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Member
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Location: South of Georgia | 7 yr old mare is about to get the best of me. You know what it's like when u walk to the barn and you don't see your happy healthy horse standing there? We'll, I have,e been looking at miserable since last last sept. Started as a 4 yr old and lightly hauled off and on until last year. Still didn't haul much but I rode more consistently. Was running in the bottom of 2d in tough competition. Labor Day weekend I noticed that she really felt like crap. Let me back up a little, 1 1/2 hour lameness exam done in June, never took a bad step but had hocks x rayed in July and found bone spurs. Hocks injected. No relief. Continued to ride and then she started bunny hopping around the third barrel. Vet #2 did lameness exam in October, never took a bad step but was sore across rear. Due to the soreness and the fact that I had never seen her lay down or roll, we injected SI joint. Week off, Walked for ten days, trotted for ten then loped. Felt great til the second day of loping then right back to miserable. 2nd visit from vet # 2, failed neurological exam so we started epm treatment. Toltraz and DMSO, tubed 3 different visits with 30'days of sulfur drugs and vit e, relief for a week or two then right back to miserable. Retreated for epm. In the mean time, I decided it wouldn't hurt to try a low starch diet. Waiting in test results to come back from animal genetics. I swapped her a month ago and she seemed to feel better for a little while but now she is back to ****y. Chiro 8 times from feb 2013-October. Pelvis always out which is another reason we injected SI. Her eyes look like she has a migraine or has smoked some hay. Lol she isn't dragging rear or short stepping, just not traveling right. I'm sure i have left some important things out but I did try to brief it. Anyone have any thoughts on this???? |
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 Hog Tie My Mojo
Posts: 4847
  
Location: Opelousas, LA | Maybe a fractured pelvis? |
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Expert
Posts: 1561
| Barnmom - 2014-02-17 11:57 PM
Maybe a fractured pelvis?
Thats what happened to our horse. When my daughter started pushing her into the 2D she would come up lame so we would give her 4 months to a year off and try it again with the same results, after 3 years we finally gave her to a family with 2 young girls so she could still have a job and not be in pain. |
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 Expert
Posts: 2385
| Can you get a video of her being moving? |
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Member
Posts: 8
Location: South of Georgia | Would a fractured pelvis be found with an ultrasound? Vet used one when he injected SI joint and didn't see anything abnormal. She stands for farrier and has passed 12 flexion tests with flying colors. Never once acted uncomfortable.
Edited by snobles 2014-02-18 7:48 AM
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 Experienced Mouse Trapper
Posts: 3106
Location: North Dakota | FEET, then palpate, bad ovaries?? Then ulcers??? I would think the fractured pelvis "might" be found with a good palpation vet otherwise one heck of a large dose of radiation to view on XRAY. Maybe try to find a vet with the heat laser devices that might show some inconsistency of her muscle? Sorry, just throwing things out there. Back to feet, a lot of lameness that is difficult lies in the feet and care of them. |
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 Tough Patooty
Posts: 2615
Location: Sperry, OK | When you say "bunny hopping" leads me to think stifles. To check for fractured pelvis, the vet will have to palpate (to see if he can feel any breaks) even then it could be fractured but still lined up... so no real way to tell without one of those huge x-ray machines that usually only universities have. Sounds like you are seeing some relief after each treatment because she has has time off (time for imflammation to go down), but as soon as you put her back to work, she is sore again. Check the stifles.
ETA: After reading the rest of the posts.. soreness travels up if not treated. So those sore hocks if not treated soon enough would travel up to the stifles, then up the the whirl bone (muscle area) then on the to sacroiliac and up into the back. Also sounds like you could have a saddle fit issue, you said she felt better after you changed pads. I would for sure make sure the saddle is fitting correctly, then check out some of the other areas that could be sore from compensation.
Edited by ACEINTHEHOLE 2014-02-18 10:29 AM
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 928
Location: Bigfoot Country | How does she stand in her pen? Back feet together? Toes down? Spread out? Is she camped under? Does she dig holes with back feet? Does she grow more heel on back feet, or toe? Does she every feel like she is 'stepping in a hole' when you ride her? Like her leg sorta gives out? |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 1066
| I have a friend who had a mare who was lame off and on for no apparent reason. She would be super miserable and cranky for no real reason. She did everything from ovaries to blood, to xrays, to chiro, to massage etc with results that might look better for a day or 2 at best, and they'd be back to square one. She finally had live blood analysis done in October and found a bunch of little things wrong, but one of the biggest things was a toxic liver due to eating something she was alergic to. I think it had something to do with a combo of processed feeds and alfalfa if I remember correctly, and she had to change her diet and do some sort of cleanse to get her healthy. The horse has done a COMPLETE 360, and is no longer a cranky cow to be around, and has taken over half a second off her fastest times in the past month or 2. The live blood analysis is something I'd definitely look at when all other avenues are coming up dry... (hubby just had it done and the guy is hopeful that it will clear up his awful gout- we'll see!!) |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 678
Location: Canada | Test for PSSM 1 and 2. |
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I Am a Snake Killer
Posts: 1927
Location: Golden Gulf Coast of Texas | Possible kissing spine. Or maybe xray feet and make sure angles are right. |
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Member
Posts: 8
Location: South of Georgia | Thanks for all of the answers. Spent an hour on the phone with the vet tonight and we are gonna start with blood work and urinalysis. Will keep you posted. |
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Just about ready to throw in the towel!!!!!! Sound or not? Need your help!