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  Discussion on Looking for your thoughts on lame show mare
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New Member:
arasport

Posted on Tuesday, Mar 5, 2013 - 11:35 pm:

I have a beautifully trained reined cow horse mare that I purchased just over two years ago that is no longer sound and I would love to get some thoughts on what to do next. When I bought her I was concerned that she was very low heeled long toed on her right front, but she did not move uneven at the time. I did think that she was a bit short strided though, but attributed that to her being rather straight in her shoulders. I rode and showed her for about six months with no issues other than an occasionally trip in deep or uneven footing, but then started to feel that something was not quite right. About 18 months ago she began to noticeably favor her right front and I took her to vet #1 who diagnosed her with navicular synDrOme even though she could find no significant changes on x-rays. She prescribed Adiquan and rest which did not seem to help.

About a month later I took her to vet #2, one of the most well-known lameness/navicular vets in MN. After examining the previous x-rays and doing nerve blocks he agreed that the problem was in the back of the foot and suggested that we inject her navicular bursa. This was done and she came out of her stall about 99% sound the next morning. I rode her and competed on her over that winter, but four months later she was off again on that same foot. We injected again and like before she went from about a 3 or 4 lameness to serviceably sound by the next morning.

That was about a year ago, and we were preparing for a move out of state so she was not ridden at all last spring, but again started showing signs of soreness by early summer. The MN vet did more examinations – bursagram, and an ultrasound neither of which showed anything significant. She was injected again, with the same positive result, and was told that I should consider a nerectomy. My issue with that is we really do not know what is wrong, should we really deaden that pain?

In July we moved to Texas and she was not worked or ridden at all over the summer. By early October she was beginning to show signs of soreness again so I took her to a very highly recommend veterinarian in Pilot Point. We did more x-rays and he thought he saw a fracture line on her coffin bone, so we shod her up with a clipped bar shoe for two shoeing cycles and kept her confined in a 20 x 20 pen during the day and in a stall at night. After three months she showed no improvement.

She is now in an egg bar and a 3 degree wedge on that foot, which does seem to help some. I have been giving her a quarter of a Previcox tablet once a day which keeps her comfortable.

So, I guess I have several questions……I am considering doing an MRI in hopes that it would give me some answers and possibly some form of treatment even though my hopes of ever riding and competing on this sweet horse are being overtaken by reality. My vet here in TX is opposed to injecting the navicular bursa, which is what seemed to help her before. Do you think I should find a vet who is comfortable doing this procedure since it helped her so much before, or is this a band-aid approach?

I am open to any and all suggestions and have x-rays on disc if that would be helpful. Also please let me know if there is any other information that would be helpful.
New Member:
arasport

Posted on Friday, Mar 8, 2013 - 11:19 pm:

I'd really love to hear your thoughts on this Dr. O.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Saturday, Mar 9, 2013 - 9:51 am:

Welcome Jan,
I apologize for the lateness, I posted a response in the middle of the week but apparently it got lost in space.

Jan the answer to your question really lies with you: what are your goals and resources. If your goal is to try and discover why your horse is lame and with the diagnosis get a got hold on a prognosis and what might be the best treatment, it is hard to beat a good MRI exam. It is expensive and does not guarantee a diagnosis but if no distinct lesions are identified a neurectomy may be a longer lasting solution than continued intrabursal injections. If your goals or resources lead you to continue to do as you have, look for that veterinarian that does the procedure and if after a review of your data that is decided to be a good course, by all means have the foot injected again.
DrO
New Member:
arasport

Posted on Monday, Mar 11, 2013 - 11:06 pm:

Thank you Dr. Oglesby, I hate it when things go missing!!

My ultimate goal would be to be riding and showing this mare again, even though at this point it is probably not realistic. This horse is very special to me, and I really would like to some sort of a concrete diagnosis, which could possibly lead to a treatment plan. Do you have any idea of what percentage of injury's such as hers remain undiagnosed after an MRI?

I am fairly convinced that it is some sort of soft tissue damage, as the cortisone with HA injections made her much more than comfortable. She was bucking and playing in the pasture the next day. What worries me is that they don't last more than four months and am I doing more damage in that time by masking a problem?

