| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| saddlebred |
Posted - 25 May 2010 : 10:46:28 PM
My foal has now been lame since 27th April and I am getting worried. Vet came out a couple of weeks ago and diagnosed soft tissue damage around the back of her pastern. She says she is only 3/10ths lame but since then the improvement seems very slow/sporadic.
A more senior vet is booked to come out on Thursday but obviously they cant tell me much from a manual examination. I am wondering whether to get her x-rayed to rule out any hairline fractures.
Diva has been a little star. I decided under vets advice not to keep her in 24x7 because she would run around more but she lets me bandage her leg while she eats her feed with no headcollar or anything.
Can anyone tell me how long this sort of injury is likely to take to heal? and whether you would recommend any scans/x rays. I dont want to pay yet another vet visit just to be told - yes shes lame.
I was so excited about showing her this season. I had sent off all my entries to Saddlebred shows, palomino shows and the Royal Festival of the Horse and she went lame the very next day  |
| 25 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| BabsR |
Posted - 30 May 2010 : 12:03:20 PM
Do find that with a lively youngster....box rest or restricted exercise can be a real problem......keep them in, then they whizz round in tight circles, depending on the size of the stable... and get stressed out, which is not conducive to the healing process.
Then, when turned out, usually go ballistic, bucking and galloping, often undoing any repair the box rest may have had. We prefer a small quiet paddock with perhaps an old pony companion who just wants to laze about and will often influence the youngster to just chill out and relax. Light unstressed exercise being therapeutic, allowing nature to do its work
Obviously such may not be the way to go with your filly but to my mind is preferable to having a stressed out yearling running circles in the stable.
Do hope that further Veterinary X-Rays confirm a problem which can be treated conservatively and without the need for surgery. Good Luck and try not to worry too much
Babs
www.SunrayAngloArabianStud.co.uk
|
| honey |
Posted - 30 May 2010 : 11:53:25 AM
so sorry to here your news but, its better to know than not to know and sounds like you have everything planned for her recovery. hope everything comes right for her. |
| saddlebred |
Posted - 30 May 2010 : 11:47:11 AM
Thanks Barbara. My horses all go out every day regardless of the weather. I did leave them in till 2pm yesterday to try to test out what the little girl will be like if I have to keep her in post any propective surgery. She was fine so feeling a bit more positive now, if that becomes necessary.
She does have the odd gallop about when she is out but is generally fairly sensible and is out with a lovely motherly pony.
Once I get the other x-rays done I can develop a plan to manage the situation. My instinct at the moment is to leave it for a few months to see if it rights itself with time, and then surgery as a last resort. I will be getting specialist advice and will give her every chance to come right.
Thanks everyone for your advice and kind words. It really helps.
Debs x
|
| barbara.gregory |
Posted - 30 May 2010 : 10:45:47 AM
I am sure you are doing everything rught for her and hopefully she will grow out of her problems. Correct feeding and turnout are so important for horses, particularly youngsters, as you can never put the clock back and undo what is already done. Fortunately most manage to thrive and be sound even without all they need.
I do hope she is fine. She needs limited exercise at the moment. Often keeping them in can lead to box walking etc and racing around when they do eventually go out causing further damage.
Prayers going your girl's way.
Barbara |
| mogwai |
Posted - 29 May 2010 : 6:57:39 PM
So sorry you're having problems. Your posts are always so full of love and pride for your horses, it's seems so unfair.
All the best xxx |
| saddlebred |
Posted - 29 May 2010 : 3:03:23 PM
Thanks Barbara
I agree with you about the 24 x 7 stabling thing Barbara. I did have concerns about it when I bought her but I knew that she would live out at least in the daytime with me so I thought she would have a better life.
I was also told at vetting that she was big for her age so to be careful not to overfeed her due to growth plates. I have done everything by the book (I thought)but to no avail. She is not overweight but how do you stop them growing?
She is running around now and hardly looks lame. It is all very confusing. Thanks for your kind words.
|
| barbara.gregory |
Posted - 29 May 2010 : 2:44:18 PM
So sorry to hear that your foal is having all these problems; I do hope it turns out to be nothing serious. Exercise is so important for youngsters. No one should have a foal if they don't have anywhere to turn it out to run and strengthen it's bones and muscles.
My stallion's gelding son was kept in for 23 out of 24 hours as a foal and only fed a handful of economy cubes twice a day, no supplement and very limited grass and exercise and he has had leg problems ever since he has been ridden, very disappointing for his owner who loves him to bits, she bought him as a 6 month old colt and had him gelded soon afterwards when he had settled in his new home. I hasten to add he was not my foal. I have become very good friends with his owner as she wanted to come and see her horse's sire but it is so sad that he is so often lame. She bought a gelding from me and he has never been lame, he is doing very well under saddle.
I will keep my fingers crossed for your filly.
Barbara |
| Susie T |
Posted - 29 May 2010 : 1:13:02 PM
So sorry to hear about your little foal. Your foal is young, and you are doing everything you can, so I am sure she will have the strength to make a good recovery. Hugs x |
| saddlebred |
Posted - 29 May 2010 : 12:32:34 PM
Thanks guys. I cant remember whether he said "thinks" or whether it is just wishful thinking on my part that he could be wrong. Having read up about it now though the symptoms - no heat, no swelling, and not consistently lame every stride do point in that direction. she is now very lame in trot though and I want to intervene quickly because I am worried that placing her leg down incorrectly is going to result in conformation defects at this formative age.
