update on big lad

[leanne123]

sorry couldn't get a reply last night off the vet.
well he was addmitted yesterday and had more x rays and scans ect, and when i rang to check on him today they let him come home.
the boney lump has gone back to normal on the new set of x rays,
but the tendon sheath is damaged and has lots of fibrous (sp) tissues surrounding it but no infection.
i asked what could be done for him now he could
1) have the tendon sheath cut but would leave his forward movement impared.
2)could have it lazered which would speed up healing time by 33%
3) could have stem cell treatment but it costs £1000 just to grow the cells and limited knowledge as to weather it would actually work.

vets put him back on box rest with bute and 10 mins walking out in hand twice a day expecting this to take at least 12 months to get right, but will recover fully as long as i can stop him re injuring himself.
gonna surf the net tonight to check out stem cell treatment.
thanks all of you for helping and giving me info on you horses injurys as i really impressed both the vet and yo today with the amount i knew of this type of injury.

thankyou everyone
leanne and alfie

 

[Tierra]

Hiya Leanne

Thanks for much for the update.. a lot of us have been thinking about you.

At least you now know whats going on and can decide on the appropriate treatment to take and at least there is no outstanding infection. Also at least the prognosis IS good although it sounds like its going to be a very lengthy process

Where was it he was referred to by the way?

Wishing you both all the best.

 

[leanne123]

he went in to my vets which is onsite at moor house equestrian centre in doncaster.
just need to find out which treatment is gonna be best for him now, any advice or treatment success's any of you have had i would love to hear about as atm not sure which way i want to go.
im still going to get advice else where (another vet) though i think as i feel theres more i can be doing for him.
now i know whats wrong with him i can start to deal with it, better than taking a stab in the dark as i have been.

the vet is really suprised though at the injury as he wasn't lame at first and even now hes not lame, lame , only i know hes not right. you see it when he turns.
bless him when i left him yesterday he thought i was never coming back, you should have seen his face when i went to get him today it was a picture.

 

[Patches]

Ooo, sounds very similar to patches tendon adhesions post surgery.

Have you been told to get him on bute, high doses, to get him painfree so he flexes the joint and breaks up the fibrous tissue naturally? It took Patches months and months to trot up sound (off the bute), but she got there in the end. It can be done. They need ALOT of work and turnout to keep them mobile.

If this is what your horsey has, then I have every confidence that you can help him. Might take a bit longer as it's been ongoing more so than my horse's was when hers formed.

 

[leanne123]

hes not got much pain, not lame in trot you only see him feel it when you turn him. hes on bute for 5 days and to walk out 2x daily for 10 mins.
seen the scans today at the vets and the fibrous tissue is about 1 inch thick between the skin and the tendon so he has quite alot.
theres one good thing about this though a least i will feel the benefit and get a bit fitter walking him out instead of him walking me.
i suggested to the vet that i put him out 24/7 with little welsh a colt to keep him moving and break down the tissues.
vet said no hes got to stay in and must not even been let into the school for a walk round / roll. atm as he will make the injury worse.
dont know how hes gonna react walking out of yard as were on a busy 60 mile/hour main road, he hates large waggons ect, will be pretty hair raising stuff i'd much rather be aboard than leading him though as he grows 3 foot when hes exicted. at least he will get a change.

 

[Tia]

That's sort of good news really. Could've been so much worse.

I have to say I am really surprised your vet has suggested box rest though. Generally that is counter-productive to the healing stages of something like this. I know you don't want them bombing around but being kept on the move is usually best. Maybe you could suggest to vet about keeping him in a small paddock? Is this the same vet as before?

Odd about the bone going back to normal - did he give you any reasons for why this should be?

All in all though, it's a fairly decent outcome so good luck with his recovery.

 

[Blizzard]

Im pleased you at last have a few answers, at least you have a better idea what is going on now, hugs to you both.

 

[leanne123]

i've seen both sets of x rays today so it has gone back to normal, must have strong bones , but it wasn't a massive lump and its been 3 weeks in between x rays the bones just a little rough now but you have to look really hard a the x ray.
but i'm really glad that the bones in his knee aren't damaged cos if you would have seen the size of his knee when it first happened you would have thought it was broken.
i too thought he'd be better turned out 24/7 as hes not really one for bombing about in the field once hes realised hes not gonna be taken away from his beloved grass, but i do think he'd get a little excited at first as hes been on box rest ages now. he also knows the 2 colts i've got out in a field as he was out with them at a different yard, but i would move the big one as hes feeling his balls atm and don't want another accident.
i really hoped that it wouldn't be the tendon but hes gonna get better so a least i made the right decision in keep getting the vet out, im just so glad now that im a natural worrier and i made my own decision instead of listening to everyone else on the yard who thought i was being stupid and wasting my money.
and 2 of them came with me to pick him up today and finally realised i was right in insisting he saw the vet as soon as i realised what we were doing was no longer working.
i feel so lucky though when i read patches story about her horse and how quickly they had to treatment.

 

[Patches]

I was told that if I felt more confident walking patches out under saddle, that was fine. I think I walked her in hand for a couple of weeks and then rode for the next 6. I think it was about 5 weeks after surgery before she was out in the field. Adhesion has to break down gently not be torn apart in a mad hoolie. Although I will say that the vet was keen to get her out in the field as soon as possible. I built the riding up from 10 minutes to about an hour in the first month. After that I know I had to introduce schooling and trotting whilst hacking. Even if she looked lame (which she did initially) as the more work they do, the better it'll heal.

Difference I think for your horse and mine is that Patches adhesions were still very fresh. I would think your boys are more established with the treatment plan he's been on. Has the tissue formed on the knee or above it? If it's on the joint, and he lets you, you could pick his foot up and down swiftly about 10 times, 3 times a day if you get the chance. My vet said that would be excellent for patches. Sadly, I couldn't do that for ages as she'd rear when the leg was flexed such was the pain.

Must admit, she walked our pretty normally, it was just at trot or when picking the foot up that you noticed the problem.

Anyway, good luck, but seriously, there's no reason to try and control him in hand for 10 mins and risk him being stupid. My vet was adamant that if I felt I'd have more control that it was perfectly ok to walk for 10 mins whilst riding.

 

[leanne123]

thanks patches no its not on his knee its above the knee.
i can pick his foot up alright but although hes not in much pain with it he dosn't have full flexion on it. has been fine throughout with the farrier as i have kept him shod otherwise hes a bit footy in front.
so within a month you built it up to an hour, will have to get my hiking boots out then.
i didn't want to risk riding him atm as hes heavy enough without me on top of that on a bad leg if you know what i mean.
been flexing his leg as much as possible and also giving him a bit of a massage with muscle rub too.
will keep you all up dated on our progress
thanks again everyone.

 

[michaeljarmuz]

awww im so pleased ive been worrying about him