What could these scars be?

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Hovis_and_SidsMum

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This is not my horse I'm posting about so I'm going to merely call it horse X.
X came to our yard last week for schooling livery. X is 7 years old (the new owners think) and was bought without seeing it ridden. ( I know, i know!!).
X has since proved unrideable for the novice owners and so has been sent to my instructor to see what can be done.
X is a lovely looking horse which cost them £800. Alarm bells were ringing in my head at this point - even more so when YO asked hubby to lunge X on sat and its blatently lame on its front right.
Now for the question. It has two scars about two inches long down the front of each front leg. They taper to an inverted Y shape and to my untrained eye look surgical. My first thought was a nerve severing operation? Any ideas what else it could be?
I feel so sorry for X - he's a lovely horse but I have a nasty feeling these people have been sold a badly damanged horse.
What other types of operations would cause scars like that?
 
they're about 2 or 3 inches below his knees on both legs.
The owners seemed to think it was an injury but I can't see anything that would cause an injury that produces two perfectly neat wounds in exactly the same place on each leg.
Because of what we went through with sid our YO asked us to try to talk to these people but I don't think we're getting through to them. They seem nice but very very niave.
I'm not asking for a diagnosis but any ideas of what might have been done would be great.
 
The Y shape of the scars is a little confusing, I've seen scars from a horse with navicular that needed to be de-nerved but these were quite straight scars and on the side of the bone. I agree that they must be surgical the fact it's both legs and identical, could you try calling the vet to see if they have any ideas?
 
The Y bit is at the bottom and only fairly small.
I might give our vets a ring.
Its really non of my business but I feel sorry for the people and the horse. I think it doesn't help he looks so much like a small version of sidney.
 
If the scars are symmetrical and in the same place on each leg, you can almost guarantee they are surgical.

It could be from previous extensor tendon surgery for diagnosis before the days of tenoscopy. I am not a vet, its just a guess and is probably wrong. Do the legs feel unusual in that area?

A vet would be able to tell more or less.

If he is lame after 10 days off rest, I would call a vet out for my horse. The old saying is 'if lame, there is pain' or something like that.
 
There are some little lumps around the scar areas on both legs.
He's fine on a straight line so no one had seen it but he's extremley lame on a circle even in the sand school when the right foot is the inside leg.
It was like watching sidney all over again. It made me feel sick. I just don't think these people understand how serious this could be.
 
Depending on exactly where on the legs the scares are but it could be from splint surgery? If splints had formed and where very large they can sometimes shatter of cause iritation so a Vet will do a surgical procedure on them.
 
The little bumps could be subcutaneous scar tissue.

So he is particularly lame when the off fore is on the inside. The inside legs on a circle are the ones which take most of the weight. This will make the lameness worse which is why a lame horse is sometimes circled.

It doesnt sound good.

Its that old saying 'buyer beware'.

I hope he is ok and its lucky he has gone to a good home. Let us know how horse X gets on.
 
Well I wonder if he has gone to a good home to be honest.
If they only paid £800 for him I wonder if he's insured.
Investigating sidneys lameness the bill came to over £3K so i'm not sure what they'll do.
Its such a shame but I think someone saw them coming.
 
Oh dear. You have a point.

Maybe he will be sold on yet again as he is so lame and possibly not insured.

Poor horse.

Another reason why I will not part with my semi-lame retired horse - you just do not know what could happen.
 
it sounds to me like a surgical one too
cant you get them to get old vet number or look on vacc card for last vets and give them a ring there have it all on record if they are surgical scars
just a thought ,just stay they reciently brought him and want to no vet history or if there any info of him on having a op of some sort
 
They seem to know bugger all about this horse. I don't think its been vaccinated and i don't think they know who the last vets were.
They didn't have it vetted either.
Their physio suggested pin firing but i didn't think that pin firing caused scars like that?
 
the only two that would no would be farrier or vet
that idea is out the window then all they can do is ask her new vet on what they reckon
a bit silly buy a horse with no paper work etc are they first time buyers
if it goes lame all the time of slight work then it surgests to me its only good for a companion shame we all learn though
 
thats the thing ther are pi** takers out there that tell you what you want to here im afraid but there stupid for not taking an experienced buyer or seller or having a vet check done it
i think they need to speak to there vet and see there might be hope in a hacking horse if theres anything the vet can do but if its lame all the time when ridden maybe theres a underlined problem but i hold little hope for it
poor thing
 
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