synovitis in forelimbs

[FAYEFUDGE]

Has anyone any experience of this?
Bit of history....
Horse has never reacted well to flexion tests on front legs, this was first noticed as a 5 yr old.
At this time vet thought he may be developing DJD although x rays were clear.
Advice was to be careful of the surfaces horse was exercised on, use a joint supplement and return annually for x rays to see if condition progresses or if horse becomes lame/uncomfortable.
Jump on to March 09 and horse returns to vet for a check up, he is sound on a straight line before flexion tests but after flexion tests goes lame in front, horse is then xrayed again (from hoof to knee) and again all xrays are clear - no boney changes, no signs of navicular etc.
Vet now thinks horse may have synovitis.
I have no experience of this and am just looking for advice. Horse has never had any heat or swelling in his limbs and has not been lame, can look a bit stiff on near fore on the lunge but this is not noticable when ridden.
Vet has suggested Adequan injections in the future but does not feel horse needs them now - I can ride away as usual.
Many thanks

 

[alsxx]

My mare was diagnosed with synovitis of both front fetlocks, amongst other things! Seems to have resolved now following steroid injections into them.

IMO if there is any form of discomfort there, I would want to address it - my mare was never lame, however in hindsight I dont think she was 'right' for a while, and she has ended up with a multitude of problems, probably because she ended up compensating for whatever the initial problem was.

 

[JLav]

Has the vet looked at him on the lunge on a hard surface and flexed the individual joints separately in the forelimbs to try to be more specific about where the pain is coming from? If there is a tendancy for the near fore to look off on the lunge then it should be possible to nerve block as well for help with a more definitive diagnosis.

Also has he considered an underlying problem with the suspensories and/or soft tissue damage in the feet?

If the feet are the source of the lameness then possibly an MRI is needed as soft tissue damage won't show on x-ray.

 

[FAYEFUDGE]

Thanks, your horse sounds very much like mine, you get one thing sorted only for another to go!
He was indeed lunged on a hard surface and I also had his feet nerve blocked.
Will prob have the MRI done at a later date.

 

[pintostar]

My horse has just started on Adequan injections. Lame on lunge but not in a straight line. Positive flexion tests, no heat or swelling and lameness not noticable when ridden apart from maybe the odd shuffle feeling. He has early onset arthiritis in coffin joints. Amazing how free he went when nerve blocked. Good prognosis I've been told with use of Adequan. Good luck with your horse, i'd love to know how you get on. PM me if you get any further ifno as i'd love to hear.