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  Discussion on Finally a diagnosis...pelvic fracture
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Member:
Cindylou

Posted on Wednesday, Jun 29, 2005 - 9:58 pm:

I have a nine year old gelding who fell last year in a cross country schooling. Since then we have had exams at Michigan State Univ- chiropratic exams( two) and numerous vet calls and hock injections. I finally decided to take him back to State and tomorrow he will have a bone scan but the vet is fairly certain he has a broken pelvis- which he keeps reinjuring in the pasture. They are suggesting five to six months stall rest. That will be difficult for this guy. They said we could hand walk him- so I am thinking of walling of part of his pasture so he can have a fairly normal life while he recuperates. I would appreciate any feedback from anyone who has had this happen. I would hope to have him healthly enough to trail ride and just light work- no more jumping I realize.

Also- any tips for keeping horses happy and healthy while on such long stall rest would be appreciated.
Member:
Mrose

Posted on Wednesday, Jun 29, 2005 - 11:08 pm:

One of our stallions hurt himself very badly a couple of years ago. The vet said 6 weeks in the stall, then 4 - 5 months of stall rest with hand walking. I was seriously wondering how either of us could survive such a regime as he is a very active type guy.

Turns out he was wonderful and sweet the entire time. He did get a lot of attention. I had to hose one of his legs several times a day, doctor and rewrap another leg once a day, and flush out and doctor another wound in his neck twice a day. With all that and stall cleaning, feeding, grooming, etc. I spent a lot of time with him and he seemed quite content.

I was really dreading the hand walking. With all our mares on the place combined with being penned up for so long I envisioned being drug all over the field. But, he fooled me. He was very happy to slowly walk around, graze a little, and go up and down the road a bit. I never had a bit of trouble with him.

So, hopefully, your experience won't be too bad. Lots of attention and lots of food are the best I can recommend while he's in the stall. If you are worried about him gaining weight, DrOp him down to a grass hay or divide his daily ration into lots of small feedings. Good luck!
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Thursday, Jun 30, 2005 - 7:32 am:

Much will depend on the nature of the fracture cindy so let's see what they come up with. Concerning stall rest we have an article and discussions at Training Horses » Behavioral Problems » Stall Resting Horses.
DrO
Member:
Cindylou

Posted on Thursday, Jun 30, 2005 - 10:31 pm:

Thanks for the feedback. The bone scan was inconclusive( sigh...) The Vet school is getting a new ultra sound machine tomorrow so they are going to try and use it for Murphy. I am just wondering since this injury is nine months old---would that have an impact on whether the bone scan would show new bone growth- which I understand is the way this works? I am disappointed as I thought this would finally give us some answers. I am apprehensive about putting a horse through five or six months stall rest if they are not sure that is what the diagnosis is.
Member:
Cindylou

Posted on Thursday, Jun 30, 2005 - 10:47 pm:

Thanks for the feedback. The bone scan was inconclusive( sigh...) The Vet school is getting a new ultra sound machine tomorrow so they are going to try and use it for Murphy. I am just wondering since this injury is nine months old---would that have an impact on whether the bone scan would show new bone growth- which I understand is the way this works? I am disappointed as I thought this would finally give us some answers. I am apprehensive about putting a horse through five or six months stall rest if they are not sure that is what the diagnosis is.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Friday, Jul 1, 2005 - 2:32 pm:

I don't know Cindy, some forms of pelvic fracture do not have a good prognosis so maybe this is not so bad and there are still more avenues to pursue diagnostically. Even without a firm diagnosis rest is probably still the best treatment. As we uncover more of these "difficult diagnosis" lamenesses a recurring theme crops up: we were often not resting them long enough to get well exactly because of the point you made in the last post.
DrO
Member:
Cindylou

