My 18 coming 19 yr old appaloosa gelding has DSLD and it is quite advanced. I have thankfully never dealt with this horrible disease before and am looking for some advice. His pain is currently managed with daily bute and hylasport CTS. This does not take all the pain away but has keep him mobile enough to go out when the weather is ok. He can not go out when it is muddy or wet out since he gets scratches and then lymphangitis when subjected to muddy or wet conditions. He has also been going out in a round pen on his own most of the year due to his mobility issues. I have noticed a difference in his skin, it is thinner and seems more prone to issues and cuts and of course he has the dropped pasterns. The barn owner says he has been laying down more which is unlike him and I have noticed he is not rolling as much any more. I canāt give him anymore bute since he is ulcer prone and have tried previcox with meager results. For people with horses with this problem when did you know it was time? I donāt want to wait so long there is a catastrophe which I think is typical of horses with this issue but I struggle with making the call because he does seem bright and happy still?
We had one at the barn with this (not mine, but a boarderās). About 3 months before she let him pass, he had a sudden, steep drop in mobility. Walking was clearly painful and he lost the sparkle in his eyes. He would constant;y rest a hind leg, and kept switching them. I donāt remember him really lying down ā maybe he knew he couldnāt get back up if he went down? If heād been mine, thatās when I would have let him go. He clearly wasnāt happy anymore. She tried everything she could think of the relieve the pain, but at that point nothing really seemed to help.
My view on timing is that horses are meant to be lawn mowers. When they canāt fulfill that role comfortably, and medical intervention isnāt really improving their lives, then itās time. Hugs to you. DSLD is such a tragic condition.
In Yoās case, it was colic that did him in before the DSLD/ESPA really effected his mobility.
Yes he had a harder time getting up, but he did get up. and rolling was one of his pleasures I monitored as a āsignā. Yo lived out on a rolling undulating pasture with a herd of geldings, so he kept moving most days all day [or night, seasonally].
Yes the skin can get thin, and they get ticklish/sensitive, and it gets stretchy, or almost crepe-yā¦ the symptoms of DSLD/ESPA [as you probably know] effects a lot of connective tissues besides the tendons.
How is your horse shod or trimmed?
We had Yo in shoes with lift wedges behind and a rolled toe to alleviate some of the strain/pain of those dropped fetlocks. We started that about a month after his fetlocks dropped, at age 23. WE kept him comfortable until we put him down at almost 30.
ETA I just looked at your link. Heās lovely. What a shame.
Is he a TB? ** nevermind, I see heās an Appā¦ ****
How long have those fetlocks been dropped?
He is mostly TB with some Appaloosa. He has had issues with his tendons since his original injury when he was 6 yrs old. He is now going on 19. He is barefoot currently we tried shoes for years but they did not seem to help. Iām not sure how long the fetlocks have been like that, years? but have gotten worse over the years
I am so sorry. I have been in your shoes, and it sucks. The way his hind legs are so far forward under his body tells me, anyway, based on the disease progression I witnessed with my mare, that it is time. You definitely want to put him down before he falls down and cannot rise. That is a terrifying thing for a prey animal. Please try to spare him that terror.
Hugs to you, this is a horrible, heartbreaking disease.
Iām very sorry itās a terrible disease
Personally I find when you have daily thoughts that the time is coming near trust your instincts. In addition if you have someone else who knows him well and sees him regularly and who could handle it ask them to speak up when they also think itās time. Having the second opinion really helps reassure you. If you live somewhere prone to blizzards or ice that shut down roads that would also be a factor
Better a month too early than a day too late. I had one with this. Once youāve reached the point that you definitely know itās time, it can be painful for them when it didnāt have to be. Best wishes with your decision.
I have a boarder whose horse is retired because of this, and Iāve been wondering myself when the end should beā¦ he even went through a spell recently where he was in so much pain, he laid down 24/7, only getting up to eat (eventually). We upped his pain meds for a few days and got him out of that, but he definitely hasnāt been himself the past few months. He used to be the wild child of the barn, bucking and being naughty in his turnout (he has a run-in stall so is out 24/7), but he hasnāt been silly since summer. And heās always resting one of his hind legs.
I find it hard to manage these retired horses when their owners just donāt see them all that often, and I have to explain just how much pain the horse is in each dayā¦ :no:
Iām so sorryā¦ I have handled horses with DSLD/EPSA and it is a very hard condition for them to live with. My observation has been that thereās not always a steady progression and the pain can be very hard to manage - sometimes something small like a cut, kick or a fall can make the condition drastically worse since they have to be stalled which makes them more stiff and the pain less manageable. If it were me I would be spoiling him rotten for a few weeks and letting him go on a sunny day, especially since you mention the pain is not 100% controllable.
