bute but he's not. He also went to buck when the vet put his hands down his back, i suggested to get the chiro out but the vet said it was too dangerous?! I just want him back to his old self and am worrying that it is something serious.
 
Don't panic, it could still be in his foot. My farrier is a nice guy, but he will not dig deep for puss in the foot. He says he is now legally allowed to do that, so he leaves it to the vet. My vet arrives and within minutes has found the problem and relieved the pressure and allowed any puss to get out.
 
i would suggest getting another vet as your one iif dont mind me being rude doesnt really seem to no what he is looking at ,a vet should treat any horse and if he feels it is dangerous should sedate it and then throughly check as chiropartor which just asign a vet for further investigation,so it seems u r going around in circles ,i would be inclined to take horse off bute to allow full extent of lameness to come out sounds to me maybe foot or below fetlock joint ,i would get a 2nd opinion and a full MOT done on your horse to establish problems and answer your question some vets can be very insincere and treat horses even when they are unsure of problem just for the money,hope it gets sorted
 
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i would suggest getting another vet as your one iif dont mind me being rude doesnt really seem to no what he is looking at

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Why? So often things have to be given time to either develop or not. And not everything is obvious at an initial investigation.

Although I possibly would have the vet out a little earlier.
 
because i have never known a vet to say it is too dangerous to look at a horses back even when they are playing up i have just seem most good vets sedate the horse and investigate the problem further not bypass the situation onto somebody else,and i work with FEI vets and seen alot of vets at work its my personal opinion thats alll
 
I think he wanted to give him the bute to see if he went sound, maybe lame from a small knock, self healing injury? He is looking to do further tests on Friday, I will see if he can come out any earlier.. he thinks the back pain is refered from 'the injury' and would like to find out what that is before other people come out to do treatment - i suppose he doesn't want to do more damage than good. He is really good at his job and I trust him. I just want to know what can be causing all this?/
 
Sounds like horse is lame behind which has created back pain as a secondary problem as horse has changed his way of moving to compensate for his back legs.
Fridays vet check should get to the bottom of it all for you, I think the vet was not keen for a Chiro to look as the back isn't the route of the problem.
Good luck for Friday.
 
I echo the "get another vet".

He prescribed bute for a non-critical injury when he has not identified the problem? If it's a tendon inury and he has got the horse to move by making it more comfortable with bute then he could have done even more damage to it.

If he's lame in the hock then he should be very unsound on a flexion test - was he?

He says it's "too dangerous" for a chiro to look at your horse? Never heard the like, even if it was just an excuse to keep them away from your horse. He should just have said so. There are plenty of thoroughbreds who will hump their backs if a vet pinches them, I'd have wanted a physio to see and feel your horse's reaction before I would even believe that he has a sore back.

How did you know that he was "sore in the foot"? Sounds like it could still be a brewing abscess to me and bute will have done that no favours, it may just have reduced the inflammation enough to mask the real problem.

Good luck on Friday. I hope you get an answer.
 
You have done the right thing with the box rest, so stick with that and don't be tempted to trot the horse up everyday to review progress. The rest alone may help, it is unlikely to do any harm
 
I'd try all the usual stuff before you start to panic. Give yourself a sensible amount of time to see if anything produces a change. And don't forget, every new thing the vet tries will need a couple of weeks to see if it is going to help. After that, I'd get a referral to a specialist lameness centre. Do your research or use word of mouth recommendations and get a firm diagnosis for once and for all. Good luck x
 
First off i would be ringing the Vet to Update him & tell him that Box rest was now being done. I would also want to get a bit more Info out of the Vet.

I have had it myself where a horse has been in serious back pain, Metacam was prescribed & he wasnt allowed to see a chiro until the pain had subsided & the horse was less sensitive.
It was to dangerous to treat, also Vet did not want a Chiro touching the horse straight away as the Back problem could of been serious.
So we gave NSAIDS to reduce the swelling & pain, once that was administered the following week horse was then able to have a full range of tests done by the Vets.
Finally the Chiro was allowed to come in once the Ok from the vets was given. Sometimes we just can't move fast with some things.

However i wouldnt want my horse in pain, so i would be pushing the Vet on this one.
 
Ok so an update... the vet came out on Friday.. he was still lame. Went ahead with x-rays, all legs/joints perfect... but x-ray on back shows he has kissing spine!!
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Will now get the physio out + vet out again in new year.. should hopefully be back in action in a month or so...
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