Coffin Joint Cyst in a Young Horse

[monalisa]

Long story here but I’ll try to keep it short. Have a 3 year old WB. He was put into work earlier this year for about 5 weeks and then started being slightly lame on and off on his front feet. Was diagnosed with a cyst in both of his front feet. Injected his feet, put on shoes with pads. Took him to a trainer. My goal was only to get this guy in VERY light work so he can at least be rideable at a walk on a trail. He has a good brain, but is spooky because he has no mileage. He has been at the trainer now for 45 days. They have yet to even ride him once. They pull him out and lunge him every now and then and I paying training board. I am definitely going to pick him up this week. He is still “off” every now and then. He is completely sound at a walk.

I want to try and find someone who will just get on him 4-5 days a week and walk him under saddle for 30 minutes - just ride him at a walk. That’s it. Any suggestions? Has anyone else ever been in this situation with a young horse?

[Scribbler]

@monalisa

Long story here but I’ll try to keep it short. Have a 3 year old WB. He was put into work earlier this year for about 5 weeks and then started being slightly lame on and off on his front feet. Was diagnosed with a cyst in both of his front feet. Injected his feet, put on shoes with pads. Took him to a trainer. My goal was only to get this guy in VERY light work so he can at least be rideable at a walk on a trail. He has a good brain, but is spooky because he has no mileage. He has been at the trainer now for 45 days. They have yet to even ride him once. They pull him out and lunge him every now and then and I paying training board. I am definitely going to pick him up this week. He is still “off” every now and then. He is completely sound at a walk.

I want to try and find someone who will just get on him 4-5 days a week and walk him under saddle for 30 minutes - just ride him at a walk. That’s it. Any suggestions? Has anyone else ever been in this situation with a young horse?

Well you can likely pay a younger trainer to ride by the hour. Someone who needs cash

[monalisa]

Trying to find someone - I live in a somewhat rural area - and finding anyone to do anything right now is very difficult.

[Scribbler]

Then you can handwalk him for rehab.

[Peggy]

Yes, though mine was 4 and had a bit more time under saddle. Once he was sound and cleared for tack walking, I had someone local working with him who understood young horses very well, but apparently not rehab. Horse went lame.

Gave him a year off (at a facility about 100 miles from home) in pens of gradually-increasing size until he was in a large area. Also treated with tildren via regional perfusion This was 8 years ago; not sure if I would do that with a 5 year-old now. He was sound by 9 months, but I gave him the full year off. Then had the guy there, who understood both young horses and rehab very well, restart him. All went well for not quite a year when the lameness recurred, likely neck driven.

[2tempe]

OP - i’m curious as to what the vet said regarding the cysts and down time/further treatments, rehab or prognosis. Should he be in “work” at all if still not fully sound? Is he on turnout?
You dont mention where you are located, so no real suggestions on trainer/rider. But - if only under saddle for 5 weeks, and 3 yrs old, and you want someone to only walk? That could be asking a lot of a young, very green horse.

[lorilu]

Really interested in info about bone cysts… recently heard of a very nice horse who has one, but I know nothing about effect/future/treatment, etc?

[joiedevie99]

@lorilu

Really interested in info about bone cysts… recently heard of a very nice horse who has one, but I know nothing about effect/future/treatment, etc?

Once they are symptomatic, they are a major issue. Some can be maintained on Osphos, stem cell, and/or ProStride, but when it is viable for the site of the cyst, surgery is often recommended.

However, cysts aren’t always symptomatic. I know an excellent FEI horse still going strong in his late teens with stifle cysts. There is obviously risk, because some day they could become an issue, but it’s also possible they won’t. I’d personally take the risk on an older horse that’s been in full work, but not one just getting started in life.

[Fiesta01]

I think the prognosis for a bone cyst varies widely. One of my mares came up lame behind. Local vet x-rayed and found a bone cyst and didn’t seem real hopeful about her regaining soundness.

I wanted another opinion and took her down to New Bolton. Dr. Bill Moyer examined her, studied the X-rays and told me she had a sprained fetlock. The lameness had nothing to do with the bone cyst. The cyst was an incidental finding.

I followed rehab protocol for the sprain for a total recovery. She never had a problem in that leg again, so no consequence of having the bone cyst there.

I would want to get a couple of opinions on the horse before buying, but depending on the recommendations, it wouldn’t be an absolute no for me.

[monalisa]

You cannot do surgery for a cyst in a coffin joint. In the past month or two he has been off every now and then, ever so slightly but most of the time he is sound. He is sound at the walk. I am not trying to sell this horse only find a way he can a life other than being a pasture ornament.

[2tempe]

When he gets home why not start with ground work, and some combination of desensitization (tarps, pool noodles, etc), obstacles and cavaletti. I’d also think about long lining/ground driving as you can more easily keep him mentally busy that way. This would buy you some time to find a different training/riding situation and he wouldn’t just be sitting.

[monalisa]

Very good idea.
He is very good on the ground actually already. But thank you!

[Peggy]

Long lining is a great idea. I have a friend who does it instead of hand walking. Also, in this case, would help the young horse’s training.

[jumpforjoy]

I had the exact same diagnosis with my young mare - she was well trained , but at five years of age ,she started taking little mincing pony steps at the trot and then she began to buck as soon as she was asked to trot . We gave her a year off, but never became sound again . Fortunately I have plenty of room on the farm so she was retired and had a good life . Not what you want to hear … But your mare may have a better prognosis !

[Libby2563]

@lorilu

Really interested in info about bone cysts… recently heard of a very nice horse who has one, but I know nothing about effect/future/treatment, etc?

My retired (for other reasons) GP horse had a bone cyst in his shoulder, diagnosed when he was 11ish and at PSG. It took forever to diagnose because it wasn’t anyone’s first place to look and was very hard to image. The cyst was irritating and essentially fraying his bicipital tendon. It took three surgeries (the first two made him sound only temporarily; the third surgery took a different approach) but he finally did come sound at age 13 and we made it up to GP when he was 17! You can feel some abnormalities on palpation and at the extremes of his range of movement, but nothing that affected his gaits at all. The vets regarded him as a bit of a miracle because they were thinking the third surgery would only make him pasture sound. He turns 26 next month.