He looks lovely. I loved the picture of him at the show. Do you know his pedigree? I ask since you mention he is mostly TBā¦
Hugs. This is a very difficult and personal decision for you. He looks very loved.
I had to put down my first horse - we suspected DSLD, but this was back in the early 2000ās and a lot of people swore that paints couldnāt have it.
His fetlocks were nearly horizontal. He was in good weight. He was mobile. He was bright and happy. But - I couldnāt take the risk of him laying down and snapping his ankle if he went to get up. He didnāt fight when the time came; just rested easily. Better too soon than too late - and in my guyās case, he was 24. I didnāt want to risk the end of his life being scared and waiting for a vet.
The photo attached was taken a couple of year prior to putting him down. I donāt have a ton showing his ankles, but he was retired from riding at 20/21 and he was 22 here. His hind legs were most affected.
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Can you describe early symptoms. I am just mildly suspicious about my gelding. Heās 10 and is ridiculously sensitive to grooming (kick your head off sensitive) but loves a towel and a careful massage. He has always had very slopey pasterns and is a hind leg rester. The one thing to me that is the scariest is that he has had 2 episodes of moderate 4 legged lameness recently which resolved with rest and bute. Vet could find nothing obvious wrong other than it always blocks to his feet. His xrays are fine but he does have a tiny negative angle on his hind feet. Have adjusted his workload and am working on strengthening his hind end. He is willing and other than getting tired after 30 minutes seems not at all distressed to be doing this basic dressage work. He still is quite capable of going on lengthy trail rides with no issues. He is tight through his hips and pelvis which causes him to struggle at the canter. Pretty much just walk and trot because he is happy doing that. Other than all those issues he is gorgeous. Full topline, glossy and happy.
has your vet ruled out kissing spine or ulcers? symptoms of those include irritability grooming, loss of fitness/exercise tolerance, and all around body malaiseā¦ and ulcers can definitely cause back-soreness, iāve seen a huge difference in horses with their tightness over their back once put on an ulcer regiment. however, having a negative palmar angle behind can definitely make a horse sore/defensive and could contribute to his 4-legged episodes of sorenessā¦ i let some mistakes by my farrier slide with my gelding and ended up spending $$$ to fix it - he had NPA behind and it completely changed the way he stood, moved, and even behavedā¦ fixing his angles made him much less defensive so i can see how an improper trim can really affect a horse. NPA definitely places a lot of stress on the collateral ligaments and suspensory, so itās not uncommon to see a horse sore from that. hope itās that over DSLD! although your symptoms do match up with a hind suspensory injury as well, they tend to tire very quickly in work, and have episodes of varying lamenesses.
you can diagnose for DSLD/ESPA by doing a nuchal ligament biopsyā¦ and sometimes, ultrasounds can give you a good idea (before you do the biopsy) on whether or not your horse might have the disease, as i have heard vets say that the enlargement and lesions can be detectable fairly early on - even a layperson like myself was able to see on ultrasound that the suspensory apparatus was āfibrousā and kind of meaty, and that was in a 7 y/o with fairly early DSLD (his symptoms were soft pastern, lack of condition, flexed positive, and waning exercise tolerance - at first vet thought it was a hind suspensory)ā¦ itās my understanding that a horse with DSLD/ESPA will always flex positive, even in early stages. they do not always palpitate sore.
DSLD is tough to ddx in early, early stages, but i think the biggest symptom is frequent all-around malaise that canāt be pinpointed to any specific area. i think itās more important to pay attention to the horseās behavior: if they often rest or sit on things, if they lean against things, show soreness that doesnāt abate behind. take pictures often of the horseās conformationā¦ as horses get older (15-20s+) they do tend to straighten out very slightly in the stifle/hips/hock and drop slightly in their pasterns, itās just part of their conformation ā but if the horse stands under himself frequently and you are seeing a pretty big difference in the angles behind, itās probably time to ask the vet. the DSLD stance, despite being the most recognizable symptom in horses affected by DSLD, is only present in half the horses with DSLDā¦ so itās easy for DSLD to fly under the radar for yearsā¦
IE if i noticed my 5 y/o had a slight change in his straightness from stifle to pastern and a āsofterā pastern than he had as a 3 y/o, i would definitely suspect DSLDā¦ but if it was my 22 y/o QH that spent a life as a lesson horse, i might consider that change in posture a natural result of senescence rather than DSLD.
Thank you all for the kind thoughts and suggestions and input. I still have not decided what to do but this helps me a little more with the decision making process. This disease is the worst!
