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  Discussion on Broken leg
Author Message
New Member:
Jest

Posted on Saturday, May 20, 2006 - 10:39 am:

Hello, I have purchased a QH mare 3 years ago because I was interested in her foal that was by her side. They only wanted to sell them as a package deal, so I was obligated to by the mare as well. The mare had a broken shoulder and a broken knee that appeared to be an old injury rather than a current one. I bought the mare and foal with the intention of selling the mare. I fell in love with this mare and decided to keep her. This lovely mare's shoulder is very disfigured and both shoulder and knee has naturally fused at the joints. Her knee is about the size of a large grapefruit and hard as a rock. She walks as though she has a full leg cast on and it simulates a "peg leg". Over the past couple of years her knee has taken on quite an angle and she is now walking on the outside of her hoof wall causing the inside hoof wall to grow irregularly. My farrier does his best to angle the hoof with the same angle of her knee. She is not in any pain and gets around very well. She'll lay down to sun herself, trot around when feeling frisky, holds her weight very well and is happy. She is turned out 24/7 except during the hard winter months. My concern is her other front leg that is carrying much of her weight. You could see her lean most of her weight on that leg when she grazes/rests. Should I feed her a joint supplement to help protect her weight bearing leg? She is 19 years old and I want her to live forever, but each year her leg takes on more of a slight angle. I have read numerous articles but each ends with the same result; that there is no scientific study to prove that this works. Should I let nature take its course or should I intervene with a magic potion? If so, which one?
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Sunday, May 21, 2006 - 6:31 pm:

Concerning the oral joint protective treatments they may slow down the onset of degenerative joint disease see Equine Diseases » Lameness » Joint & Bone Diseases » Arthritis and DJD: An Overview. So if your goal is to increase the quality of life and it is within your resources you should give it. We have specific recommendations in the article.

I managed a stallion who was like this for a number of years and we purchased a sling so we could pick up the horse to trim the front feet.
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