JJ Is Limping, HELP!!

[TBOY30]

JJ is 14 year old QH Geilding, he broke his left leg about six years ago right above the knee. He healed nice after the surgery which left 3 screws in his leg. He was able to run, lay down and get up without any problems. About a year ago he started with a limp. We called the vet and he said it was a absess. We called the farrier and he couldnt find no absess. The limp came and went for the first six months. Then it became more frequent. Te tried putting corrective shoes on him. They seemed to help but only for awhile. It continued to get worse and i noticed that the limp was coming from the right leg more than the left. Went for x-rays and they showed a lot of authiritis in his left knee (which is to be expected) but also the cannon bone on his right leg was also inflamed. Doc said the only practacle way to heal it would be to keep him off of it (pick him up in a harness) but that it would come back because he uses it so much more than the left leg. So he put him on bute tablets daily. Which doesnt seem to be offering much comfort to him. He has been on a flex supplement for quite a while. So what next???????? Keep in mind that this is Penny3069's big baby. We will try to find a way to heal him no matter what the cost.<br><br>Post edited by: TBOY30, at: 2006/08/20 14:08

[mic2]

Spoke with several friends and they said something in the lines of your vet - he needs to give the leg a rest, let it heal and than he can use it again.
Unlike your vet, they think that after the leg heals he will probably be ok since he was living 5 years with the surgery without limping. The left knee was probably working harder than the right all the time, but it's problem was probably triggered by an irregular event (a rough walk, extra cold temp., ...).

I wonder what other people think.
Try PMing lethal ( http://www.horsesring.com/Lethal_White ) and maybe arabianwoods ( http://www.horsesring.com/arabianwoods ) too.

[TBOY30]

Ok, what do they mean by a rest? We havent ridden him in a long time. What about a suspensory boots?? The vet siad he would have to be suspended in a harness. If that is the case we will have to find somwhere to send him for that. We are not set up for it. Any ideas are appreciated and we will definatly follow up on all leads.

Thanks TBOY

[mic2]

They were speaking about a harness too, but maybe a suspensory boot would be enough.
Their main point was that after he's healed it's not "just a matter of time until the problem returns" since he was in good shape for 5 years with this healed injury, so it is definitely worth the effort.

Another point that Anna raised - did you check out his hooves? If he's using mainly the right leg, the hooves might not be simmetric in their grinding, which might causes further stress to the leg.

[TBOY30]

Good piont on the hooves, We have all the horses hooves done every 6 weeks religously. The Farrier put corrective shoes on him and set them back a little to help the hoof break over easier. That seemed to help for a little while. We just took the shoes off of him last week. For the first 1 1/2 years we had him barefoot and he done fine. We only put the shoes on when he started limping. Penny will start looking for a facility that can suspend him as soon a she reads this thread:lol: . All ideas are welcome.

Thanks
TBOY

[magaju]

Did your vet x-ray his hoof too or just his leg?

[TBOY30]

We mainly concentrated on the knee to the ankle. i cant remember if he got x-rays of the hoof. Penny look at the films and reply to this please.

[magaju]

If they did not take x-rays of his hoof, i would do that. Just to rule out any hoof problems but it could be more hoof related. Many hoof diseases are caused by an injury, fever, major diet change, age or improper trim or shoeing. I am not saying that your Farrier is doing it wrong. I am sure he is very competent but if he was barefoot for so long with no problems and now he has problems....what changed? Know what i'm saying? Think of any changes that could have occured to make him suddenly lame. Could be a lot of things but if he was fine for so long and not ridden for awhile then i'd think of what did change to make this suddenly happen. May not be his hooves at all but you can at least narrow it down. Also look at what makes him limp. Like.....does he limp at all gaits or just a few? Does he have the same flex and movement in his leg as he did before if you were to pick up the leg and bend or stretch it? Or is it stiff? Is he sore in his back (maybe pulled something while playing)? We had 2 horses suddenly come up lame at the barn and it turned out that their backs were thrown out slightly and it was due to their diet. Changes in food were made and they have been fine since. Your vet may be right in his diagnosis but it never hurts to look at every possible angle. Hope this helped.

[TBOY30]

Thanks for the input, you have always given us great advice . To explain alittle further, We only put shoes on him after he started limping to try to correct it, there were no diet changes at all. Penny will have to look at the x-rays to see if the hoof is on them, I want to say it is but cant be certain. As far as the back problem, it very well could be, last time we saddled him he really went to limping bad. Although the cannon bone is inflamed and his limp is worse after he gets up off the ground. I have watched him and he uses his right leg to get up with all the time. The left one was broke. He will still run and cut up at times. When he runs you cant tell anything is wrong with him.just when he walks. Yes he still has all the flex he had before in both legs though the left has always been limited.Now, he doesnt care to stand on the right leg alone although he will to do his hooves. But you can tell he is uncomfortable. So what is your suggestion to heal the cannon bone. I am asking this because we know it is inflamed. I understand we dont need to stop looking and think that is the only problem but it is one problem. This is the first time i have heard about the diet and back thing, so i will start a new thread and get you to explain it, if you dont mind.

Thanks Trevor

[magaju]

No problem. It's always so hard when they hurt because we have to struggle so hard to figure out what it is and we feel so bad for them. As for his cannon bone, i am not sure but i would suggest heat/cold and keep up the bute. Also lots of turn out time (not sure if you have him stalled or always out). My older mare gets stoved up when she sits in her stall but it lessons when she gets out time. If his cannon is swollen and there are no broken bones, i'm thinking more on the lines of a tendon or tissue injury. Maybe he got cast or pulled something playing. I'll have to do a bit of research and see what i can find out.