really?

[ceej]

saw thisd post on YH..have also copied my reply, but of course, being YH, no-one else has replied in 4 days so thought I woudl drag it here - wanna know the answer!!!

Poster:

Well after a long and very trying time, my friends horse is being P.T.S today. She has had a severe abcess in her front off side hoof, been gong on for approx 4 weeks now, - under vets care - just last week looking so much better, and then when lame on other front foot. Well yesterday an abcess came up around coronary band, thought 'blinking hell' now its both feet, But upon vet checking over and picking out foot, she has severe rotation/collapse of the pedal bone, with perforation through the foot. Ths is down to her constantly using this 'other' foot whilst having the abcesses in the other. Just would like to make other people aware of this problem, as most people believe this only happens through a bout of laminitis, but this just goes to prove otherwise, and wth the very sad loss of a life.

My answer:

Aww thats terrible, really really sorry to hear that. What an awful day.

I have never heard of such a thing...are you sure there has been no contributory lameness in that foot - its seems crazy that rotation to such an extent can happen just because a foot has been used more due to lameness in the other - there surely must have been a pre-existing condition or weakness - possible laminitis earlier in life? Was the original abcess caused by laminitis as that is common, there could have then already een some rotation and therefore a weakness?...


what do you lot think?

[kateflashy]

sounds a bit extreme just through being lame on the other leg ? what about horses who have done tendons and are lame for upto 2 months

[Maes Seren]

Someone else on another board had a similar problem with her horse. He ended up being pts so yes, it seems perfectly acceptable in terms of a post.

[maximum]

never ever heard of such a thing. as kate points out lots of horses are severley lame for a long time and dont regress to such a thing.
not saying it didnt happen just saying it seems very extreme reaction in 4 weeks.

[Maes Seren]

Read this for a similar situation

www.newrider.com/forum/showthread.php?t=109347

[joandlad]

Opposing limb laminitis is sadly quite common. :-( Skinny legs and little feet aren't really the best design for such a large animal (apart from the fact that it helps it move fast!). If you take one leg away the others are severly overweighted.

[ceej]

blimey....well I never heard of it! is there something people can do if they go lame on one then like frog supports?

[brigadier]

The horse I lost last year had a really deep seated infection/abscess in one foot. It was believed to be a tendon rupture at first and the treatment was three months box rest. I was told not to use bandages for support etc etc. Just to leave him standing in the box! He got worse resulting in the hock on his other leg 'breaking down' because of the strain of constantly supporting his weight. He was pts after 10 weeks - I urged the vets to re-scan prior to the three months being up because I believed their diagnosis wrong. He was in so much pain and his navicular bone was found to have disintegrated. The farrier believed it was an abscess (down to the hoof growth). The damage to his hock was really serious. the reason Im putting this is that the strain of supporting an injured leg can have serious consequences for the other leg and may lead to a fatal injury. I suspect the horse in the post may have had an abcess in the other foot as well for the infection to have come though the coronary band (this takes some time) and the resulting damage caused by the path of the pus may have caused sufficient damamge for the seperation of the laminae and the rotation of the pedal bone. This poor horse must have been in total agony. Abscesses are serious stuff and their effects should never be undermined.
(RIP Truckle- I loved you dearly- today is the anniversary of his death)
brig

[ceej]

aww brig...RIP Truckle.

[maximum]

aww brig sorry to hear that. as you say its likely that an abcess in the other foot caused change in the bone and contributed to it

[duckles]

Brig, that is so sad. Poor Truckle. He must have been in such pain. Its upsetting to think about it. Poor horse. I know we have to go by vet's advice but sometimes I wonder.

[popsicle]

Very Sad about Truckle. Glad he had you as an owner and was well loved and lived a good life. RIP boy

[finefilly]

Jun 11, 2008 13:27:51 GMT joandlad said:

Opposing limb laminitis is sadly quite common. :-( Skinny legs and little feet aren't really the best design for such a large animal (apart from the fact that it helps it move fast!). If you take one leg away the others are severly overweighted.

this sounds like what beauty is going through. She had an operation last year to remove a bit of bone that had chipped off and has had problems on and off ever since. she got worse a few weeks ago and farrier said that she has been using all her weight on the other leg when she has had the operation and still does it. farrier said she has got a bad foot on the other side now due to this and shaped her hooves so she can take some of the pressure off that leg (she got a sore bit under wear the shoe had rubbed). she semmed better for a few days but then seemed to get worse. getting vet out next week