Julia0803
Well-Known Member
Hello all,
I was just wondering if anyone else has dealt with this injury on a forelimb before? I think this is what Michen’s boggle did on a hind?
I’m now in week 4 of 12 weeks box rest with gradually increasing in hand walking.
My lovely pony had on and off lameness at the very end of August. It happened the first time on the way home whilst hacking. Gave him a few days off, he trotted up sound and so did a short walking hack for 25 min. All fine. Hacked the next day, fine for first 10 min, then slightly lame. Ask someone to watch me trot up later that day, everyone says he looks sound. I’m starting to think I’m loosing my marbles. Try again, get 5 min up the road and he feels very slightly off, so go home and give a week off. Trot up for anyone who’ll look and everyone says sound. After 15 minutes of walking he feels off again. Typically the only time he looked lame was when I was alone or when the only other person there was my teenage son’s friend who agreed he wasn’t right on the front left.
I then decide to send him for a work up anyway as despite what everyone else is saying I’m not happy.
The first day of the work up they can’t really find anything. He’d ridden and lunged, on the hard and soft. They said they really pushed to try and find something but really there wasnt anything concrete to see. The vet said that very very occasionally he took the odd step or two that was 1/10 lame but over the course if the whole work up, it was very inconsistent. He said actually if anything, the hocks are looking a little stiff and we could perhaps do a half dose top up with arthramid (he has arthritis). He suggested 6 weeks walking for the front end as whatever is there is very subtle and inconsistent. So they keep him overnight to do the injections the next day.
Except the next day he’s 3/10 lame on front left. Part of me was relieved they’d found something and I wasn’t going doolally. It fits in that he was worse after exercise and more lame at the vets than he was at home as he was hacking, mainly mooching about in walk.
He was positive to a nerve block in the foot. It was then xrayed to be sure it wasn’t more arthritis, the xrays were clean. He was then scanned and they found damage, but no hole, to the straight sesamoidian ligament.
He previously lived out 24/7 for his hocks so we’ve had to move yards as he needs 12 weeks boxrest with in hand walking twice per day, building from 5 to 45 minutes. The vet did say if we could build a stable sized pen he could stay out but unfortunately it wouldn’t have worked at our old yard.
He’s coping ok bearing in mind the circumstances. The new yard kindly made him a pen last so he can go out whilst I muck out etc as he was getting very impatient being tied up. It’s a bit bigger than a stable, maybe the same depth but three times as long. He’s an eater not a runner, so no leaping about, but the vet said no more than an hour or so in it as he doesn’t want him moving much beyond his in hand exercise plan. He’s barely getting 40 min of grass at the moment and he realised there’s an apple tree, with loads of fallen apples, about 10m away on the wrong side of the fence and he is eyeing up the fence line to make a break out... or at least break through.
Just wondering if anyone else has been through it and come out the other side. Was it a good outcome? My vet said he hoped he’d be back in normal work within 6-9months and was fairly positive.... but I’m a bit more cautious. Previously he did a bit of everything but we only competed dressage, just at novice level so nothing really taxing. We only schooled 1-2 times per week and the rest was hacking as too much school work isn’t great for his hocks.
Obviously it would be ideal if he could go back to being able to do a bit of everything at a bit of BD but we’d be really happy even if he couldn’t do any school work anymore and just stuck to hacking and fun rides. He’s my heart horse and doesn’t owe me anything, he’s done so much for us as a family I cannot begin to explain. If he needs to be retired that would be fine, but I would worry about his weight as the summer is a battle to keep him at a healthy weight, and he requires a fair amount of hacking with restricted access to grass. I’m trying not to worry about that scenario until I have to.
Thanks!
I was just wondering if anyone else has dealt with this injury on a forelimb before? I think this is what Michen’s boggle did on a hind?
I’m now in week 4 of 12 weeks box rest with gradually increasing in hand walking.
My lovely pony had on and off lameness at the very end of August. It happened the first time on the way home whilst hacking. Gave him a few days off, he trotted up sound and so did a short walking hack for 25 min. All fine. Hacked the next day, fine for first 10 min, then slightly lame. Ask someone to watch me trot up later that day, everyone says he looks sound. I’m starting to think I’m loosing my marbles. Try again, get 5 min up the road and he feels very slightly off, so go home and give a week off. Trot up for anyone who’ll look and everyone says sound. After 15 minutes of walking he feels off again. Typically the only time he looked lame was when I was alone or when the only other person there was my teenage son’s friend who agreed he wasn’t right on the front left.
I then decide to send him for a work up anyway as despite what everyone else is saying I’m not happy.
The first day of the work up they can’t really find anything. He’d ridden and lunged, on the hard and soft. They said they really pushed to try and find something but really there wasnt anything concrete to see. The vet said that very very occasionally he took the odd step or two that was 1/10 lame but over the course if the whole work up, it was very inconsistent. He said actually if anything, the hocks are looking a little stiff and we could perhaps do a half dose top up with arthramid (he has arthritis). He suggested 6 weeks walking for the front end as whatever is there is very subtle and inconsistent. So they keep him overnight to do the injections the next day.
Except the next day he’s 3/10 lame on front left. Part of me was relieved they’d found something and I wasn’t going doolally. It fits in that he was worse after exercise and more lame at the vets than he was at home as he was hacking, mainly mooching about in walk.
He was positive to a nerve block in the foot. It was then xrayed to be sure it wasn’t more arthritis, the xrays were clean. He was then scanned and they found damage, but no hole, to the straight sesamoidian ligament.
He previously lived out 24/7 for his hocks so we’ve had to move yards as he needs 12 weeks boxrest with in hand walking twice per day, building from 5 to 45 minutes. The vet did say if we could build a stable sized pen he could stay out but unfortunately it wouldn’t have worked at our old yard.
He’s coping ok bearing in mind the circumstances. The new yard kindly made him a pen last so he can go out whilst I muck out etc as he was getting very impatient being tied up. It’s a bit bigger than a stable, maybe the same depth but three times as long. He’s an eater not a runner, so no leaping about, but the vet said no more than an hour or so in it as he doesn’t want him moving much beyond his in hand exercise plan. He’s barely getting 40 min of grass at the moment and he realised there’s an apple tree, with loads of fallen apples, about 10m away on the wrong side of the fence and he is eyeing up the fence line to make a break out... or at least break through.
Just wondering if anyone else has been through it and come out the other side. Was it a good outcome? My vet said he hoped he’d be back in normal work within 6-9months and was fairly positive.... but I’m a bit more cautious. Previously he did a bit of everything but we only competed dressage, just at novice level so nothing really taxing. We only schooled 1-2 times per week and the rest was hacking as too much school work isn’t great for his hocks.
Obviously it would be ideal if he could go back to being able to do a bit of everything at a bit of BD but we’d be really happy even if he couldn’t do any school work anymore and just stuck to hacking and fun rides. He’s my heart horse and doesn’t owe me anything, he’s done so much for us as a family I cannot begin to explain. If he needs to be retired that would be fine, but I would worry about his weight as the summer is a battle to keep him at a healthy weight, and he requires a fair amount of hacking with restricted access to grass. I’m trying not to worry about that scenario until I have to.
Thanks!
