Vet says my horses prognosis is poor- any ideas what I could do to help him

T

teasle

Well-Known Member
Joined
17 March 2010
Messages
868
Visit site
My 7 year old gelding has not been responding to rest for tendon/ligament injuries around his fetlock joint and my vet thinks that there may be another issue,such as a progressive collapse of the joint through cartilage degeneration. This has not yet been confirmed, but has anyone any ideas of anything I could try to help this horse.
 
I would get your vet to xray to rule out any joint issues/diagnose. My 9 year old suffered collapsing pasterns in his hind, with lots of calcification to the joint. As a riding horse my vet has given a very poor prognosis for him.
 
How long has he been rested for so farand do you mean box rest or field rest? Unless the vet has any other suggestions for treatment then all i can suggest is rest, rest and more rest. He has age on his side as far as repairing himself is concerned but this is assuming he can be turned out to rest - even if in a small paddock. I wouldn't want to have a horse on long term box rest.

I would look into joint supplements and maybe remedial farriery/foot trimming ti ensure his feet are well-balanced and are not creating unecessary and uneven strain on a particular area.

I have no personal experience of these things but all I know is they can take a long time to heal.
 
Sorry about your horse gingerthing my vet has done x rays last april and they were ok but he thinks that he should do them again.
 
ladyt25 said:
How long has he been rested for so farand do you mean box rest or field rest? Unless the vet has any other suggestions for treatment then all i can suggest is rest, rest and more rest. He has age on his side as far as repairing himself is concerned but this is assuming he can be turned out to rest - even if in a small paddock. I wouldn't want to have a horse on long term box rest.

I would look into joint supplements and maybe remedial farriery/foot trimming ti ensure his feet are well-balanced and are not creating unecessary and uneven strain on a particular area.

I have no personal experience of these things but all I know is they can take a long time to heal.
Click to expand...

I was told that I would not ride my cob again after a spell of lameness new bone growth on xrays on both hinds(thought it was a tendon initially xray etc etc) I thought he would be out for a few weeks which went to months and then a whole year and the vet said you may not ride him again at all! Gutted! He hates the stable and I had him on restricted area which he was fine with & gradually we increased. But I completely agree time is a healer and he did improve ..I know my problem isnt the same as yours (& I dont understand properly) BUT I do think a long time off did really help my horse. He did get ridden again for about another 3 years but just very lightly until retired.

You could always get a second opinion but if you are happy with your vets advice ie equine vet?? go with it. I hope due to his young age that this will be to his advantage and as suggested Farrier too....? my great old farrier was brilliant at advising on the shoes or not etc and what to do..invaluable help, so worth getting them out as well.But good luck hope he improves just be patient it may be worth it in the long run. Let him heal up properly etc.
 
I am a patient person and he can have al the time to heal that he needs,but if his joint is collapsing i would not keep him going if it is incurable and he is in pain.
 
My horse had quite bad cartilage degeneration by one of her fetlocks as a result of a bone chip which had been in there for years, undiagnosed, rubbing away at it. We think it may have been in there for up to 15-20 years and she had just learnt to live with it! After it was removed the surgeon said there was a sort of hole in the cartilage. She also has spavins in her hocks so this is the treatment plan we followed for both at the same time as they were quite similar:

1. She is now on joint supplements (don't bother with the ones you buy in the feed store like cortaflex; they have hardly any active ingredients - get prescription ones like synequin from your vet).

2. She had box rest following the surgery for I think two months followed by field rest then a gradual return to work. Then I was encouraged to do lots of long slow hacking for fitness and keep her in full work - she returned to full work including jumping.

3. She had steroid injections to all the dodgy joints. This has helped massively and if you haven't already done this it is something I would talk to your vet about. Obviously I'm not a vet though but if what is wrong with your horse is anything like what was wrong with mine with should help.

4. She had a drug called Tildren. This helps bone/cartilage to regenerate by doing something I don't really understand well enough to explain although if you google it their website gives a good explanation. It is given by drip and mine had two treatments. Also worth talking to your vet about if you haven't already.

5. The farrier rolls the toes on her hind shoes and she has lateral extensions which apparently ease breakover. This makes sense to my farrier, my vet and my horse. I understand the rolled toes but not the lateral extensions but as long as they keep helping then I'm happy.

6. I do stretches with her as she'll always be more prone to stiffness in her dodgy joints. I make sure she does some work every day, avoid days off and give her as much turnout as possible.

7. She wears magnetic boots in her stable at night. I have no idea whether this helps or not but I've spent enough money on everything else and put her through enough invasive other stuff that £40 for something non-invasive seems definitely worth a try. When she's stabled at night in winter she comes out less stiff if she's had them on - might be the magnets, might be that her legs have been warmer, who cares really? The point is something is working.

I hope something here helps you and your horse. Get x-rays if you haven't already to assess the extent of the damage and ask for a referral to someone who is specialist in this type of lameness (I was lucky in that it's my vet's special interest). Good luck!
 
as someone said above you need to get the vet to x-ray the joint and then you will know one way or another.
my horse has problems with 3 of his legs (one thing or another!) last year he managed to do his DDFT in his fore leg, he was on field rest and bute, i also bought some magnetic fetlock wraps and use them on him (even now) for a few hours each day, i don't know if they've helped or not and if they have i'm not sure how they work but he has recovered better than the vet thought.
 
unbalanced said:
1. She is now on joint supplements (don't bother with the ones you buy in the feed store like cortaflex; they have hardly any active ingredients - get prescription ones like synequin from your vet).
Click to expand...