I have the resources either way, but there are limits. I'm just not quite sure what they are yet.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Tuesday, Mar 12, 2013 - 7:09 pm:

No I don't have a number for undiagnosed foot pain following an MRI and suspect it is greatly related to the quality of the exam, the information already garnered on physical exam, nerve and synovial blocks, and previous radiographs. Then there is the experience of the examiner. Be sure to seek out a large learning institution for the exam if possible.
DrO
New Member:
arasport

Posted on Tuesday, Mar 12, 2013 - 11:16 pm:

Thanks again for the information and advice. We are in NE Texas, about an hour from downtown Dallas. There is a clinic in Irving called Animal Imaging, and that is pretty much what they do, primarily on referral. I think this is the closest and best place locally unless you or anyone else knows a better clinic in this area.
Member:
theresab

Posted on Wednesday, Mar 13, 2013 - 10:39 am:

Jan- I live about an hour south of Dallas. All the horse people I know take their horses to Lone Star Park Equine Hospital, even my vet when it's beyond his expertise. It's in Grand Prairie and near the race track. I have had any experience with them (knock on wood) but I personally know 3 people who have had lameness issues and been happy with their work. From the sounds of it they aren't outrageous on their prices either. Good Luck!
New Member:
arasport

Posted on Wednesday, Mar 13, 2013 - 9:07 pm:

Thanks Theresa, I have heard good things about them too. I wonder if they would use the x-rays and other information that I already have, or if I would have to start all over with diagnostics? Part of my problem is that it is very hard for me to get time off of work right now.
Member:
paul303

Posted on Thursday, Mar 14, 2013 - 2:13 am:

Just a comment. I had a reining mare come down with navicular many years ago. She was retired from showing, due to her affliction. We considered neurectomy, but discarded it in favor of injections twice a year. We DID give up showing and used her only when she was comfortable, for trail riding. She was also on bute once a day ( for nearly 20 years...until we changed her to Previcox ). The bar shoe and the egg bar shoe proved a disaster on my mare. She was immeadiately better once her heels were freed. She did much better in her raised angles and degree pads with equithane during the winter, than she EVER did in the bar and egg bar shoes. In the summer, my farrier cuts the center out of her degree pads to give her soles a chance to breathe...but I must say that her soles look a whole lot better with the blue equithane than without it. Yes...she's still with us, at 33, and enjoyed giving a 5 year old riding lessons last summer.

I have an appendix pleasure mare with navicular and flat feet. She did well, also, with the equithane. She had more concavity when she had the equithane and degree pads...and she went sound. Last year, my farrier was pushing for an equithane vacation. I could not see, nor smell any foot problems, but I listened to him. After two shoeings, she became lame. The thought, of course, was abcess...so we continued to shun the equithane...waiting for something to blow. The vet came and shot some lateral views...nothing. We put the mare on bute ( with Gastroguard - she's prone to x-rays ), no improvement. So I insisted on degree pads and equithane...after 2 shoeings, knock on wood, she's sound - bucking and farting and doing handstands across the field. This is just my experience...I must emphasize. And I can't say exactly what the equithane did - but my gals go good with it ( and, of course, angles determined by my vet and farrier )and they slowly fall apart without it.

Let me just close and qualify this by saying...I have a leopard app cutting horse mare that is barefoot and trimmed every 6 weeks. She needs no more than that. ( yea.......apps???)
Member:
arasport

Posted on Thursday, Mar 14, 2013 - 11:53 pm:

Hi Lee, Thank you so much for sharing your experiences, it is much appreciated! I was talking to a cutting trainer friend of mine a few weeks ago and he recommended the same thing. He has a mare with similar issues and that type of shoeing has worked well for her.

I am fortunate that I went to shoeing school some 20 years ago and can do much of this myself without having to break the bank on farriers. I will read all I can on the equithane and give it a try. The closed heels on the bar shoe and the eggbar have not seemed to help my mare much either, but the wedge seems to give her some relief.

Tonight when I DrOve in she was long trotting (evenly) up to the gate, then wheeled and buck farted while galloping back to the herd. Not sure what was up with that as none of the other horses even lifted their head. Not sure if that is a good sign, or if she will be sore in the morning.

I am not so much fond of apps, but I do appreciate a sound horse, that's for sure. My other two horses are barefoot and very sound on anything other than rough gravel. This mare was barefoot too until she began having issues and shoeing was recommended by my vet. I believe that most horses are better off that way, but some do need shoeing for issues such as this.
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