Temporomandibular joint injury - any experiences?

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janietee_5

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Loan horse got stuck on the walker and has damaged (but not fractured) his temporomandibular joint. Plus a few lacerations to his face. He is in horspital receiving a flush to this joint and will be in there seemingly for a week. Has anyone else experienced this and what is the outlook?
 
My pony has problems with her TMJ, we are not sure if it is from an unknown injury or if it is a degenerative problem, but from xrays we know that is definitely where the problem is.

We've been aware of the problem for about 12 months now, although it started with problems nearly 2 years ago but it took us a while to get to the bottom of it as all signs were originally pointing to teeth. The biggest problem we've had is working out what to feed her in winter when she cant just be left on grass, as she has really struggled to chew hay/haylage at times and its been a case of work out what is best for her (its not always obvious - soft, damp haylage she can't chew but dry stemmy hay she can - no idea why but i'm sticking with it!) but we have recently begun to think she's still not chewing it properly as she is still losing weight and the getting the odd colicy episode which vet says is from too much long fibre being passed through, so even if she's eating a good amount of hay so we feed her a large amount of straw/grass chop and grass nuts as well to make sure she's getting the nutrients she needs from her forage.

We did have her on bute, which we thought would be long term but she reacted badly to it (colonic ulcers) so this was stopped but i'm not sure it had that much effect anyway, and we had the joint injected as well although I wouldn't necessarily say this has done much either and she isn't insured so couldn't afford to carry on regular injections and we found it quite invasive and distressing for her. She is fed a joint supplement and bute alternative (vetroflex and vetrofen) which do seem to help stop the jaw from getting too stiff and sore. She can no longer be ridden in a bitted bridle so is always ridden bitless but is still in as much work as she was before.

I'm not sure if any of this will be of any help to you but if you want to know anything else please ask x
 
Darkwater try adding micronised linseed to your ponys feeds. Its supposed to put a layer of oil along the gut if you feed enough which helps food move through easier. I have a horse with gut and teeth problems and linseed is definately helping her, i feed it 4 times a day. Good for weight gain too and gives them a lovely coat.
Sorry about your horse OP.
 
Thanks for the replies. He is still at the vets and just had a second flush of the joint. He is eating ok and we just have to hope that infection does not set in. Think he will be there for a few days yet so now have to hope that the insurance company are ok. I can't think of any reason they would not be but there is always that small doubt. Vet seems pretty happy but says it is early days. The owners have been very good about it too - realising it was just a freak accident.
 
An update. He is still at the vets because the joint will not heal and keeps getting infected. Nearly up to our insurance maximum so anything else will be up to us. Met with senior partner at vets tonight and they hope they can get the infection under control but if not it means an op to remove the cartiledge. Paid for by us. Please be very careful and don't leave head collars on horses on horse walkers. Poor boy is being very good and is a favourite at the vets as so easy to treat - but we miss him and want him home!
 
Really sorry to hear he's not improving as hoped. Fingers crossed they can get control of the infection, all my mares problems are caused by a lack of cartilage around the joint so I really hope it doesn't come to this for you and him. Please keep us updated
 
Yet another update. We finally got him home a week ago after 5 and a half weeks at the vets and up to the limit of our insurance. The joint was not healing without getting infected and he was being sent home to deal with the infection. A week on and his improvement is fantastic. My daughter has cleaned the wound twice a day - down to once a day now - and fed him up to 6 feeds a day of Fiberbeet and grass nuts plus lots of micronised linseed and a bit of Spillers Veteran conditioning mix. He started to chew a little hay on Saturday after we had hidden carrots and apples in it at the suggestion of one of the vet nurses who had been looking after him. Basically I would have given him a 50/50 chance of a full recovery the day he came home. That has now risen to an 80/20 chance. All because he is happier at home. Hopefully a further update in a week or so after his evaluation from the vet. And the food has made him put on weight so even better.
 
No good at editting but want to say how impressed we have been with Oakham Vet Hospital and how good the treatment he received there was.
 
Thanks Silverfire. He is a lovely boy and we want him to get better. Reading back above it read like he was coming home because we were up to the limit of the insurance but that is not the case. The vet thought he would be able to fight any infection better at home and he has certainly improved 100% since coming home.
 
Further update. The vet is very pleased with how the wound has healed. We had an assessment at the vets today and a scan. There are bony changes but he is bright and happy and eating well so he can go out in the field! Waiting till Saturday so we can both lead him out as I think he will be a little too keen to get out! So pleased and we have another assessment in a month or so before she can start to ride him again. When we took him in to the vets another horse that had also got caught in a horse walker was brought in. Around eyes badly cut and also both front legs. I will never use a horse walker again even though I know it was a freak accident. The risk is just too great.
 
janietee_5 said:
Further update. The vet is very pleased with how the wound has healed. We had an assessment at the vets today and a scan. There are bony changes but he is bright and happy and eating well so he can go out in the field! Waiting till Saturday so we can both lead him out as I think he will be a little too keen to get out! So pleased and we have another assessment in a month or so before she can start to ride him again. When we took him in to the vets another horse that had also got caught in a horse walker was brought in. Around eyes badly cut and also both front legs. I will never use a horse walker again even though I know it was a freak accident. The risk is just too great.
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Thats great news.
 
Hopefully final update.....he has just started work again after 4 months off. He is so happy to be doing a job again and is coping well with a bit which surprises me. It has been such a roller coaster over the last few months especially after seeing the 'poor' prognosis. He has been back to the vets for a final check up and scan and they couldn't be more thrilled if he was their own horse. Final bill came to over £7k of which insurance paid £5k and we still need to hope that he can do everything he did before. But a very positive outcome. Just a note of caution to anyone who uses a horse walker.....please do not leave a head collar on whilst it is going round. I will never use one again but realise they have their place and it was a freak accident. Scare me whenever I see anything on there with a head collar on.
 
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