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  Discussion on HELP! Sheared Heels / Lameness
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Posted on Thursday, Aug 10, 2000 - 9:22 am:

Dr. O. I need your help or maybe just your reassurance. I took my 16 year old AQHA barrel horse to a equine specialist because of a "slight" on again off again lameness. On the lunge line she showed being off slightly in the left front foot and showed no signs of lameness trotting on the straight away or during all the flexion tests. Also, no reaction to hoof testers.

My vet suggested a PDN block and then to work our way up the leg to locate the sorce of the pain. He blocked the heels on the left foot and then my mare came up "off" on the right foot. After careful review by my vet he said her heels were uneven and a "little" sheared. His prognosis was sheared heels not navicular. He suggested taking her to a top farrier (he recommended the farrier) and having shoes made for her front feet. He suggested an egg bar shoe with a wide web to support her heels so they can expand and get her level and shoe to gait and rocker / roll the toe(she has a crooked right leg, has since birth).

I suggested coffin joint injections and anything else (money was not a consideration) and he suggested the shoeing first and then if she is not 100% in one week to call him and he would take another route. Needless to say he is being very conservative but at approximately $150-$200 for special shoes and the possibility of going back in a week and "trying" something else it seems it would be cheaper to go ahead and try something a litte more.

She is not head bobbing lame, just slightly enough for a concerned well adviced owner to notice.

Please note, no x-rays have been taken, she is not on bute or pain medicine. She gets turned out and lunged on a daily basis and gets MSM and a joint supplement along with Opti Horse Complete and of course the expensive Legend and Adequine shots in a series every few months. I have the world show coming up and wonder if I am being realistic in even being able to take her. She is a great barrel horse and loves doing it and Lord knows I have seen a lot worse still competing.

Any suggestions or does it sound like we are taking the right path with her?

Posted on Friday, Aug 11, 2000 - 7:18 am:

I like his slow careful approach though I would have had a set of radiographs done.
DrO

Posted on Monday, Aug 14, 2000 - 7:25 am:

Well..I took my mare on Friday to get "custom" shoes for her! Never seen them actually made from a plain piece of steel before. Anyway, the farrier rolled the toe and put on a bar shoe. Her medial lateral balance was way out! Was hoping this would do the trick, she is lunging a lot better and looks and stands totally different, however, she is still "off slightly" when lunging at the trot. Any suggestions on what steps to take next to get her sound and going for Congress in October?

Posted on Monday, Aug 14, 2000 - 9:21 am:

Well give her a bit more time, and then do as the vet said: have him back out to review the problem.
DrO

Posted on Monday, Aug 14, 2000 - 2:41 pm:

Ask your vet/farrier if you could try the "Sneaker" shoe if the bar shoe doesn't work for you. It is also a type of bar shoe with a thick coating of polyurathane for shock absorbtion. They were invented by Kirk Adkins who was the head farrier at UC Davis for many years. We have used them in our farrier practice on many horses (especially Quarter horses) with ideopathic caudal heel pain with EXCELLENT results. We think it is the BEST shoe on the market for these types of horses. Many farrier supply houses on the West Coast carry them.
Great shoe! Good luck

Posted on Tuesday, Aug 15, 2000 - 7:14 am:

Thank you for that advice. I am actually taking my mare back to the vet this Friday to have her looked at yet again. Had her shod just a few days ago and she was actually worse last night then she has ever been. Use to be just "slightly off" but last night looked terrible. I talked to the vet and was told to give her bute for the next day or two that it could be just the change in her overall shoeing that has made her sore. Do you have a number or web site for the "sneaker" shoe? Also, how has the shoe held up for barrel racing? Thanks, I will definately look into that!!! ANYTHING at this point.

