What would cause ossification of the pedal bone?

Casey76

Casey76

Well-Known Member
Joined
16 July 2011
Messages
3,651
Location
North East, UK
Visit site
Just a general query really.

I had a mare vetted on Wednesday; unfortunately there was slight ossification of the "wings" of P3 in the front right foot, and as she was only 5 I turned her down, despite the vet saying she was "fit for purpose" (ignoring the fact the mare was unlevel to the right on hard and soft ground).

Her feet were a bit of a mess, with event lines all the way down her hoofs in very regular spacings, about every 5mm. She had obviously been de-shod very recently as there were nail holes still at the very bottom of her hoof.

I'm not regretting my decision (if I tell myself often enough I'll believe it!), but would like to know a bit more about the pathology :)

Thanks!
 
This sounds like early sidebone forming, I would have been less worried by the xrays than the fact the horse was lame at the time of vetting on both hard and soft ground, it is likely to degenerate, especially if caused by conformation. You did the right thing as I find it hard to see how she was passed as fit for purpose, even hacking would cause problems and you would have needed to start off with rehabbing a new horse, hardly a great way to begin.
 
Could be conformation or a concussive injury, anything. I'm astonished that the vet thought the horse fit for purpose: as what?! :confused:
 
be positive said:
This sounds like early sidebone forming, I would have been less worried by the xrays than the fact the horse was lame at the time of vetting on both hard and soft ground, it is likely to degenerate, especially if caused by conformation. You did the right thing as I find it hard to see how she was passed as fit for purpose, even hacking would cause problems and you would have needed to start off with rehabbing a new horse, hardly a great way to begin.
Click to expand...

I know, right? I probably understated the "purpose" saying dressage for pleasure and hacking; but still the mare was uncomfortable and was obviously struggling on hard ground to the right.

Although I didn't see her lunged on hard ground when i went to try her, the discomfort on soft ground had increased since last week, as I didn't notice the intermittent uneveness until it was pointed out to me on the video I took.

It also boggles the mind how the vet could say she wasn't foot sore when testing with hoof testers in the quarters U turned and nipped the vet on the bum - which was very out of character.

Granted the osteogenesis is only very slight, but obviously new/ongoing, as on the xray it was very bright.

I know you have to look at the whole picture with these things... if the mare had been older (a lot older) perhaps some deformity may be expected; or if she was aymptomatic etc then I wouldn't have seen it as such an issue. BUT given that she is only 5, and was unlevel... well that rules out ever breeding from her as well doesn't it?
 
Sounds like sidebone which doesn't cause lameness, lots of horses would be lame when lunged on a hard surface which doesn't mean they aren't sound enough to do a job.....

She sounds a bit footy as she'd recently had shoes removed, event lines = diet needs looking at
 
Last edited:
My 6yo was diagnosed with this. He had been poorly shod for about 9 months by ,y old farrier and my vet explained in very basic terms that the heels were so compressed that they restricted the blood supply to the bone which caused it to die. I've taken the shoes off and my vet feels that the bone can re model and come back, although it will probably never be the same and it will take a long time.

I had already bought the horse though and I certainly wouldn't have taken him on had I known that in the beginning as its going to be a long road.
 
foxy1 said:
Sounds like sidebone which doesn't cause lameness, lots of horses would be lame when lunged on a hard surface which doesn't mean they aren't sound enough to do a job.....

She sounds a bit footy as she'd recently had shoes removed, event lines = diet needs looking at
Click to expand...

I think you mean 'sometimes doesn't cause lameness'? Because sidebone can cause serious lameness in some cases and I certainly wouldn't buy a 5 year old with it, symptoms or no symptoms.




For general info, side bone is ossification of the lateral cartilages, not additional bone on the sides of the pedal bone as this poster has found on xray.

OP you did the right thing turning the horse down. I hope you find the right one soon.
 
Sidebone rarely causes lameness but it's one of those things if picked up on xray that gets the blame for it, like navicular and kissing spines.
 
Casey76 said:
Lateromedial right fore



Pedal bone view


Unfortunately the toes are missing from all of the shots :rolleyes:
Click to expand...



I think that the vet may be commenting on the additional bone density on the 'horns' that you can see on either side of the bone above the dark V line. Can you see that on both sides there is a white line, which shows much denser bone.

I don't know if that is significant, personally.

However, unless he had the horse standing very badly for the Xrays I would be concerned about how much pressure there is to the left hand side of the joint higher up.

It is absolutely shameful that the xrays missed the tips of the pedal bones. If nothing else had been seen on the xrays the horse would pass, but it's possible that the tips of the pedal bones are missing or remodelled which would indicate a iikelihood of serious trauma in the past. The side shot would not necessarily show a squaring off of the toe.
 
Last edited:
The mare was standing quite poorly. The owners seemed quite inexperienced and there wasn't enough pressure on her knee to keep her foot square in the foot support.

It was actually a bit frustrating, and in the end I actually had to step on and hold her head while the did the hock shots.
 
HOw frustrating this must be for you. The chances are the horse just has poor foot balance/trimming issues but you couldn't possibly take that risk in a 5 year old. If you really like the horse, could you take it on 3 months LWVTB and see what decent foot care achieves?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top