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Discussion on Foal with flexoral limb deformity - HELP!
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Posted on Thursday, Nov 4, 1999 - 11:36 pm:
i have a 5 week old foal, born premature with a slight deformity of her front left leg. at the age of one week, she started running a temp, and became septic. the infection attacked her "good" front leg, leaving her to put more weight on her bad leg. i now have the infection under control (or at least i hope we do) and i am now very concerned about her front left leg. she is walking on her pastern, with her hoof pointing out to the left. i am bracing it with wraps and a heavy plastic brace that i have salvaged from my own bathroom when i broke my arm last year. i honestly feel a cast would do more harm than good, allowing only everything that is weak to atrophy. i have fought so hard for this baby, i have invested hours of my time in nursing care while she has been sick, and alot of money too. now i feel i may have saved her life, only to have to face putting her down because of her leg. has anyone out there had this kind of problem at the age of 5 weeks? what should i do? what can i do?
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Posted on Friday, Nov 5, 1999 - 10:35 am:
Becky is the leg flexed (walking on the front of the pastern) or extended (walking on the back of the pastern) excessively? What does your vet say?
DrO
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Posted on Tuesday, Nov 9, 1999 - 11:09 pm:
she is walking on the back of her pastern. my vet at this point says for me to keep it braced as best as i can. i have been rigging some pretty impressive looking braces, but still i worry about her. what else can i do?
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Posted on Wednesday, Nov 10, 1999 - 12:11 pm:
Be sure there is controlled exercise and the areas contacting the ground are protected. Of course the more exercise the stronger the flexor units will become. But too much exercise can cause arthritis to form in the unstable joints or rupture of the suspensory apparatus. This is not a problem easy to deal with. Surgery to shorten the tendons has been attempted but rarely do athletic individuals result and should be looked upon purely as a salvage procedure.
DrO
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