WWYD Lameness

[Jim bob]

Well. I would like your opinions on what would you all do in my situation.

My boy a tb, has being on and off lame for around 3 years now. At first it was bruises corns etc etc. In feb he went lame, vet thought it was abscess/ bruise so we treated it as such. It wasn't. Further down the line the nerve block was positive in his hoof. though xrays at the time were clear. A new vet came and took a look ( same practice) by now my horse was barefoot had been for a month or so. Vet blocked his hoof again and he was sounder but not fully sound. On xrays today again it was showed to have mild arthritis in his coffin and pastern. We blocked his coffin joint to see if the arthritis was causing the pain, it isn't. My options are now appearently mri or bar shoes with a wedge. Vet said he is 4/10. He does have other issues aswell he has IBD ( like IBS in humans).

My vet is thinking soft tissue but at a guess and purely a guess she said DDFT and the chances of him being ridden again are slim, he is 10.

 

[HufflyPuffly]

What rotten luck! Did they not continue to block until he was 100% sound? Not that knowledgeable about these things but surely that would give you an indication of where the remaining pain is coming from?

As an aside we tried heart-bar wedges for my lame but slightly un-diagnosed horse last year and it was a horrible mistake , caused a whopping abscess and made her lamer, we tried them for 6 months, she is now barefoot and sound!

Edited to add, Doodle was 23 this year and is now sound and happier than she has been for a year or so, don't loose hope before you know exactly what you're dealing with!

 

[Christmas Crumpet]

My vet recommended heart bar wedges for my mare a few years ago and it was a horrible disaster. Luckily she pulled them off within a few days so we left them off. In your situation, I would keep the shoes off.

 

[ester]

I'd want to investigate if something was going on higher up too if the hoof nerve blocks to either the hoof or coffin joint didn't bring him sound. If there is something else going on you don't know about not only may you be concentrating on the feet unnecessarily it will also affect how the feet are working etc.
IMO until you eliminate more of the lameness by blocking/investigate further up the leg MRIng or treating the feet is a bit pointless.

 

[Jim bob]

What rotten luck! Did they not continue to block until he was 100% sound? Not that knowledgeable about these things but surely that would give you an indication of where the remaining pain is coming from?

As an aside we tried heart-bar wedges for my lame but slightly un-diagnosed horse last year and it was a horrible mistake , caused a whopping abscess and made her lamer, we tried them for 6 months, she is now barefoot and sound!

Edited to add, Doodle was 23 this year and is now sound and happier than she has been for a year or so, don't loose hope before you know exactly what you're dealing with!

Thank you! That is very positive I want to know what I am dealing with and try every option really.

My vet recommended heart bar wedges for my mare a few years ago and it was a horrible disaster. Luckily she pulled them off within a few days so we left them off. In your situation, I would keep the shoes off.

I am going too

I'd want to investigate if something was going on higher up too if the hoof nerve blocks to either the hoof or coffin joint didn't bring him sound. If there is something else going on you don't know about not only may you be concentrating on the feet unnecessarily it will also affect how the feet are working etc.
IMO until you eliminate more of the lameness by blocking/investigate further up the leg MRIng or treating the feet is a bit pointless.

Yu see we blocked him in March ( just the hoof) and he was completely sound after that block. However 3 months later he is no longer coming fully sound when doing the same block. ( just the hoof) I am thinking if its some soft tissue but higher up.

 

[ester]

Ah I am with you, hmm, I guess if off on the hoof he might have tweaked something moving differently and vet does seem pretty convinced hoof is main issue.
So then we really move on to whether MRI is going to change what you want to do treatment wise. - and if that is barefooting then at a guess it likely won't. I'd suggest that is his best often, it might not work 100% and there might be something else going on too, have you had a good physio to him? They do often get quite stiff and sore while transitioning because they are using themselves differently, and if footy holding some tension.

 

[Goldenstar]

I can only echo,wants been said about transitions horse with poor often getting sore .
I would get a good ACPAT trained physio to take a look.
I don't understand why the vets are considering wedges and all that when they did not gey a block to the foot this time .
I would get a physio to look at him and ask the vet why they want to pursue surgical shoeing when the pain did not block to the foot .

 

[Jim bob]

Ah I am with you, hmm, I guess if off on the hoof he might have tweaked something moving differently and vet does seem pretty convinced hoof is main issue.
So then we really move on to whether MRI is going to change what you want to do treatment wise. - and if that is barefooting then at a guess it likely won't. I'd suggest that is his best often, it might not work 100% and there might be something else going on too, have you had a good physio to him? They do often get quite stiff and sore while transitioning because they are using themselves differently, and if footy holding some tension.

To be honest he seemed to be slowly improving almost, he was comfortable in the school so I rode him in there for the 3 months. Yet on the 26/27thjune there was a massive event at our yard and when I trotted him up later on on the 27th it was then that he was very lame. I can book the physio to see him

 

[stencilface]

Argh, lameness like this is annoying. From my own experience of ddft damage in both front feet after being bf for 2 years I too would suspect something maybe related to that, and pain now further up. Whereabouts are you? I had a trimmer out for the first time when he was still lame months after proper bf rehab, and he pointed out that likely all my lameness issues probably start in his back and related poor movement and muscle weakness. This is something that vets etc have never touched on.

I'm working in hand for a month minimum to try and straighten him up, then buying a new saddle (new saddle fitter says neither fit!) before I dare get on his back again.