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Gerdia Dolfsma
Gerdia Dolfsma is a Dutch showjumping rider
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Q. I have an extremely fit 26 year old Arab/Connemarra cross. One day he came in from the paddock lame on his near front leg. He was boxed, but didn`t improve. The vet did nerve blocks, which diagnosed a problem in the fetlock area. X-ray showed nothing significant. He’s not arthritic. This happened three months ago and he’s still lame - no better and no worse than he was from the start. Would magnetic boots help?
It’s important to get an accurate diagnosis of your horse’s problem before any advice on treatment or a prognosis can be given. If the problem has been localised to the fetlock area but there are no radiographic changes, then his lameness could be due to damage to any one or more of a number of non-bone structures such as the cartilage of the joint, the sesamoidean ligaments (which run from the sesamoid bones to the pastern), the suspensory ligament, the annular ligament of the fetlock, deep and superficial digital flexor tendons, ligaments of the fetlock or pastern joints etc.
Sometimes nerve blocks can give slightly misleading results, for example a block just above the fetlock might also block out some of the origin of the suspensory ligament while a foot block might not block out a foot abscess.
It’s worrying that your horse is still lame three months down the line. I recommend that you have him re-examined and, if necessary, have the nerve blocks repeated. You might need to consider referral for ultrasound examination or even a bone scan to try to determine the cause of the problem.
If these are not an option for you, I suggest that you try a period of total box rest. While paddock rest can seem adequate, the horse is still able to gallop, twist and turn which is not good for any injury.
Q. I have an extremely fit 26 year old Arab/Connemarra cross. One day he came in from the paddock lame on his near front leg. He was boxed, but didn`t improve. The vet did nerve blocks, which diagnosed a problem in the fetlock area. X-ray showed nothing significant. He’s not arthritic. This happened three months ago and he’s still lame - no better and no worse than he was from the start. Would magnetic boots help?
It’s important to get an accurate diagnosis of your horse’s problem before any advice on treatment or a prognosis can be given. If the problem has been localised to the fetlock area but there are no radiographic changes, then his lameness could be due to damage to any one or more of a number of non-bone structures such as the cartilage of the joint, the sesamoidean ligaments (which run from the sesamoid bones to the pastern), the suspensory ligament, the annular ligament of the fetlock, deep and superficial digital flexor tendons, ligaments of the fetlock or pastern joints etc.
Sometimes nerve blocks can give slightly misleading results, for example a block just above the fetlock might also block out some of the origin of the suspensory ligament while a foot block might not block out a foot abscess.
It’s worrying that your horse is still lame three months down the line. I recommend that you have him re-examined and, if necessary, have the nerve blocks repeated. You might need to consider referral for ultrasound examination or even a bone scan to try to determine the cause of the problem.
If these are not an option for you, I suggest that you try a period of total box rest. While paddock rest can seem adequate, the horse is still able to gallop, twist and turn which is not good for any injury.
