Lameness getting worse after stall rest?

[dontskipchip]

Hi, thank you for taking the time to read this. Any advice would be appreciated.

I’ve owned my mare since she was a yearling. We started her late because i didnt wanted to do my best to preserve her legs. She is 8 yrs old now and we have been struggling with this lameness for almost a whole year now.

It started in the early spring as an on and off something. I rode her on the good days because honestly it was so minor i couldnt even tell where it was coming from. it very slowly progressed into what i believe is in her right front foot. We had radiographs done on both of her fronts, everything was clear. We tried different shoes. I havent ridden her since the summer. We have injected her coffin joints and her right front bursa. the vet came out and blocked her and thats what led us to believe she needed her bursa done. Both different times she was injected she was sound for a weekend and got bad again. The vet told me to put her on stall rest as she believes it to be some sort of soft tissue injury. Even tho it came on so slowly.

The first week of stall rest i was allowed to get on her and walk for five minutes and then every week we’d add 5 minutes until we reached 30 min and then we’d get to jog for 5 minutes and then slowly keep adding every week. Her second week into stall rest she could hardly walk out of her stall. she was in obvious pain and i put her right back in her stall and gave her bute. She is quiet in her stall we have cameras up so we would know if she was up to no good even when no one is around. her condition stayed the same and i decided to turn her out in a small lot because what is the point of stall rest if its only making her worse? She seems better with pasture rest but it is hard to tell because it is raining every other day and i havent been able to turn her out consistently enough to know if that is making a difference. I feel so bad for her.

My questions are, could this be lymes? (we live in south east PA)

why is it worse after stall rest?

Why is there no swelling or heat?

I’m going to get a second opinion soon. But i am so frustrated, and i cant afford to get an mri done. I just feel so bad for her…

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[trubandloki]

Darn, this sounds frustrating. I hope you get answers soon.

I tend to think hoof abscess when a horse goes suddenly dead lame for not obvious reason. Was that something that was looked into at the point when your horse came out of the stall dead lame? Sometimes moving around helps them resolve.

Subtle lameness is much harder to figure out sometimes.

Have you not tested for Lyme yet? (Note, it is called Lyme not Lymes. I know a vet that calls it Lymes too. Just letting you know so if you want to google about it you will have the right term.) Lyme does sometimes show as weird lameness issues.

[joiedevie99]

@dontskipchip

My questions are, could this be lymes? (we live in south east PA)

why is it worse after stall rest?

Why is there no swelling or heat?

I’m going to get a second opinion soon. But i am so frustrated, and i cant afford to get an mri done. I just feel so bad for her…

Yes - unlikely but not impossible. I’d definitely test for Lyme since it’s easy to rule in/out.

Sometimes things like arthritis (bone) are worse after rest. It’s also possible that standing still causes fluid to build up in a spot and it takes some walking around to get it moving again.

If it’s in the foot, it’s not surprising that there is no swelling or heat.

Depending on what it is, that rehab schedule may be far too fast. It’s hard to know. Collateral ligament injuries can take 6-9 months of walking.

Does the horse block sound to the hoof now?

Since you can’t swing an MRI, it’s worth talking with your vet about what second-best options might be out there at a lower price point - CT scan, longer trip to a teaching hospital with better prices or standing machine, soak the hoof in water and see if you can see anything through the heels with ultrasound?

[Posting_Trot]

Yes, you should definitely have her tested for Lyme disease. Make sure the vet does the Cornell test, and doesn’t just rely on the so-called “snap” test.

How is she if she’s allowed to be on her regular turnout schedule? Sometimes, as noted above, conditions get worse with stall rest, and that’s information worth knowing.

It might be helpful to post some pictures of her hooves as well. I know that you said that you’ve tried different shoes, etc., but sometimes having fresh eyes looking at the hooves can be helpful.

Here are some tips on taking good hoof pictures.

Good luck.

[candyappy]

I agree that sometimes they are better if they can move around and just standing in a stall can make her worse. I would also test for Lyme Disease and see if an abscess is possible.

You are doing everything right and yes, it is frustrating when it is so subtle, you can’t figure it out, yet they are hurting. Keep us updated.

[dontskipchip]

Yeah we treated for an abscess and I’ve been packing the foot and in the summer was soaking it with Epsom salts… Just seems funny to me that it came on so slowly and now she hurts to even walk. Definitely going to get a second opinion. And yes she blocks sound to the hoof… That’s why the vet says to just stall rest her cause either way she’ll need it. Thanks!

[dontskipchip]

Thanks! I had no idea it was lyme and not lymes. Everyone seems to call it lymes But I will probably have them test for that. Im just suspicious since it came on so slowly and now she is lame to the walk even after a month of resting. I have been packing her foot incase it was an abscess because of the way it is presenting but its been so long now and she doesn’t react to hoof testers.

