I feel ill … suspensory and now pastern problems

[TheJenners]

My 28 yo has DSLD, and has for… a while. He has been retired since about errr… 2015, and that was mostly for some ringbone. Depending on how fast it goes and how you manage it, it isn’t something that comes on suddenly and just overwhelms them, though it’s possible it wasn’t noticed for a long time. Shoes are contraindicated as far as I know. He also has Cushings and is treated for it, and daily equioxx helps with the ringbone and DSLD. One pastern is noticeably puffier than the other, but he’s allowed to move at his own pace and does what he wants, and still bosses around everyone. He is not kept stalled.

2009

2010

2020

2022

[Angela_Freda]

@shadesofbay3

how long did your horse live with DSLD before the bowed tendon? you didnt do anything special? shoes, wraps, etc?

My horse was retired at 23 because of dsld, and lived another six years comfortably.
He was out as much as possible, received pain/antiinflammatory meds (which he needed for arthritis too), and was shod behind with shoes and pads to lift his heels, with the full approval of the vets I consulted with.
It is not contraindicated. It’s simply not necessarily helpful for all dsld horses and the way we did it it was incredibly expensive which most people won’t do for an unrideable horse.

[TheJenners]

My vet and two farriers have both said that shoeing for DSLD is contraindicated.

[TheJenners]

Oh sorry! It was the older horse comment that confused me, unfortunately my medical disaster is in his early teens… But thank you!

[2tempe]

I am interested in the contraindication for shoes. Did vet and/or farrier explain? My vet wanted the support from eggbar type shoes, and maresy’s pasture mate, same general problem was shoeless for a number of years and now clearly more comfortable with the hind support. Both girls are barefoot in front.
It wouldn’t break my heart to go from shoes on hind to barefoot there to, so any input would be of interest.

[shadesofbay3]

i am curious too. i have shoes on front and barefoot on hind but can go either way … will see what vet and farrier say too

[4horses]

My mare lived with DSLD for several years. She was 28 when she was pts. It is a very slowly progressive disease.

[TheJenners]

I dont have the answer sorry The farrier said barefoot was better, and the vet said it didnt help and holding up the leg for shoes (trims already require equioxx + bute) wouldnt be kind.

[Angela_Freda]

@2tempe

My vet wanted the support for shoes, and maresy’s pasture mate, same general problem was shoeless for a number of years and now clearly more comfortable with the hind support

As did mine.
He was shod with the full approval of the vets I consulted with.
It is not contraindicated. It’s simply not necessarily helpful for all dsld horses and the way we did it it was incredibly expensive which most people won’t do for an unrideable horse.

My farrier works mostly on older horses at the retirement farm, so he’s accustomed to dealing with, and accommodating horses who need to be shod in gradual stages with plenty of breaks.
My farrier was a godsend. He was creative and thoughtful about how to make my horse as comfortable as he could be with the process but also the materials we used.
He does that with all the horses he works on there.

[shadesofbay3]

im assuming i’m not lucky enough that you are in virginia ? would love to know who this farrier is

[Angela_Freda]

We’re in NY, farrier comes out of NJ
He may not even be working anymore, my horse died over six years ago, and was at that point retired for the dsld about six years.
Basically at first we used aluminum shoes with heel lifts. $$$ cause they can’t be reset (I think, I can’t recall)
Eventually we used regular shoes with just lift pads. It wasn’t as good as the aluminum, but they could be reset and thus were affordable.
.

[4horses]

The main problem with shoes is that these horses are already painful behind and the longer they stand on 3 legs, the more painful they get. Farrier work always involved banamine and even then my mare was painful. As the disease progressed, I would have my mare lay down for farrier work. This was much easier on her, but definitely was a sign we were heading downhill.

Here is a picture of her legs towards the end. Really it is a heartbreaking disease, but she lived a long and good life.

[omare]

I just had a 24 year old tested for cushings because he injured his medial collateral ligament in April 2022, has been on stall rest with hand grassing (could be a wild man) and now ruptured his hind suspensory in same leg (and the collateral ligament had actually healed). Vet explained cushings weakens ligaments. Not sure this is going to turn out well as she says 12 month stall rest. (And he has gotten cellulitis twice.) But apparently cushings can damage ligaments especially suspensory ligaments and there is literature out there on the connection I can find. So it might just be cushings. I had no idea it caused this type of problem.