suspensory but negative ultrasound??

M

Mel1

Well-Known Member
Joined
30 January 2009
Messages
197
Location
Nottingham
Visit site
Hi

My 9yo mare have been sent to the vet for hind lameness and bucking/refusing to canter and work properly, they find that the bucking was due to a sacroiliac pain. the nerve blocking indicates the possibility of a hind suspensory ligament problem but the ultrasound scan was negative to see anything so was the bone scan. This problem could have caused the back problem and if left untreated on box/field rest it is not likely to solve itself. she's had a first treatment of shock wave therapy.
They are suggesting a MRI to see if it is a problem with the suspensory but it is not cheap! and I cant really afford it, but if it is the only way to knkow what she's got ans to cure it, i can try to find the money somehow.
there is no swelling or anything visible on the leg and she is only very very slightly lame. (I cant see the lameness myself, but the vet can)
If it is a suspencory ligament, is it common to not be able to see anything on the ultrasound? and to have only a very subtle lameness? the vet thinks it has probably been going on for a while.
Do you think I should have the MRI?
thanks in advance
 
Hi there,

I have the same issue - and I don't have any advice, because I don't think there is any way of sorting it out! My horse was diagnosed with hind PSD after nerve blocking, although nothing was visible on the scans - he was prescribed box rest, gradual work and shockwave. I never thought he was lame on that leg (though he felt it sometimes in front, hence the check-up) but he was unwilling to work and in particular to strike off in canter from that hind leg.

Now it's 6 months on, he's back in the field and in all work except jumping and the vet says that the unevenness behind is much reduced - as I can't see it and never could, I have to take her word for it. I've also taken him to a couple of dressage clinics and the instructor has said he can't see anything wrong any more. In another couple of weeks we have the last check up and then he can jump again if still sound.

But I still have some private quiet doubts about whether that was actually the problem, simply because it was never definitely diagnosed.

I wasn't offered an MRI scan - I didn't actually know you could use them for this condition. Very expensive though - I think I wouldn't have bothered, and tried the box rest and shockwave, which are annoying and take ages but at least don't cost much. If my boy goes lame on it again I will get the op done.

On the plus side, the research I have done does indicate that although visibility on the scan and degree of damage aren't always correlated, it is sometimes the case that 'slight' injuries are less likely to show. I am holding onto the hope that this means it was a slight injury!

Sorry not to be any use at all but it might help to know that you're not the only one! Good luck.
 
Oh it sounds so similar to what my mare has (also with very very slight front lameness sometimes). I couldnt see the lameness nor my instructor so she might have had it for a long time.
how many shock wave session did you have?
the vet recomended 2weeks box rest then she can go out and work lungeing on pessoa, she wont cope with 6months box rest! so I'll put her back in a very small area in the field.
how old is your horse?
I feel exactly the same as you, and I would only have the op if an mri confirm that it is definately a PSD problem.
thank you so much for your answer!!
 
Interesting what you say about having it for a long time. I think mine did too - for a time last summer I noticed the same thing but he seemed to get better and it didn't reappear until December.

He is 11 this year and had 3 shockwave sessions, at 2 week intervals.

I'm surprised about the lunging on a pessoa - I was told to keep the exercise to straight lines as much as possible.

I did 16 weeks box rest! In the first week we did 5 mins walking twice a day, building up each week with another 5 minutes per session. After about 6 weeks it went to once a day (thank God) and soon after that gradually introduced trot. When he was doing 30 minutes walk and 30 minutes trot every day he was allowed to go in the field and start canter work. It's not easy to find somewhere you can trot 30 minutes in a straight line though! I'm not sure what world vets live in sometimes.

PM me if you ever want a chat! It's hard work but lovely when they feel right afterwards. Even though I never knew he was lame, he works much more willingly now, which must mean he is feeling better. xx
 
Has she had her hocks xrayed? would be odd to have bone scan/mri done if bone spavin hasnt been ruled out, as PSD and bone spavin can show up as very similar lamenesses (and depending on what nerve blocks your vet used they can be mistaken for each other...)
 
Hi

I sympathise sounds like our gelding, they found him to be mildly lame in all four legs on a lameness work out be it on a circle or on a straight line. The lameness work out was initiated because he had the same behavioural problems you are describing and I suspected a pelvic problem as he had a prominent hunters bump and symptoms that related to this. They decided with so much going on that they needed to bone scan, this showed nothing so they started blocking and eventually came to the conclusion that he had PSD. To decide between box rest and surgery they needed to scan his front feet as if there were problems there they would need to work on these first before PSD surgery. They found fragmentation of the pedal bone and bone oedema, so he will commence with a treatment of Tildren and steroids into the bursaries shortly and will then later be assessed as to prognosis and whether PSD surgery is viable. We have only had him since August, he passed a 5* vetting yet they think this has been ongoing for quite some time. Fortunately he is insured so we are able to carry out thorough investigations, but I am not sure MRI will help you.

I would recommend contacting MRS M (or looking through posts on here to see who she recommended at the AHT, I think was Sue Dyson but may be wrong). Then calling them for advice as every case is so different.

Good luck with it all x
 
my old boy had PSD in his right hind but no changes on ultrasound or xrays or bone scan. we just diagnosed him with nerve blocks and he got better with shockwave and rest.
 
"my old boy had PSD in his right hind but no changes on ultrasound or xrays or bone scan. we just diagnosed him with nerve blocks and he got better with shockwave and rest"

Hi, thanks for your message, how much rest did you give him, was it stable or field rest? have you had any problem since he got sound?
 
he was diagnosed in August 2002, was meant to be on box rest but broke out and then behaved like a nutcase so went out in a tiny stable sized paddock for 3months then back out in the field. he was only doing trot work by this stage but YO wouldn't let me use the tiny paddock anymore so it was back on full box rest or back in field and he'd never have coped back in box. we did 3mths walking, 3mths trotting and then back to canter work. it was all meant to be in straight lines but it was dark in winter so did most of it in the school. he won the 1st dressage test he did coming back into competing in April 2003, did a 10mile sponsored ride (but no jumps) 2wks later and gradually increased his work over the summer, starting affiliated BD at Novice level in the July, started doing little jumps and just gradually built up. Never had another problem. He was 16 when diagnosed and 20 in 2006 when he retired due to annular ligament problems.
 
We have been dealing with an annoying hind leg lameness too. Nerve blocks indicated some discomfort in the hock but didn't completely eradicate lameness. The vet is now leaning towards cruciate ligament, and recommending continued pasture rest for a period of several months. We are seeing an improvement but it is slow - fortunately the mare is a steady soul and doesn't do too much rushing around in the field.

Her Xrays came back completely clear - and they checked the hock and stifle. There is no heat or swelling.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top