Bridle Lameness, Diagnosis of Exclusion

[SporthorseFun]

Condensed version of my story and a question: 11 year old warmblood fell - spooked and slipped on concrete. Diagnosed with IUFP. Tried estrone, no help, building hind end over six months. Horse was “crippled” according to vet as he could hardly walk. Stifle surgery discovered torn cartilage and an OCD lesion MTR (blocked at stifle). Horse was sound for six weeks and then short stride returned. Tried to “push the horse through it”. No success. Many therapies, PRP, IRAP, and on and on. No help. Finally, turned him out for a year.

Three years in a row, tried to bring the horse back. First three days a dream to ride. Day four, spooky, no steering, no brakes. Tried to “ push him through it.” No success. Surgeon says keep pushing. Got second opinion. Horse blocked from bottom up. Diagnosis chronic proximal suspensory. Shockwave and shoeing support, horse is sound for a year. Move horse to new state this year. Farrier chops off feet. Removed trailer support. 3 degrees negative, long toes. Short stride returns within a days. Fear reinjury of suspensory or irritation to stifle. Not sure. Take to vet, says IUFP. Balance hooves - huge difference. Leave at rehab. Week six, loses shoe on bad hind. They are working him anyway to raised cavaletti, several days, which he tries to jump but jumps front and trots hind.

Week seven, must whip the horse now and call him belligerent for trying to leave the ring. Diagnosis is bridle or phantom lameness. Horse is worse coming home than when he was seen almost 2 months ago. Question: Why do vets not do all of the diagnostic work from the beginning? Needs lameness locator on a circle, but this gets skipped too. Confused. All diagnostic imaging sent, but it never seems to matter.

[Scribbler]

I can’t really follow your telegraphic style to know what actually happened. However horses certainly get injured and never recover sound. It’s pretty common. Also horses break down from chronic stress but it’s attributed to an acute accident. Also it is never a good idea to punish a horse that is sore or recovering from injury. Great way to sour them. This horse is obviously still in pain. The stifle is analogous to the human knee joint. Many many human athletes blow their knees and can’t do their sport agsin ever.

[SporthorseFun]

Well Scribbler, thank you. For anyone else, this is simple description of chronological events. Maybe vets are uncomfortable nerve blocking unless they are surgeons?

[stb]

I’m not sure what your question is, OP, but I agree with Scribbler.

[endlessclimb]

Yeah, I don’t know what the question is and can’t easily follow the OP. Can you break it down without editorializing it, and ask your question more clearly?

[SporthorseFun]

I think it says “Question”.

I think it says, “Maybe vets are …?”

Maybe it is my engineering background, so let me spell it out - Read the data I have provided. Lots of relevant data with a time history. Read the incident. Clearly provided what happened recently. Read the question. See above. Hope this helps.

[endlessclimb]

How about this:

No.

Act like a jerk and get what a jerk gets: Nothing.

[SporthorseFun]

Wow.

[JumperMan]

The original post makes sense to me. It simply looks like a chronology of events and a question.

I don’t see why it’s necessary to call someone looking for information a jerk!

[endlessclimb]

OP is this even your horse?

If yes: don’t whip it and get another opinion. Common sense.

If not: mind your own business.

[SporthorseFun]

I found some information from other post where COTH members are faced with the same problem. I do not whip my horse. I undo the damage others do by driving my horse with willful blindness.

[endlessclimb]

@SporthorseFun

I undo the damage others do by driving my horse with willful blindness.

aaaand we’re back with the cryptic garbage.

Is this your horse or not? If yes, why did you allow all this to happen to him? I’m sure any lease you had allowed you to take the horse back if concerned about his welfare. If not, then shame on you for not writing that in.

If not your horse, stay out of it.

[SporthorseFun]

What’s with the bullying?

You are reading a whole new scenario into this post. I have never had this happen before on COTH. I hope you all feel really good kicking someone who trusts and respects the forum.

[SporthorseFun]

It’s just crazy.

[SporthorseFun]

You know what, this is beneath respect, and anything you post will be promptly ignored.

[SporthorseFun]

Back to focusing … low angles really bother this horse. Seeking care can lead to being all over the place, including bridle lameness. However, history has shown, there is a repeatable problem with lameness, but starting over in a new state with a new vet is hard when they don’t nerve block, and the farrier cuts the hooves down. The history is to provide, without running off the page, all the things that educated COTH members may or will pick up on. I have owned this very smart and talented horse for seven years now, and would like to press on with his education. I don’t whip him, that happened at the rehab hospital. This is not good because all of the push him through it failed through previous experience. i need to understand why vets don’t dig deep early. Why do they not take into account the previous treatment history and imaging? I am really puzzled. In the Air Force, we logged all troubleshooting and repair, especially for complex or intermittent problems. Maybe I am must used to a different process.

[endlessclimb]

Just to remind everyone…

Horse Culture and Vet Care, Where Do I Stand?

My horse just reinjured his suspensory, and I immediately reached out to my vet yesterday morning. I got no call and no message about how to proceed until yesterday evening (message) saying I will get a call this morning (no instructions). I put the horse immediately on box rest, iced his leg, and gave him 2 grams of bute while conscious that I have just spent $$$$ treating hind gut ulcers - just got him off the meds two weeks ago, and bute is going to start the stripping of the GI mucosa, but…

[JumperMan]

It looks to me like what the OP is saying is: 1) they have gone through a lot to help this horse, 2) the horse was recently sent to rehab, 3) in rehab the horse lost a shoe, but was still worked, 4) the horse was harmed by the shoeless work, 5) the rehab rider had to whip the horse, 6) the OP brought the horse home, and 7) the rehab rider posted a simple question.

Then some posters here felt that it was necessary to insult the OP. Apparently there are some people here that can be very mean and uncaring.

[SporthorseFun]

Context - it was season, and we are low on the totem pile. Vet has Olympic riders flying in from across the country and brokers six figure horses from Europe. He was just too busy but liked us a lot. Really helped, especially with shoeing! Frustrating because we had the horse on stall rest not knowing the extent of the injury. All was remedied when we trailered to awesome vet clinic, and they did an awesome job. Old state before moving.

[SporthorseFun]

Yes. Thanks.