Posted on Friday, Jul 1, 2005 - 9:16 pm:

they did find the fracture with the new ultra sound. Diagnosis is "very indicative signs for incomplete older fracture of smphysis pelvis with reactive tissue at old fracture site" Prognosis is unclear-but stall rest for at least six months. My goal is to keep him as happy and calm as possible. I am really looking for people who have been successful with this diagnosis and how they accomplished it. I can't see him staying just in the stall. We have to be able to move him outside in a small area with grass next to his buddies. I am sick with worry- but feel I must try. This horse loves life even with the pain. There is no indication of pain except with you longe- he is lame- but totally willing to do whatever you ask. He literally gallops up when we come to the gate. He is the only horse in the barn that does that. It must hurt- but he does it anyway. I won't consider putting him down now- he just is too happy the way he is. I will do my best to keep him immobile for six months- and then we shall see.
Member:
Mrose

Posted on Friday, Jul 1, 2005 - 11:03 pm:

stick with it, Cindy, and give the boy a chance. I think with your help he will do good. He sounds like he has a lot of "will" and sometimes that is what it takes. I've had a lot of horses over the years (40+ with Arabs and mixed breeds before that) and have had a couple that I was sure wouldn't make it for one reason or another. We had a preemie foal, born a month early, that the vet really doubted would live, but the little guy just had this big will to live, and with our help he made he. The same horse later had an injury (still don't know what he did) that required 75 staples in his leg to close. Again, we wondered about him as he was such a mess, but he made it and barely has a scar.

We had a mare that had several severe bouts of colic and the vet was afraid we would have to put her down (he didn't think she was a good candidate for surgery) Somehow, she made it through the night, continued to improve, and has never had a problem since.

We had a stallion that managed to stab himself in the throat and break a couple of bones in his voice box, plus injure three legs in the same accident (he was at a trainer's barn, reared up, tore down the sprinkler system, and about killed himself with the pvc pipe) It took several months, but he healed up fine.

I know none of these had broken bones, but you just don't know. Never underestimate the will and heart of a horse. As long as he has that will, I think he deserves the chance, and I think you will be pleasantly surprised at the outcome. Just my opinion.
Member:
Stina

Posted on Saturday, Jul 2, 2005 - 12:22 pm:

Last year my weanling cut her fetlock in the throws of separation anxiety. Stall rest resulted in a depressed, fretty baby who went off her feed. I took four 12' panels and made an outside stall next to her buddies and moved it every day so she had access to new grass. Her spirits lifted and she started eating well again.
Member:
Cindylou

Posted on Saturday, Jul 2, 2005 - 9:17 pm:

Today was a great day. When I got to my barn- the barn owners had taken a wall out so Murphy will have a 12x24 presidential suite with secure stall guards( gate type). I was so touched I burst into tears. They also cleared another stall so he will never get bored. I went to our local farm store and bought a portable stall 12x24 and they put it in his pasture. It was a great site. Both horses gathered around the stall to keep Murph company all day. Murphy was happy and grazing with no stress visible at all. I think we can make this work. One thing that makes me hopeful is this horse was really sound in the winter months when he could not tear around in the pasture. He went lame again after tearing around this spring. Murphy is a happy 1300 lb quarter horse that you would never know is any pain. We will do every thing we can to make his comfortable and hope for the best.Thanks everyone for the help and support!!
Member:
Cindylou

Posted on Sunday, Jul 3, 2005 - 10:16 am:

Dr. O--can you tell me they type of fractures that don't heal well? The vet at MSU said there just isn't a whole lot of information/case studies on this type of break. I remain hopeful because the horse is so happy even before I took him. I am thinking because we longed rode him the night before his visit to State- he was more tender. He didn't even resist a rider. I just don't think he is in as much pain as the doctor thinks. My impression with a lot of pain is similar to humans- no appetite and depression. This horse has neither of those symptoms. Dr. O- If you could point me in a direction to explain which type of pelvic break( he referred to it as a separation- not a break actually with a lot of scar tissue)

Thank you.
New Member:
Angelvet

Posted on Sunday, Jul 3, 2005 - 12:58 pm:

