Vets on line? This mystery!!

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Rollin

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I have already posted about my mare but the situation is quite dire. Ideas from vets please I am tearing my hair out.

My CB 9 years old came in from the paddock four weeks ago wednesday, very lame. I did all the usual checks and kept her in as a precaution. She has been on lami alert since April but we have no grass right now.

Farrier came to shoe her next am and assured me she did not have laminitis. I kept her in all weekend. On Monday I had her x-rayed and this showed 8deg rotation in right foot. Left foot fine.

She continued to go downhill and was x-rayed two weeks later SAME 8 deg of rotation on right foot only.

Last night I thought she would die I had the vet out at midnight and again today. Yesterday evening she was down from 6.00pm til midnight and only got up after I syringed 2 sachets of BUTE into her mouth.

This am the same down from 7.00am to noon. She eatd drinks and poos lying down.

The vet has no idea. She is in pain only controlled with 4 sachets of BUTE a day.

OTHER INFORMATION

Two years ago she went away to stud and came home empty, with EVA and ?? a mild case of lami. When I resumed her work in September I found her very uncomfortable in trot I was thrown to the right. Saddle checked and was OK - saddler said look at your horse. He was right she started to develop atropyhy of her right shoulder - and after some months a right hand flat foot.

Vet had no ideas so called in an Osteopath. Her diagnosis was that mare had had an accident. Possibly being thrown in a fast breaking horse box (we didn't transport her to stud).

Physio and exercise have not corrected this shoulder and although not lame until now I wonder if there could be nerve damage which is the real cause of her terrible pain.

IDEAS PLEASE and what investigations??

I am sure the shoulder and not laminitis are the cause of her pain.
 
SAME 8 deg of rotation on right foot only
Click to expand...

Laminitis may be secondary from compensatory loading, or poor balance in the hoof.

Maybe you need another vet and another farrier, a second opinion and a fresh pair of eyes. Sounds like there is a real bugger's muddle going on there :).

In any case would you consider going shoeless for a while on a supportive surface to let her feet recover?
 
Have you tried some of the vets at Newmarket? Ie Sue Dyson etc. I would phone or email them and see what they say. You need someone with a fresh brain to look at her and diagnose again. If she has an injury and has been compensating then that needs sorting. A horse is not supposed to lay down for long periods of time, its not good for the internal organs. That would be a worry to me if I were you. Hope you find some answers soon. Good luck
 
I'm sorry to hear she is worse, 2 sachets of bute twice a day is the minimum dose I would expect her to be on and in a horse her size I wouldn't hesitate to have her on three sachets twice a day if that was what was required to controll her pain so please don't feel you are using alot. It is really important she takes it so if your in any doubt about her eating it please keep syringing it.
You say your not sure now about her shoulder, obviously I can't comment without having seen her but laminitis is extremely painfull and she is sore on both legs so I think it is unlikely the severe pain is due to other injuries.
I think your main problem now is farriery. Is she still in metal shoes? Because if she is they need to come off and get pads on her feet or best of all imprint shoes. Is the farrier working from the xrays?
 
Thank you Sam. I have her on Metformin also. I had yet another lecture last night at midnight on why a horse should not be given BUTE!!! This is French Vets. He told me that yesterday a foal died because the owner had been giving it half a sachet.

Farrier and I bandaged on frog support two weeks ago with silicone on the sole. She was in too much pain to shoe. This afternoon he shod her with rubber heartbar shoes and filled with silicone.

He does not think laminitis is the problem. Feet cold, no pain response to pinchers and she stand square even on concrete.

As I write she is down again and I am about to give her her night-time dose via syringe.

Are there any papers on nerve damage in the shoulder? Not Sweeney but equivalent to Brachial Plexus in a person?

Thank you for replying.
 
Brachial plexus neuropathy is doccumented in horses, my personal experience of it is that it causes limb paralysis and an inability to weight bare on the affected limb but whilst I'm sure it does cause some pain this is not severe - long term weight bearing on the opposite limb can be a problem though. Do you know how to feel digital pulses and if so does she have strong ones? I think it is important to say that regardless of whether you ever find out what it is wrong with her if she is really suffering putting her to sleep should be an option. I appreciate a prognosis is highly desirable but you may never get one.
If the radiographs show rotation are they not providing you with a definitive diagnosis of laminitis or is this possible old?
 
Yes Sam, I wonder if this is 'old'. She was away at stud Mar-July two years ago and on TO 24/7. We suspect a mild case of laminits because farrier said she had had it but not with me. We know the stud vet suddenly put her on a diet with no feed at all and very limited hay.

When we started work with her again in September the problems began.

She is now shod with rubber heart bar shoes and silicone sole support but can still hardly put one foot in front of another. PTS may be an option I accept that.

As we have only 70 CB mares breeding each year(worldwide) it will be a double tragedy.

My farrier wants to speak to our vet - he thinks she should be seen by a Specialist ortho vet or I could take her to vet school at Nantes.
 
Hi Rollin,
How is your mare doing? If you have access to a video camera and could post a video or even some photos maybe I mite be able to give you an indication if it is a neurological problem she has or lami or something else. I hope she is a little better at least.
sam x
 
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