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  Discussion on Swelling at sidebone
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Member:
mysi

Posted on Sunday, Jun 13, 2010 - 10:19 am:

My horse Moose has sidebone on his left hind. He had it when I did a PPE 6 years ago and it was slight. When he had other issues 3 years ago I had a full body work up done and it was a little more progressed. It's never posed and lameness issues. Although this is the same leg he tends to rest while standing and the leg he does not like to give to the farrier as he pulls it up to his belly and holds it there, probably coincidence???
Yesterday I went out and I noticed he was kind of swinging it out when turning and I saw that he was swollen a bit on the outside area of the sidebone. Slightly warm and when I pressed on the area he pulled his leg up to his belly and was reluctant to let it down, same thing he does to the farrier. He is sound, but he is a VERY stoic horse.He is currently recovering from 2 abscesses on different feet.

My question is should I be concerned? Could the burden on that leg from more weight over the past 2 weeks with the other abscesses caused a flare up? I started him on 2gms of bute 2x day yesterday (he's about 1800lbs).
Member:
vickiann

Posted on Sunday, Jun 13, 2010 - 12:22 pm:

No question that an abscess, especially in an opposite or diagonal foot, will cause extra stress and weight bearing.

It seems to me a good idea that you are giving some Bute. Possibly some cool hosing once or twice daily would also be appropriate.

If there is heat, swelling and tenderness upon touching be sure to do a very careful examination for the possibility of any broken skin or infection that might be hiding underneath the hair.

Be very cautious to watch for any signs of laminitis if the horse still has some abscess pain in other feet.

I hope your horse will be back to normal soon.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Tuesday, Jun 15, 2010 - 1:23 pm:

Hello Melissa,
Sidebone usually is associated with an increase in pressure on a unbalanced foot. I agree with Vicki that increase weight bearing would further increase the pressure and can cause a inflammatory flare of the soft tissues of that foot. Rest and bute seem logical but also take another look at the foot for easing breakover and both static and dynamic balance. The article on sidebone deals with some of this but also see HorseAdvice.com » Horse Care » Hoof Care, Hoof Trimming, Shoeing Horses » Care of the Hoof: an Overview.
DrO
Member:
mysi

Posted on Wednesday, Jun 16, 2010 - 9:07 pm:

Vicki, I have been cold hosing too. I actually soaked it in cold water with epsom salts a couple times too. I examined to make sure there were no cuts or anything, nothing to be found. The area is still a bit swollen, better than before though. It almost seems to be getting hard.

Dr. O, I think both of his hind feet were looking a bit unbalanced. Longer on the inside (the side bone swelling is on the inside not outside like I first stated - I miss wrote). I think that came from how he was carrying himself when he had the abscesses? Usually he's really balanced and wears evenly, but all 4 feet were looking different while he was dealing with the 2 right abscesses. He grows a lot faster in the spring/summer time too. I got my rasp out and evened him up the best I could, he's a leaner so I was seriously appreciating my farrier!!! My farrier comes next Friday too so I'll have him make the correct adjustments.

Your articles are the best Dr. O! And everyone on here is great and so helpful! I don't know what I would do without this website. I feel guilty sometimes because I don't have any knowledge to add to peoples posts!
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Thursday, Jun 17, 2010 - 6:03 am:

Thanks for the kudos Melissa and no need to feel guilty, it is why we are here.
DrO
Member:
mysi

Posted on Sunday, Jun 20, 2010 - 9:08 am:

The swelling and heat are gone but I'm thinking in that time the side bone has maybe grown? The area is hard but larger than it was before. Does that sound crazy?
Member:
mysi

Posted on Friday, Jun 25, 2010 - 7:27 pm:

I pulled out Moose's x-rays from when I was told he had side bone amongst other things. They were from 9/2007, my how time flies. It looks just like the illustration and the small ossification. On the x-rays there seems to be a lot of changes on his pastern bones. I must say that the current swelling is higher than the sidebone would appear. It seems to be at the front to inner side pastern joint (which would be ringbone correct?... but that was never mentioned). The side bone would be at the coronet band correct? They did say he had severe DJD of the LH pastern (which I guess is the same as ringbone now that I read your article), and Distal Sesmoidean Ligament changes LH.

The lump is still there, very very minimal swelling and no heat now. He is still a bit short and stiff on that leg. I think standing around in the barn is possibly the reason for his discomfort, that seems to be the only time I notice the "stiffness". He insist on standing in front of the barn fans all day staying out of the heat. He seems to be perfectly fine in the morning after walking around all night and once he's moving for a few minutes he seems perfectly fine too.

I'm wondering if it is beneficial to have the vet come out and x-ray him or if I should just keep on with my cold hosing and poultice. He is on Hylasport joint supplements and I have him on a regimen of Adequan IM as well. Should I be doing anything else? This horse is the love of my life so his comfort and liveing a long life is my only concern
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Sunday, Jun 27, 2010 - 9:18 am:

Sidebone can extend above the coronet Melissa and your description is not enough for me to rule it or ringbone in or out. We don't what would be the best treatment until we know what is causing the lameness and the swelling. They may or may not be the same.

At this time you should consider that you have an undiagnosed lameness and the best step toward fixing it is to get the pain localized then diagnosed. For more on this see HorseAdvice.com » Diseases of Horses » Lameness » Localizing Lameness in the Horse. For more on the first aid of undiagnosed lame horses see HorseAdvice.com » Diseases of Horses » Lameness » First Aid for the Lame Horse.
DrO
Member:
mysi

Posted on Sunday, Jun 27, 2010 - 10:00 am:

Here are his x-rays that were taken 9/2007. It looks like references I have looked up as ringbone, what do you think?
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Tuesday, Jun 29, 2010 - 1:45 pm:

Talk about a picture being worth a thousands words! Melissa your horse is not suffering so much from sidebone but has ringbone. This is a periostitis of the bones of the pastern that is spreading into the pastern joint (osteoarthritis) as evidenced by the osteophytes on the distal long pastern bone and proximal short pastern bone. By all means review the article on ringbone at HorseAdvice.com » Diseases of Horses » Lameness » Diseases of the Lower Limb » Ringbone. If you have questions following the article come back you can post them there and I will move this discussion into your post for continuities sake.
DrO
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