Cindy-I have seen a few pelvic fractures in the last few years. The worse prognosis fractures have usually involved fractures closer to, or involving the hip joint. These horses have almost always been incredibly lame, and have a lot of difficulty even standing up. I have had horses survive as pleasure horses with these types of fractures if you can get them through the first 6-8 weeks of stall rest without going down and being unable to stand. Since it sounds like your guy exhibits lameness only on exercise,it sounds like time and rest will likely go a long way, especially with barn owners like yours willing to go the extra mile to make recuperation as painless as possible!!! Keep the faith, as some of the worst injuries I have seen have resolved with enough patience and time. It's hard to put a time line on natures healing abilities, even though she's been doing it longer than we have!!
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Monday, Jul 4, 2005 - 10:54 am:

In horses pain does not relate to no appetite and depression: I have seen horses with broken legs who were standing there in the pasture eating. The type fractures that don't heal well are those were the edges have motion despite stall resting. The motion prevents the ends from knitting.
DrO
Member:
36541

Posted on Tuesday, Jul 5, 2005 - 9:02 am:

Cindy, I did 3 months of stall rest with a mother a new foal who had a big abdominal surgery. When I first heard this would be needed, I didn't think the three of us would survive it! I also did the moving portable panelled stall idea with good results. I think the experience is like pregnancy and labor - you forget your war stories till you hear someone else's! Here's to an uneventful and forgettable recovery! Stacy
Member:
Angel77

Posted on Thursday, Jul 7, 2005 - 5:04 am:

Dear Cindy,

Have you heard the story about Gabby Salicks Sandstones Laurin? He is a stallion who broke his hip and had to stand still for a year. He is now back in the AGA jumpers doing very well. He even competed this year at Las Vegas world cup qualifier.

My horse has recently lost his left eye due to a shifting of the brace that holds the roof to the 24X48 open corral. The owners of my ranch have done nothing to help me at all. They wouldn't even remove the feeder or cover the 2 1/2" screws that poked his eye out. They told me that if they had to fix my stall, then they would have to buy 500 rolls of duct tape to fix everyone elses stalls. Doesn't this sound like they already know that their stalls are not safe?

Anyway my horse while in recovery is on Fluphenazine(I hope the spelling is correct). This is a drug for human schizaphrenia and will calm him up to three weeks. It just takes them down a notch. Although with some horses it has the opposite effect and can make them high(but they are a very small percentage).

It seems to be working well for my horse. Thought I'd pass it on to you. In the 40 yrs I have had horses I never knew about this drug until this horrible nightmare happened to me.

You are so lucky you have great ranch owners who are concerned about you and your horse. My ranch owners only care about collecting their money without proper cleaning of stalls, the rings are never dragged, they run out of food all the time. I have my own supply of food of course. On top of all of that I have to pay the guys extra money to keep my horses stall the way it should be kept. I also have to go buy shavings even though in the contract we are supposed to get shavings at least twice a week. Go figure!!

Maybe you can call Sandstone Ranch in Thousand Oaks, Calif for more info on Laurins recovery process. Good luck with your horse.

God Bless all the animals and all of the people who care for them!!!

WTG
Member:
Angelvet

Posted on Saturday, Jul 9, 2005 - 1:02 am:

Just a note on the fluphenazine for calming horses.The side effects and risks for this product are well laid out in the medications portion of this web site,but I feel compelled to add my own experiences here. While the vast majority of horses will be mildly sedated and have no problems with this drug, the horses that do react can be scary. I have used this product on several horses over the years at varying dose rates. The ones that became "high" were dangerous. These horses will overreact to minor stimuli by attempting to go over or through anything in their path. I have seen these horses go over the top of their stall doors, pace and sweat incessantly for hours unless sedated and climb under trailer dividers. There is no antidote for these reactions other than sedation and waiting for the drug to wear off( this can take a day or two at least). I personally no longer use this product,however,as I had a horse that was given half the normal dose commonly used react as described in the last paper mentioned in the medications part of this site. After 24hours of sedations,anesthetics and fluids(when you could immobilize the horse long enough to administer them),the horse was in such poor condition he was put down. While I am glad you had good luck with this approach, I have to say that after the experiences I've had with this product I would be very hesitant to use it unless there were no other options. As a human product that has not been researched in horses, it is impossible to determine a safe dose in horses, nor can you foresee which horses may or may not react.
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