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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 1001
Location: Kansas | I have been following several threads lately regarding rear suspensory injuries and the best lameness vets in the midwest...
I apologize for the length of this post in advance but I am at the end of my rope.
Mare in question I have owned for a little over 6 years. After purchasing we had issues with not being able to lope to the right without swapping hind leads and trying to run off... 3 different vets - 1 flexed positive right upper hind. Xrays were done all around and even her neck, many different procedures/ opinions - ranging from hock injections, stifle blistering (sticky stifle) etc.
During this time when saddling she would flinch after putting the pad on, walk away to get saddle and she would drop her hip etc. Strange behavior seemed nerve related.
Over the next couple of years we were in and out of vets for basically the same thing but we added SI issues into the mix and had to make weekly chiro appts to adjust the SI as it was not staying in, no true findings nor treatments (we injected the SI, we did a lot of accupunture with the moxi balls which provided relief but not long lasting).
I scheduled a consultation for a bone scan, during the evaluation it was brought to attention that she was ataxic (keep in mind EPM was questioned by me at every vet), did blood work - came back not high enough or low enough suggested to go ahead and treat. So I did, I dropped her off at my local vet for a 5 day IV treatment. After this the twitching with the saddle pad subsided after a few months.She had 30 days off and the rest of the year I pleasure rode her and hauled her to barrel races to walk around and in and out of the gate.
Fast forward spent a majority of the following year hauling her around working on quieting her mind, lightly hauled her at the end of the year. Last year I hauled her for the first time solid the whole year - like a 3 or 4 races a month. She did pretty well and her gate issues subsided - occasionally she would get anxious and need a little encouragement but no refusing. Only issue I had was pausing on the backside and sort of leaping out of the second and third barrels - I kept thinking it was me and my hand placement or something. When I had her teeth done they said she had a lot of TMJ pain of course we xrayed and found nothing but went ahead and injected to see if it provided any relief. I think I felt a difference in one run.
This year legged her up went to a few barrel races and she was difficult to get in the gate and I started noticing her being antsy when tied to saddle and the twitching with the pad on came back - vet said go ahead and treat her again for epm. So I did.... I hauled her back to the vet after 60 day of treating I wasn't noticing any difference and I hauled to her a race and she flat out refused to go in when I got her in she was all run and no turn and not working on her hind at all.
Vet went through epm checks (I thought the treatment didn't work) she passed them all. We flexed her she flexed positive on the right hind upper but obviously it flexes the whole leg. They couldn't see much with her in the round pen etc. I saddled her they still couldn't see much. The ultra sounded her rear proximal suspensory and said it was enlarged and there was loss of fiber pattern - I wanted a second opinion as they did not give any measurements nor compare with the other leg. Also said she was not lame enough to block and be able to see a difference and basically she should be a broodmare. So I took her back to KSU another u.s. done - at that time they did both legs, right was 1 cm larger than the left and did not see anything indicating anything wrong. During this they found that most of what they were seeing was from her hock - blocked it and it was only 50 ish percent better - unable to perform further blocking bc she became intolerable of getting stuck with needles we had been there all day with a 2 hr wait in between due to surgeries. Attempted to sedate and inject hocks so we could come back and see how much that improved the hock pain. It was a no go. This Dr. said he saw no reason why she couldn't compete the way she is. Went back the following week - we had to sedate for all of the blockings - started from scratch again blocking and injecting hocks, blocking fetlock then there were 2 emergency surgeries and we had to wait another 2.5 hrs - came back and blocked the suspensory and she was 60 % better, but the hock block had worn off... her hocks would have been too full to block again and she wouldn't have had it so we attempted a nerve block that should have blocked all of it but most of the time it doesn't work. We did not block the stifle they didn't feel it was an issue. This different dr re-read both of the ultra sounds done and said to him they looked the same just different conclusions and that he maybe saw a little change in the fiber pattern. So again my appt was inconclusive... but they gave many options, the fasciotomy surgery after a new blocking done showing 100% sound, wait and see what the hock injections do for her this time, MRI, 3rd opinion of ultra sound etc.
I gave her a week after injecting and rode 4 days in a row - still flinch with the saddle pad (I have checked all of my tack all is clean and fits superb) and she now is trying hard but cannot walk or trot a nice fluid circle, there are two spots in the circle she either wants to cut it off or swing her hip out, she prefers to be stiff laterally doesn't want to give that slight tip of the nose to the inside, when I get she wants to OVER flex in the turn losing forward motion. Also now slipping in the hind when nicely collected.
