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  Discussion on Shoulder and neck pain
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New Member:
trevy

Posted on Saturday, Jan 10, 2009 - 9:42 am:

I have a 10 year old mare. Last Jan. the farrier cut her heels down low, she is a Paso
Fino, and she never had the back of her heels this low. She went lame right afterwards. I took her to my local vet, after x-rays he said she had sessimioditis and showed me how the flexor tendon on the x-ray was inflammed. He said to rest her, let her heels grow back out, give her bute daily and glucosamine.
After about 6 mos. she had not improved with her lameness. The vet x-rayed her again, and he saw improvement and said to keep her on rest. Three more months, still lame. I took her to Univ. of Fla. vet school where they did nerve blocks on her legs, nothing showed up. X-rays were take of her shoulder, but nothing was seen. They think she had something going on with her shoulder or neck, and for $800.00 I could get a MRI to see more. I was out of money, so I went home. It is now a year later, and at a trot she still limps. I had a massage therapist come out two times, she worked with the shoulder and neck but I still see no improvement.
She doesn't limp when walking, only at a trot. My question is: Can I ride her at a walk and flex her? Money is a realy issue at this time, I have another horse in training, and have spent quite a bit on this mare already. Any suggestions without spending a fortune?
trevy
Member:
ekaufman

Posted on Saturday, Jan 10, 2009 - 2:03 pm:

Hi Ivy,

Welcome to HA!

DrO will give a better answer, but my hunch w/o seeing the horse is that she needs a full lameness exam. The overwhelming majority of "shoulder" injuries are in fact front feet, and neck tension should not cause limping (and is likely compensatory to front foot pain-- imagine how tense the horse gets if every step is painful).

I realize money is an issue, but it sounds to me like it would be best spent on a thorough lameness exam. This far along, a single aggressive trim should be long resolved. It's possible that you have something else going on (heel pain leaps to mind, perhaps because I've had to deal with it a lot).

Good luck. Let us know how you get along. Post pics of those front feet if you can.

- Elizabeth
New Member:
trevy

Posted on Saturday, Jan 10, 2009 - 8:56 pm:

Elizabeth,
Thanks for your input. I had one of the best docs for lameness at UF test her legs and hooves. He did 5 nerve blocks all the way from her hooves to her shoulders. He was convinced it wasn't her legs or feet. I have been doing some reading, and if legs or feet are not the issue it could be cervical neck problems. I hope someone can give me some experience they have had with lameness that is not caused by legs or hooves.
Thanks,
Ivy
Member:
amara

Posted on Saturday, Jan 10, 2009 - 9:39 pm:

My little pony had an on/off lameness problem. My vet thought it was in his hoof - "suspicious heel pain", but I was really sure it was in his right shoulder. He was only very mildly lame, and that not all the time, but he would consistently pop onto his left shoulder going around corners, and he avoided the right lead when possible. In his instance I thought it was shoulder lameness because he had been an ex-pulling pony and had been drugged and overworked.

I finally got access to a thermography unit and it showed a tremendous amount of heat at the point of his shoulder, and zero extra heat coming from his hooves. He didnt particularly show any pain during manipulation, but he is quite stoic. The vet figured bursitis, but wasnt sure how that "diagnosis" would help me with the limited funds I had for real diagnosis and possible treatments.

I used joint supplements (including anti inflammatories), massage therapy and chiropractic work, as well as good trimming techniques. I kept him in work, and had his saddle fitted every 6 months, as well as kept his driving collar well fitted. I opted for the chiro and massage therapy, because I felt he was only going to give himself secondary problems if he continued to move in a twisted fashion. It took close to a year, but he did become sound, staying straight on the corners and picking up the correct leads, and the thermography scan came out normal.

Sorry couldnt be more helpful, as I never did get a firm diagnosis on my little guy's problems, except for the fact that the thermography unit showed extreme heat in the shoulder. I think the chiro/massage helped some, as he would move better for a few weeks after the sessions, then start to get worse after a bit. Over time I was able to go longer between sessions. But as to whether or not that was a coincedence, I dont know. It made me feel better, if nothing else!

Good luck,
Mel
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Sunday, Jan 11, 2009 - 2:18 pm:

Welcome Ivy,
To my way of thinking the decision to ride such a horse will depend on:
1) Is it unfair to ride the horse because of the degree of pain?
2) Is the horse safe to ride?
3) Does riding make the disease process worse?

It will take someone who has seen the lameness to help with the first two and possible you could do this without a veterinary visit. Without knowing what is wrong they will not be able to answer the last question so it must be determined through careful trial and error. Have you tried phenylbutazone to see if that helps with the lameness?
DrO
New Member:
trevy

Posted on Sunday, Jan 11, 2009 - 4:37 pm:

Mel,
Thanks for your comments. I beleive my horse is also having shoulder issues. I am going to my local vet this next week for winter shots, and I'll have him do a recheck on her leg. She injured the right leg, and that is the side she doesn't like to flex to, and the shoulder she is sensitive on for the massage therapist.

Dr.O, I had her on bute for several months as per instructions from the UF vet. I saw no improvement, so I took her off, she looks the same. I keep up the Corta-Flex, and MSM. Thats all I have her on now, and I don't see any improvement. The UF vet thought she might be overcompersating for the healed leg damage and told me to ride her for 5 min. intervals. I did for awhile, but didn't want to cause her further damage, she would hitch her leg on and off on the ride. She was very willing, she loves to ride. She always gets very upset when I take my gelding out instead of her. I will let you know what my local vet says.
Ivy
New Member:
trevy

Posted on Friday, Jan 23, 2009 - 8:36 pm:

Dr. O.,
I took my mare back to my local vet for vaccinations. He checked her injured leg by flexing it, and he noticed she still showed discomfort with the flexor tendon (she tried to pull back and rear up when he flexed the hoof) and he also heard popping noises in her fetlock area as he did before. He still thinks she has issues regarding the original injury even though she was given a clean bill of health from the UF vet. He told me I could ride her easy, but give her bute before the ride and put a sports boot on her to stabalize the tendon area.

I did have another issue that this mare has had before. Here in central Fl horses get shots every 6 mos, (although I only got them 1x a year in South Fl)and my mare has reactions to the shots every time. We are trying to pinpoint which ones are causing trouble. She gets the big group including west nile in Jan., and only gets EPM and West Nile the next 6 mos. She always gets lethargic and stiff, but this time she has quite a large knot on her neck which she is very sensitive to. The shots were last Sat., the stifness is gone, but the knot isn't. Should I put something on it and give her bute? My vet is out of town for a couple of weeks.

Ivy
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Saturday, Jan 24, 2009 - 9:24 am:

Ivy without an examination I cannot know what the best treatment for your horse might be. We do discuss complications of injections and treatment options at Horse Care » Horse Vaccines, Vaccination, Coggins Test » Vaccines and Adverse Reactions. It may help you assess the cause and what possible treatments useful. I would like you to review our information on the EPM vaccine. It is discussed at Diseases of Horses » Nervous System » Incoordination, Weakness, Spasticity, Tremors » EPM, Equine Protozoal Myeloencephalitis.
DrO
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