Posted on Tuesday, Aug 15, 2000 - 4:43 pm:

"Sneakers" are made by Equithotics Inc. of Vacaville, Ca. Their phone number is (707) 449-3570. They do not have a web site, but you can email them at equithotics@earthlink.net

Posted on Wednesday, Aug 16, 2000 - 1:39 pm:

I'm just curious what steps will be taken to get her as comfortable as possible. I am taking her back to the vet on Friday and the farrier is meeting me there. I am looking into talking to the vet about an alcohol block. Figure if we have x-rays taken and I keep a close eye on the current damage then I should know if I am doing anymore harm by having her checked periodically? Isn't an alcohol block just temporary?

Posted on Thursday, Aug 17, 2000 - 6:10 am:

Hello Pennie,
The use of an alcohol block is controversial. Though I have performed them on very rare occasions and know others who use them, they are considered risky: you are putting a toxic substance (ethyl alcohol) right next to a nerve, artery, and vein. The alcohol damages the nerve to prevent conduction and desensitizes the innervated area. If the alcohol also adversely affects the artery and/or vein: you could do permanant damage to the foot. I have never heard of this happening but it strikes me as a very likely complication of this procedure.

Perhaps more to the point: if your horse has structures that need resting and you do the alcohol block it may give you a false sense of wellness and then you work a horse that needs resting.

So the decision to use this block usually depends on knowing you have a condition that does not worsen when exercised and you are willing to take the unknown risk of the alcohol damage being severe.
DrO

Posted on Monday, Aug 21, 2000 - 10:08 am:

I just wanted to say thanks to all the terrific advice given to me. I took my mare back to the vet on Friday, just one week after having her shod differently. Well, after getting her medial/lateral balance back in line and dealing with her being lame for a few days after the shoeing I took her to the vet and she was 100% sound!!!! My vet told me to start riding her again and to give her 1 gm but each day and then whenever I show her to give her 2 to 3 grams the day before an the day of.!!! Hope I don't have complications from the bute but I am willing to deal with it. He said the bute would help keep down and inflammation that might start up after riding again.! Sound like good advice to you??

Posted on Thursday, Aug 31, 2000 - 10:51 am:

Well..I'm back asking for help again. After having her to the vet on the 8/21 and she was sound, it has been about 10 days later and she is lame again. Head bobbing at a trot on the left front. Is it possible that just because she became sound after the pdn block that now that we have changed her shoes and her medial/lateral balance that she is hurting some place else? I called the vet today and am taking her back next week to be looked at. What can I do or what should I ask to be done? X-Rays I think are definately needed so that we know what course of action to take don't you? I actually gave her 2 grams of bute TWICE on Tuesday and then 2 grams A.M. on Wed. and she was still lame that Wed. evening. Must be a pretty bad lamness if the bute isn't helping then right? Any suggestions? I am at my witts end and upset and worry so much about her that I could sleep in her stall with her every night!! I purchased some sweat suave from Dr. Harthill in Louisville that has bute/cortizone and dmso and wrapped her legs last night. Maybe this will help a little but it is definately not helping enough.

Posted on Thursday, Aug 31, 2000 - 7:27 pm:

Hello Pennie,
You need to try and get the best diagonsis possible. Until then you should stall rest the horse with hand walking. It could be the old lameness flaring or a new problem. It will take an exam to know. For the particulars on this see: Diseases: Lameness: Diagnosis of Lameness.
DrO

Posted on Friday, Sep 8, 2000 - 7:23 am:

HELLO AGAIN! I took my mare to the vet and had extensive x-rays taken. Showed a couple small boney places and bone spurs but my vet said nothing to be real concerned about. After doing the lamness tests again and having several other people look at her my vet came to the conclusion that she was sore in her hocks. He injected her on the outside of each hock and then on the inside around the "bursa". Now, I have been riding my mare or lunging her everyday since having the injection done (with cort.& depo.) and she has not been lame one time. Is this possible that she was sore in her hocks and therefore messing her up in the front? I couldn't believe how fast it helped her. I am talking lame at a trot on the lunge line to totally sound and acting like she feels great!!!

Thanks.

Posted on Friday, Sep 8, 2000 - 1:29 pm:

Hello Pennie,
It is possible, or it could be you had two different problems.
DrO
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