Unexplained lameness

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Clo23245

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Hi all got a complex case I need some help with if anyone has any ideas.
My horse 15hh cobx 12year old has been for the last 2 years intermittently lame, she’s been in to hospital twice for lameness work up, the first day she’s very lame the second day they try and do lameness work up and she wouldn’t go lame so they sent her home, she went in again did the same again, but they said she’s got slight arthritis in hocks and in 1 fetlock in hind, she’s been injected with arthrumid (can’t have steroids because history of lami) since she’s had that done she’s had a swollen fetlock that won’t go down 9 weeks laters, vets have come out and x rayed and re scanned found nothing, she’s on 2 Bute a day and told to be brought back in to work which I did, but after 4 days of hacking just at walk and trot, been out for about an hour and half, both hind legs got very puffy and she’s very very slightly lame still on 2 Bute, we have now stopped riding again to give her a few days off to let swelling go back down which it is, but just looking for any advice on what people would do next, the vets I’m going round in circles with they don’t no what’s causing it, so any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks x
 
With the history of lami I might check for foot pain next? Can be worth trying hoof boots or pads in shoes. Also reducing sugars in the diet affects some that are intermittently footy.
 
Hi thanks for that she doesn’t really get any sugars as she has ems aswel, vet wasn’t convinced it could be feet tho due to it not adding up on hard and soft ground.
 
pistolpete said:
With the history of lami I might check for foot pain next? Can be worth trying hoof boots or pads in shoes. Also reducing sugars in the diet affects some that are intermittently footy.
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Thanks vet does think it’s hind end lameness tho and she doesn’t get any sugars as she has ems x
 
Can you pin point any patterns over the 2 years? After hard work, soft ground, hard ground, less turnout, more turnout, particular feed, particular time of day, when it's hotter or colder, more work in the school or after a blast out hacking? If you cannot make her lame enough to do a workup, but it's still recurring I would say you either need to try elimination and find out what makes her lame, or do some sort of bone scan to look for hot points which may give you some indication. Does she have a physio or bodywork that may pick up some recurring tightness?
 
AShetlandBitMeOnce said:
Can you pin point any patterns over the 2 years? After hard work, soft ground, hard ground, less turnout, more turnout, particular feed, particular time of day, when it's hotter or colder, more work in the school or after a blast out hacking? If you cannot make her lame enough to do a workup, but it's still recurring I would say you either need to try elimination and find out what makes her lame, or do some sort of bone scan to look for hot points which may give you some indication. Does she have a physio or bodywork that may pick up some recurring tightne
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Hi so no there is no pattern I can do anything and it can trigger randomly, she doesn’t have chiropractor and physio, she’s always had problem with her pelvis need it adjusted every few months, so we thought maybe SI but told vet and they want convinced on this.
Obviously at the minute it’s going through insurance but she’s had a lot done so I’m running out of money so would like to find out what is it really.
If it was SI problem tho would I’d make her hind legs fill ??
 
Clo23245 said:
Hi so no there is no pattern I can do anything and it can trigger randomly, she does have chiropractor and physio, she’s always had problem with her pelvis need it adjusted every few months, so we thought maybe SI but told vet and they want convinced on this.
Obviously at the minute it’s going through insurance but she’s had a lot done so I’m running out of money so would like to find out what is it really.
If it was SI problem tho would I’d make her hind legs fill ??
Click to expand...
 
Clo23245 said:
Hi so no there is no pattern I can do anything and it can trigger randomly, she doesn’t have chiropractor and physio, she’s always had problem with her pelvis need it adjusted every few months, so we thought maybe SI but told vet and they want convinced on this.
Obviously at the minute it’s going through insurance but she’s had a lot done so I’m running out of money so would like to find out what is it really.
If it was SI problem tho would I’d make her hind legs fill ??
Click to expand...

I am not convinced that any non-surgical intervention can adjust a pelvis, I have always hated it when chiros and physios say this but that's a personal gripe and by the by!
The filled legs may be a red herring.
The arthritis may remain the issue, it may be intermittent with more work, colder weather and then feeling better after a rest. Personally I would either put her in 6 days work to aggravate the problem enough that you can pinpoint it (I know it's a horrible prospect but is it short term pain for long term gain at this point), or chuck her out for 6 months and see if you have a sounder mare at the end of it.
I'd also want foot x-rays, purely personal preference.
 
AShetlandBitMeOnce said:
I am not convinced that any non-surgical intervention can adjust a pelvis, I have always hated it when chiros and physios say this but that's a personal gripe and by the by!
The filled legs may be a red herring.
The arthritis may remain the issue, it may be intermittent with more work, colder weather and then feeling better after a rest. Personally I would either put her in 6 days work to aggravate the problem enough that you can pinpoint it (I know it's a horrible prospect but is it short term pain for long term gain at this point), or chuck her out for 6 months and see if you have a sounder mare at the end of it.
I'd also want foot x-rays, purely personal preference.
Click to expand...
Thanks for that, I think I may get her feet xrayed like you see, also might look in to the SI as she has all the signs of that, does anyone know if they can ultrasound the SI or does it have to be MRI.
 
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