if a horse was diagnosed with an old, healed medial sesamoid fracture, do they continue to be slightly lame, falling under the “serviceably sound” category? medial break, bony remodeling. can you tell there was ever a break by running your hand over the horse’s fetlock?
I’ve seen it go both ways. Some come out fine, some are a little lame for life. I never did try to feel it so I can’t answer that I’ve seen some that with proper pain management were good for beginner lessons and trails. They weren’t heavily worked after the injury. They were all lesson horses to begin with, but they were reserved for beginner kids after they healed. I’ve only seen one (out of 4) that wasn’t sound enough to ride after that.
They don t heal with a calcification but a fiberous union, and its not so much the fracture as long as non displaced but the Suspensory that runs under it…An ultrasound will be of more value and give you a better indication of future use…
You definitely can’t feel them. While some horses may have residual swelling in the area, thats not any sort of indication of soundness/unsoundness.
Sesamoids are really touch and go. Support of the suspensory apparatus (like full time standing bandages) can help those who are off even in the pasture. But the prospect of becoming riding sound is like a roulette game. For such a small bone, it can wreak havoc on a horse’s future prospects.
