applecart14
Well-Known Member
Sorry for long post, will try to keep it as brief as is humanly possible! Bailey attended my vets clinic yesterday for ‘investigating poor performance to include comprehensive orthopaedic exam and neuro assessment’. After various neuro tests and lunge work it was determined that Bailey has a problem with vertebrae in his neck and also his suspensory branch n/f.
The discharge report states:
The cervical and thoracic spine was radiographed and there was evidence of articular process joint (APJ) arthropathy in the lower cervical spine. There was also crowding of the DSPs from T12-L2. Ultrasound guided medication with corticosteroids of the APJ’s of C5-C6 was performed.
Exercise: In hand exercise in straight lines using long reins for 2 weeks incorporating in-hand pole work to develop core strength and stability. Ridden walk and trot exercise can be introduced gradually after 2 weeks and we should reassess Bailey in 4-6 weeks time.
Additional comments: Bailey is showing signs of suspensory desmitis in both branches of the left fore. I have recommended that Bailey does not jump in the future.
So basically the neuro tests were conclusive that he was showing very slight ataxia but the vet says he doesn’t have wobblers/CVM per se, instead from what I could gather the vet feels he is orthopaedically weak behind and this can be managed with a rehab programme. This is good news as although there is arthritic changes in his neck this is not causing him huge problems and has hopefully been resolved with the use of steroids, time will tell. He wasn’t hugely reactive to any of the tests although it did show up that he had some kind of problem with limb placement/sway tail test.
The vet was pleased with him on the lunge, he gradually got better through the trot in hand examination, i.e. when his initial stiffness wore off and the lunging he said didn’t appear to show up anything major, he was moving nicely in trot and canter and swinging through his back although you could see the slight hop on the right rein due to the suspensory branch n/f, which will hopefully improve as it has done previously. He said he looked well and fit for his age and his shoeing was very good, his feet were well balanced. The near fore was scanned, the calcification looks a bit larger than last time but the vet felt this wasn’t a contributing factor.
The vet said that he should be fine for hacking, schooling and low level dressage as he has been coping well with this work up to now with his reassessments with my other vet, following his previous suspensory branch injury, but he will need to see how he looks at reassessment in 4-6 weeks.
It was obviously a blow not to be able to jump anymore as we both enjoy it so much and I have had a period of tears about this as it means so much to me, but the vet felt that on looking at the scan the damage to his branch was a little too much for him to continue to jump in the future, if it did severely sprain (and it could go up the leg this time) then it’s a 3 month box rest job and I know I would never put him through box rest with all his other problems so it’s a no brainer really. I appreciate his findings and have assured him that he will never be jumped again. I’ve had twelve years of jumping/eventing fun with him and he doesn’t owe me anything, in reality it is a small price to pay and not totally unexpected.
The overcrowding of the dorsal spinous processes are nothing major to worry about, the vet said that this kind of x-ray would be typical of a horse of his workload/age (19) and that the long lining and pole work would help build up his core strength.
We had a bit of a wobbly moment when his neck was swabbed with surgical spirit prior to the injection of steroid when he has a huge skin reaction and his neck all bubbled and had welts all over it so he was given an antihistamine injection, and the stuff washed off - he looked a right state! The vet said in all his professional career he had never seen a horse react like this to surgical spirit – the reaction was impressive but by the time I got back home an hour later had almost disappeared!!
I am really impressed with my vets practice. I think they are very good and thorough with their examinations and findings. I am equally impressed with my ACPAT physio whose findings were again as usual spot on, she said she thought he'd a problem with C6 and she was right.
Hopefully I will be able to put this through my insurance as a claim as neck/back are one of the few things not excluded from my insurance policy and I can have some physio rehab as well.
Thank you for all your kind comments previously.
The discharge report states:
The cervical and thoracic spine was radiographed and there was evidence of articular process joint (APJ) arthropathy in the lower cervical spine. There was also crowding of the DSPs from T12-L2. Ultrasound guided medication with corticosteroids of the APJ’s of C5-C6 was performed.
Exercise: In hand exercise in straight lines using long reins for 2 weeks incorporating in-hand pole work to develop core strength and stability. Ridden walk and trot exercise can be introduced gradually after 2 weeks and we should reassess Bailey in 4-6 weeks time.
Additional comments: Bailey is showing signs of suspensory desmitis in both branches of the left fore. I have recommended that Bailey does not jump in the future.
So basically the neuro tests were conclusive that he was showing very slight ataxia but the vet says he doesn’t have wobblers/CVM per se, instead from what I could gather the vet feels he is orthopaedically weak behind and this can be managed with a rehab programme. This is good news as although there is arthritic changes in his neck this is not causing him huge problems and has hopefully been resolved with the use of steroids, time will tell. He wasn’t hugely reactive to any of the tests although it did show up that he had some kind of problem with limb placement/sway tail test.
The vet was pleased with him on the lunge, he gradually got better through the trot in hand examination, i.e. when his initial stiffness wore off and the lunging he said didn’t appear to show up anything major, he was moving nicely in trot and canter and swinging through his back although you could see the slight hop on the right rein due to the suspensory branch n/f, which will hopefully improve as it has done previously. He said he looked well and fit for his age and his shoeing was very good, his feet were well balanced. The near fore was scanned, the calcification looks a bit larger than last time but the vet felt this wasn’t a contributing factor.
The vet said that he should be fine for hacking, schooling and low level dressage as he has been coping well with this work up to now with his reassessments with my other vet, following his previous suspensory branch injury, but he will need to see how he looks at reassessment in 4-6 weeks.
It was obviously a blow not to be able to jump anymore as we both enjoy it so much and I have had a period of tears about this as it means so much to me, but the vet felt that on looking at the scan the damage to his branch was a little too much for him to continue to jump in the future, if it did severely sprain (and it could go up the leg this time) then it’s a 3 month box rest job and I know I would never put him through box rest with all his other problems so it’s a no brainer really. I appreciate his findings and have assured him that he will never be jumped again. I’ve had twelve years of jumping/eventing fun with him and he doesn’t owe me anything, in reality it is a small price to pay and not totally unexpected.
The overcrowding of the dorsal spinous processes are nothing major to worry about, the vet said that this kind of x-ray would be typical of a horse of his workload/age (19) and that the long lining and pole work would help build up his core strength.
We had a bit of a wobbly moment when his neck was swabbed with surgical spirit prior to the injection of steroid when he has a huge skin reaction and his neck all bubbled and had welts all over it so he was given an antihistamine injection, and the stuff washed off - he looked a right state! The vet said in all his professional career he had never seen a horse react like this to surgical spirit – the reaction was impressive but by the time I got back home an hour later had almost disappeared!!
I am really impressed with my vets practice. I think they are very good and thorough with their examinations and findings. I am equally impressed with my ACPAT physio whose findings were again as usual spot on, she said she thought he'd a problem with C6 and she was right.
Hopefully I will be able to put this through my insurance as a claim as neck/back are one of the few things not excluded from my insurance policy and I can have some physio rehab as well.
Thank you for all your kind comments previously.
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