Synequin has only ONE advantage over a good quality supplement like Riaflex Complete - which is a third of the price!! And that is that if the vet prescribes Synequin, insurance will pay for it. If you don't have insurance, then use Riaflex Complete! It's spec. is slightly BETTER than Synequin - and it works! I have a 23 year old hunter diagnosed with high articular ringbone and a poor prognosis 4 years ago - he is still hunting. And a 20 year old stallion with advanced coffin joint arthritis, diagnosed 3 years ago - again with a poor prognosis - who is still covering and hacking out every day! Both were treated with a 5 week course of high dose bute while the Riaflex was kicking in - both now sound on just the Riaflex (although the hunter does have one bute a day during the hunting season.)
 
I would suggest you get your horse refered to one of the Equine Centres of excellence such as Rossdales in Newmarket.
 
My vet came today and x rayed the joint today to compare it with the previous x ray and I am waiting to hear the result. He says if the joint is collapsing the horse has no future. I asked about cortisone injections and he said that they would have no effect.
 
Good luck with the xrays. Hard with any horse but especially such a youngster.

But whatever you choose to do he is lucky he has a good owner who tried for him.
 
The x rays showed that thankfully my horses fetlocks are not collapsing. However as the lameness he has is disproportionate to the little bit of ligament/tendon damage he has, my vet recommends we get an mri done. But I am confused by it all.
 
green lipped mussels excellent for tendons (personal experience). Second opinion from a major centre seems in order if your vet isn't sure. That's what I asked for when my vet prposed surgery, contacted london vet school/hospital, scans got sent up & I got very clear, informative advice which helped me make a decision.

Just be tactful about asking your vet to do this. It's no insult to him, you are just trying to get anothers persons ideas about what may be wrong.
 
teasle said:
The x rays showed that thankfully my horses fetlocks are not collapsing. However as the lameness he has is disproportionate to the little bit of ligament/tendon damage he has, my vet recommends we get an mri done. But I am confused by it all.
Click to expand...

Well that's good news. Why are you confused? An MRI scan will be the best bet and will give a clear indication of what is going on. My mare had nerve blocks and x-rays at our local vets which couldn't help with a diagnosis, but when she went to Rossdale's for MRI scans these clearly showed the problem and she had IRAP therapy which has proved successful.

Good luck - it may be a long road, but at his age it will definitely be worth it.
 
unbalanced said:
My horse had quite bad cartilage degeneration by one of her fetlocks as a result of a bone chip which had been in there for years, undiagnosed, rubbing away at it. We think it may have been in there for up to 15-20 years and she had just learnt to live with it! After it was removed the surgeon said there was a sort of hole in the cartilage. She also has spavins in her hocks so this is the treatment plan we followed for both at the same time as they were quite similar:

1. She is now on joint supplements (don't bother with the ones you buy in the feed store like cortaflex; they have hardly any active ingredients - get prescription ones like synequin from your vet).

2. She had box rest following the surgery for I think two months followed by field rest then a gradual return to work. Then I was encouraged to do lots of long slow hacking for fitness and keep her in full work - she returned to full work including jumping.

3. She had steroid injections to all the dodgy joints. This has helped massively and if you haven't already done this it is something I would talk to your vet about. Obviously I'm not a vet though but if what is wrong with your horse is anything like what was wrong with mine with should help.

4. She had a drug called Tildren. This helps bone/cartilage to regenerate by doing something I don't really understand well enough to explain although if you google it their website gives a good explanation. It is given by drip and mine had two treatments. Also worth talking to your vet about if you haven't already.

5. The farrier rolls the toes on her hind shoes and she has lateral extensions which apparently ease breakover. This makes sense to my farrier, my vet and my horse. I understand the rolled toes but not the lateral extensions but as long as they keep helping then I'm happy.

6. I do stretches with her as she'll always be more prone to stiffness in her dodgy joints. I make sure she does some work every day, avoid days off and give her as much turnout as possible.

7. She wears magnetic boots in her stable at night. I have no idea whether this helps or not but I've spent enough money on everything else and put her through enough invasive other stuff that £40 for something non-invasive seems definitely worth a try. When she's stabled at night in winter she comes out less stiff if she's had them on - might be the magnets, might be that her legs have been warmer, who cares really? The point is something is working.

I hope something here helps you and your horse. Get x-rays if you haven't already to assess the extent of the damage and ask for a referral to someone who is specialist in this type of lameness (I was lucky in that it's my vet's special interest). Good luck!
Click to expand...

Would also suggest Hyonate - worked wonders for mine - he can't use it now for a specific reason, however I would not hesitate to use it on another horse, mine had it every six months and the effects were noticable after the second injection. Horse went from 3/10ths lame before first injection to well under 1/10th just before being given the third - never flexed after the third
 
diamond_light said:
speak to David at equimins or his staff they are soooooooooooooooooooo helpfull they have helped me so much with diamonds uveittis and joints all their stuff is money back guaranteed

they have helped me with feet too hoofmender made 100% difference to my other mare

http://www.equimins-online.com/cgi-...ijoint_Cartilage_Supplement_49.html#aP46#aP46

you say coral are u in the USA??
Click to expand...

Another vote for Equimins, very helpful and quick delivery, good products and value for money.
 
I am a great beliver in time, if it is a ligament, tendon i would happily give said beastie a year off doing NOTHING, I would then introduce hacking the next year, starting with 10 min walks and increase to 3 to 4 hour hacks, mainly in walk by the end of the summer. I would then lightly school - no lunging and only 20 metre circles in walk over the winter and then i woud bring into full work the following year. As a person who has had a huge amount of joint problems, I can personally validify the long and slow approach - if i had been a horse and only box rested for 12 weeks and then brought back into work I would definatly have broken down and would be dog food by now :)

However if said horse is either in pain or will be found floundering one day I would have no hesitation in pts
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top