I went with my sister yesterday to take her trail horse to an equine hospital. He suddenly went lame last week and she feared navicular. The vet had him trot in the lot and the limp was minimal. He flexed the leg, and then the limp was significant, with bobbing head. He blocked the hoof, and the limp was still there, so he knew it was not navicular. Xray revealed he had a bone spur at the knee joint.
Surgery did not seem a good option, and she did not want to ride him with bute masking his pain. And she isn't in a financial position to keep a horse for sentimental reasons. So she left him at the clinic. I think one thing that influenced her decision is she had a bone spur very recently. The surgery to remove it left nerve damage in her foot. She was picturing the horse in the kind of pain she felt. The horse was 18.
The vet was pretty fresh out of school and training and a mine of wonderful information. He showed me out to find the digital pulse, and explained everything in detail. The bone spur in the Xray was obvious. He explained, too, about the navicular as being "a window to the soul" of the foot. Now vet's are calling it Palmar's Syndrome.
I was a little upset at first that my sister did not want to try the bute thing, but after I thought it over and heard more about her own bone spur experience, I was better with it. Of course, I did not argue with her at the clinic; such a difficult decision does not need an arguer; my role was support. Her experience, I suppose, with cowboys and performance riders who drive their horses with drugs disgusts her.
The vet said Barbaro's legs were full of metal from fracture repairs.
Never an easy decision; I've done it myself. Just wanted to share information about the bone spur and what I learned about the navicular.
And btw, the vet tech said she would like to get a miniature horse and what did I know about Pygmy horses. !!!!! I told her they were dwarves and had lots of health problems and any breeder who purposely bred for them was unscrupulous. She admitted the pictures she had seen of them looked dwarf-like. We have a lot more education to do about miniature horses. They are certainly not being taken seriously in many circles.
Surgery did not seem a good option, and she did not want to ride him with bute masking his pain. And she isn't in a financial position to keep a horse for sentimental reasons. So she left him at the clinic. I think one thing that influenced her decision is she had a bone spur very recently. The surgery to remove it left nerve damage in her foot. She was picturing the horse in the kind of pain she felt. The horse was 18.
The vet was pretty fresh out of school and training and a mine of wonderful information. He showed me out to find the digital pulse, and explained everything in detail. The bone spur in the Xray was obvious. He explained, too, about the navicular as being "a window to the soul" of the foot. Now vet's are calling it Palmar's Syndrome.
I was a little upset at first that my sister did not want to try the bute thing, but after I thought it over and heard more about her own bone spur experience, I was better with it. Of course, I did not argue with her at the clinic; such a difficult decision does not need an arguer; my role was support. Her experience, I suppose, with cowboys and performance riders who drive their horses with drugs disgusts her.
The vet said Barbaro's legs were full of metal from fracture repairs.
Never an easy decision; I've done it myself. Just wanted to share information about the bone spur and what I learned about the navicular.
And btw, the vet tech said she would like to get a miniature horse and what did I know about Pygmy horses. !!!!! I told her they were dwarves and had lots of health problems and any breeder who purposely bred for them was unscrupulous. She admitted the pictures she had seen of them looked dwarf-like. We have a lot more education to do about miniature horses. They are certainly not being taken seriously in many circles.
