unbalanced...how long to come sound?

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LouLou3

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Hi everyone, I posted the other day to say my boy had been diagnosed with arthritis of his coffin joint and also poor foot balance. The injections were beginning of July - trotted him up on Sunday and he is still nodding!

Vet doesn't think him still being lame is down to the steroids not working because his temperament has changed since having the injections - meaning before his injections he was a proper nightmare and horrible to be around but since he has become a lamb...so we assume he is no longer in pain.

Vet thinks its down to his poor foot balance and has said to wait for the farrier to come again and see what he's like after that - this will be his third shoeing since diagnosis and he's now in Natural Balance. If he is not better after then they will nerve block to see if its the foot or the joint.

Vet said the poor foot balance will take a while to sort out...just wondering if any of you have anything you can share - tips on management living in a hilly area...supplements I could give him...he already has cortaflex

cheers everyone
 
Foot balance will have to be sorted by your farrier, just using a certain shoe won't really change it, the foot will have to be slowly trimmed back to being in balance and level, with the shoeing done so that the appropriate areas of the hoof are supported and any flares are reduced. My oh mare had a medial lateral imbalance in her off fore, resulting in back probs and sheared heels. It is now about 4 months since diagnosis with shoeing every 5 weeks by an excellent farrier who is slowly bringing her hoof back to having correct balance. For the first couple of shoeings she had bar shoes on to support the heel, but since the balance has improved she is now in normal shoes, with plenty of support to the inside edge (which was the lower one) and very careful trimming. It takes a while to get there, but with each shoeing we have noticed an improvement!
 
glosgirl said:
Foot balance will have to be sorted by your farrier, just using a certain shoe won't really change it, the foot will have to be slowly trimmed back to being in balance and level, with the shoeing done so that the appropriate areas of the hoof are supported and any flares are reduced. My oh mare had a medial lateral imbalance in her off fore, resulting in back probs and sheared heels. It is now about 4 months since diagnosis with shoeing every 5 weeks by an excellent farrier who is slowly bringing her hoof back to having correct balance. For the first couple of shoeings she had bar shoes on to support the heel, but since the balance has improved she is now in normal shoes, with plenty of support to the inside edge (which was the lower one) and very careful trimming. It takes a while to get there, but with each shoeing we have noticed an improvement!
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Thanks glosgirl - yep farrier is coming every 4 weeks and has a copy of the xrays from the vets to work from. He's put him in NB because thinks that will suit him best whilst he balances him up. When you say with each shoeing you noticed an improvement - can you explain? I don't know what I expected tbh but I didn't expect him to still be lame. Can imbalance cause noticeable lameness?
 
After each shoeing, she was able to turn better (one of her symptoms was having alot of trouble with her balance when doing left turns) and has slowly been better in herself. For a few days to a week after the farrier she was a little more grumpy as each time the balance was improved a little so it changed the balance in her leg too. This was a bit uncomfortable for her while things settled again and she had a couple of days of bute after her first few shoeings to make her more comfortable. As well as the farrier we have also had our back lady out regularly as the imbalance also affected her back. Between the two she is much improved!
 
glosgirl said:
After each shoeing, she was able to turn better (one of her symptoms was having alot of trouble with her balance when doing left turns) and has slowly been better in herself. For a few days to a week after the farrier she was a little more grumpy as each time the balance was improved a little so it changed the balance in her leg too. This was a bit uncomfortable for her while things settled again and she had a couple of days of bute after her first few shoeings to make her more comfortable. As well as the farrier we have also had our back lady out regularly as the imbalance also affected her back. Between the two she is much improved!
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Thanks - I was thinking of getting a back person out too as assumed he'd have learnt to walk funny to compensate.

Good luck with your mare
 
I would def get a back person - all because of one imbalanced foot she had pain and tightness in so many areas! The atlas, chest muscles, whither area, lower back and hamstrings! The back lady def helped ease things out again, I would find a well recommended one as they are not all equal!
Lots of luck with your chap, it is rather a slow road, but you will get there!
 
Good luck Peaches had xrays etc and vet concluded that she was lame due to poor foot balance. ( she was barefoot at the time)
Changed farrier ( one suggested by vet) foot is now balanced and she is still lame. one yr on only slightly and only on a right turn but is still so.
 
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