My vet wants to do more x-rays because we only did 3 plates because I wanted to rule out bony problems. We were still thinking it was soft tissue damage so the x-ray results were a bit of a shock! I was expecting possibly a chip off the bone but not this.
The cyst though is in exactly the same place as the "heat spot" on the thermal camera photo that I mentioned on another thread.
Thanks for your advice Vera - I will definitely ask about those treatments.
Thanks for your wise words Babs. If she does go for surgery it will be at a specialist hospital anyway so ther will be a second opinion. I have read that there are different types of treatment including bone grafts and injections that will be preferable to any fusion of the joint.
If anyone knows where the best centres are for this sort of treatment I would be very interested. I think Liverpool have been doing some bone grafting and stem cell treatments.
Thanks for your support. I feel a bit better today. |
| Vera |
Posted - 29 May 2010 : 10:44:14 AM
Totally agree with Babs - I didn't pick up on the 'thinks' part. Dennis had lots of xrays but the definitive diagnosis was a bone scan. |
| BabsR |
Posted - 29 May 2010 : 10:23:38 AM
Posted - 28 May 2010 : 8:54:34 PM
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Posted this on your other thread ----------
You are saying your vet "thinks" she has a subcondral bone cyst??
He has done the X-ray so surely, he should know and be able to say for sure, what her problem is. Would get a second opinion before you commit to surgery that will result in a permanent lameness
Foals, yearlings go through growth spurts and varying degrees of slight lameness at times and most grow through the problems associated with same.
Such a worry for you and hope she will soon overcome the lameness
Big Hugs
Babs
www.SunrayAngloArabianStud.co.uk
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
| Kharidian |
Posted - 29 May 2010 : 09:09:09 AM
So sorry to hear this but hopefully she can be successfully treated.
Keep positive,
Caryn |
| moatside |
Posted - 29 May 2010 : 08:45:27 AM
Hoping for a successful outcome - she has age on her side. |
| Goldenmane |
Posted - 29 May 2010 : 08:08:37 AM
She is so beautiful, no advice to offer but sending you a big hug and keep positive. |
| arabian |
Posted - 28 May 2010 : 11:52:13 PM
thinking of you at this worrying time..sending positive thoughts and warm wishes for a good outcome xxx |
| jaj |
Posted - 28 May 2010 : 11:31:20 PM
Oh I'm really sorry to read your worrying news  . So hope that surgery can get her as well as possible and that she goes on to lead and happy and full life with you  .
|
| natntaz |
Posted - 28 May 2010 : 10:52:16 PM
Oh sorry to hear this, its never nice but in one so young
seems horrible. Hopfully the treatment will work and she
will grow into a healthy old horse |
| sarahlock |
Posted - 28 May 2010 : 10:50:37 PM
Oh Debbie im so sorry to hear this , luckily you have got experts on here like Vera who have been through the same, have had a possitive outcome & can give you some helpfull advise , i hope your lovely girl gets better soon XX |
| fidodido |
Posted - 28 May 2010 : 10:03:25 PM
so sorry to her about your filly and hope that with treatment she will have a positive outcome.
Hugs to you both
Angie |
| Vera |
Posted - 28 May 2010 : 9:37:43 PM
Yes he is, he was kicked when he was 5 and has just turned 10. It has been a very long and complicated journey.
You have two things on your side, her age and the lower the cyst in the leg thre greater the success rate. I HIGHLY recommend you ask your vet about Hylartil injections and IRAP. Dennis had both. ALso LOTS of physio.
|
| Callisto |
Posted - 28 May 2010 : 8:26:39 PM
What a dreadful bombshell for you, sincerely hoping that there is a successful treatment available for her, she's such a gorgeous girl. |
| saddlebred |
Posted - 28 May 2010 : 8:12:03 PM
Is he back in work Vera? and what treatment did he have? She is insured and I will pay whatever it takes to get her right. |
| Vera |
Posted - 28 May 2010 : 8:06:33 PM
Oh yes I know all about subchondral bone cysts, Dennis had one in his shoulder joint. I hope you are insured.
|
| saddlebred |
Posted - 28 May 2010 : 7:52:44 PM
I am struggling to type this through the tears but my vet thinks she has a subchrondial joint cyst on the pastern. From the x rays he things she needs surgery and he thinks the prognosis is poor - may need to fuse the joint which will mean that she is permanently lame.
I am absolutely gutted. She was big when I got her and has been growing quickly but I have been careful what I am feeding her (a properly balanced non protein feed for youngsters). She isnt overweight so I thought I was doing everything right. She was stabled for the first 6 months of her life so I dont know whether that has also contributed to her condition.
Does anyone have any experience with this and and advice please. I cant bear the thought of her spending a lifetime of lameness. She is such a poppet and doesnt deserve all this.
|
| saddlebred |
Posted - 26 May 2010 : 9:46:39 PM
Thanks guys. The vet is coming tomorrow with his portable x-ray equipment. Fingers crossed that she will be better soon. |