[dontskipchip]

Unfortunately i think after a month of packing and soaking the foot an abscess would have come through already. And my boyfriend (who is a shoer) put his hoof testers on her and she didn’t react at all. I’ll definitely run a blood test on her. And keep turning her out as much as possible. If she doesn’t get out i do turn her out in the indoor for about an hour so at least she gets something. Thanks!

[B-burg_Dressage]

My boy presented somewhat similarly a couple years ago. Subtle on and off lameness on his hoof that turned into really lame quickly. Blocked the hoof and everything was lovely. Did not respond to hoof testers (and the dude is SENSITIVE).

Vet did a whole series of radiographs on his hoof. Barely visible, but a tiny little air pocket in the hoof. Bacteria had gotten in somehow and grown a little environmen for themselves. With where it was, the vet was able to dig a hole in his hoof and release pressure (no fluid or anything came out). Did a round of antibiotics, soaking, and stall rest for a week. He got better very quickly.

Not sure if it’s the same at all but some similarities at least. He had a close nail a few months prior that we guess introduced the bacteria, but that can get in the hoof in lots of ways.

Good luck! It sucks when you can’t pinpoint the issue.

[trubandloki]

I had a similar experience as @B-burg_Dressage, though in my horse it was an abscess that was way high that would grow, hurting a little here and there and then not hurt and then hurt a little, then hurt a lot, then not hurt. With X-rays we finally found the problem, made it a way to come out that we kept open for a bit and when it healed it was not longer an issue.

Not saying that is what is happening here. I do think testing for Lyme is a great idea.

[IPEsq]

Is her foot soft? With soaking for a month, that’s not good for a foot. I wonder if that’s why she’s more lame?

What does she do when you turn her out? Is she quiet? If it is soft tissue, most likely either she needs to live out in good footing if she can be quiet, or she needs to live in a stall with controlled movement (hand walking). Or turnout in a medical sized paddock.

Without an MRI, there’s just so many possibilities of what can be going on. And some soft tissue issues in the foot can take a long, long time of rest. Taking a bunch of X-rays might help you figure out if there’s anything subtle that’s more of a bone or joint problem. But of course you could see that part on MRI also.

Definitely worth checking for something systemic that would be made worse by lack of movement like Lyme.

[No1]

A standing MRI is about $1500. You could easily spend that in medicating different things and special shoeing and still be treating the wrong thing. She could also, possibly, have a keratoma. A keratoma is very easily fixable, but needs to come out or the horse will never be sound.

How did the vet block the horse? Did she do a PD and block the whole foot? Has the coffin ever been blocked IA? Has a strictly lateral or medial PD and/or abaxial been done? These things will at least help you narrow down the area, structures that may be affected. If the horse has only blocked with a PD, has anyone ultrasounded the soft tissue in her pastern? A lot of that is also blocked with a PD.

It’s not clear to me from your initial post, but if a very thorough job has not been done blocking, I would start there and then give another hard look at how much you’ve already spent vs. how much an MRI would be.

[StormyDay]

Being in more pain from stall rest makes me think arthritis. It’s not unheard of for an 8yo to have arthritis that bad, but it’s not what I would immediately jump to.

One idea is a low DDFT injury. It can present as hoof soreness when very low.

I might be flames for saying this, but If you can’t afford to jump through hoops for a diagnosis, Sometimes the best treatment is to turn them out and wait a bit. If there’s somewhere with 24/7 turnout, you could try that. It tends to keep them from doing shenanigans and constant walking is good for a lot of injuries. (Not all, but I think if you had a ligament tear or something your vet would have noticed that)

[walktrot]

Lyme disease is named for the town in Connecticut where it was first identified.

[endlessclimb]

My late mare would do this, but it was behind - we never did find out exactly what was wrong. She would come sound (for her, sound - not textbook sound) after about 2 minutes of lunging.

I think that even some soft tissue injuries hurt worse after stall rest. I know that when I tweak my ankle or wrist, it hurts like the dickens in the morning but once I get moving it feels better. I’d give the 24/7 turnout (or max possible) a try.

Dropping a ton of dough on diagnostics with no results is so frustrating - I’m sorry you’re going through this.

[candyappy]

@dontskipchip

Unfortunately i think after a month of packing and soaking the foot an abscess would have come through already.

My mare had an abscess that took well over 6 weeks to burst . She was un-reactive to hoof testers as well. It came out just above the heel bulb. It all depends on where it might be. Not saying that is what it is but don’t rule it out just yet. Maybe as others have done possibly get an x ray and see if there is something in the foot along with a Lyme test.