If you have read thus far thank you and I am sorry...
but what do I do now, where do I go I am so tired of traveling around paying the bills and getting no where. She is only 10 and I cannot stand just turning her out. I want to know what the problem is. I don't want to go somewhere where they a lot a 40 min time block to find the problem- the places that rush you through to get on to the next. I know I am not the only one who has had to go through this - please tell me your stories! | |
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 It Goes On
Posts: 2262
  
Location: Muskogee, OK | These types of cases can be so frustrating! If she continues to block to her suspensory I would definitely consider the fasciotomy/neurectomy surgery. I highly recommend Dr. Chad Zubrod a Oakridge in Edmond, OK for these- he does a great job on them. If you are willing to spend money on her you may want to consider doing an MRI of the proximal suspensory to fully assess the extent of the damage. I would of course be sure she is blocking to the suspensory before doing all of that.
The tricky part about the proximal suspensory is that sometimes when you block the lower hock joints they can also block proximal suspensory pain. | |
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Defense Attorney for The Horse
Location: Claremore, OK | If you haven't had it done I would sure get her back xrayed. She sounds like a couple that have come here that have ended up having Bad cases of Kissing Spine.
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 Coyote Country Queen
Posts: 5666
 
| barrelracingchick16 - 2017-08-31 11:17 AM
These types of cases can be so frustrating! If she continues to block to her suspensory I would definitely consider the fasciotomy/neurectomy surgery. I highly recommend Dr. Chad Zubrod a Oakridge in Edmond, OK for these- he does a great job on them. If you are willing to spend money on her you may want to consider doing an MRI of the proximal suspensory to fully assess the extent of the damage. I would of course be sure she is blocking to the suspensory before doing all of that.
The tricky part about the proximal suspensory is that sometimes when you block the lower hock joints they can also block proximal suspensory pain.
I agree with the recommendation of Dr Zubrod, or any of the vets at Oakridge Equine. That is where I go for lameness issues. They are over 5 hours away from me, but it is worth it to make the trip and get a diagnosis.
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 Shelter Dog Lover
Posts: 10277
| barrelracingchick16 - 2017-08-31 11:17 AM These types of cases can be so frustrating! If she continues to block to her suspensory I would definitely consider the fasciotomy/neurectomy surgery. I highly recommend Dr. Chad Zubrod a Oakridge in Edmond, OK for these- he does a great job on them. If you are willing to spend money on her you may want to consider doing an MRI of the proximal suspensory to fully assess the extent of the damage. I would of course be sure she is blocking to the suspensory before doing all of that. The tricky part about the proximal suspensory is that sometimes when you block the lower hock joints they can also block proximal suspensory pain.
I had this surgery done on one of my geldings. Ultrasound showed he had healed from the suspensory injury but he was still presenting lame. Vet blocked the nerve and he was sound so I opted for the surgery. Unfortunately he reacted the same way at the incision sight from the surgery, suspensory no longer bothered him but now off up high with the nerve ending extremely sore and reactive. I consider it kind of a fluke thing to happen, he was going to have to be retired if the surgery did not work so I really had nothing to lose. You may want to have a conversation about adverse side effects of the surgery, my vet had told me this could happrn so I did make an informed decision to go forward. Good luck with your horse. | |
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 You get what you give
Posts: 13030
Location: Texas | Jenbabe - 2017-09-01 10:24 PM
barrelracingchick16 - 2017-08-31 11:17 AM
These types of cases can be so frustrating! If she continues to block to her suspensory I would definitely consider the fasciotomy/neurectomy surgery. I highly recommend Dr. Chad Zubrod a Oakridge in Edmond, OK for these- he does a great job on them. If you are willing to spend money on her you may want to consider doing an MRI of the proximal suspensory to fully assess the extent of the damage. I would of course be sure she is blocking to the suspensory before doing all of that.
The tricky part about the proximal suspensory is that sometimes when you block the lower hock joints they can also block proximal suspensory pain.
I agree with the recommendation of Dr Zubrod, or any of the vets at Oakridge Equine. That is where I go for lameness issues. They are over 5 hours away from me, but it is worth it to make the trip and get a diagnosis.
Next time you go to Oakridge, one of my old Classmates Sarah White is interning there! | |
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