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Post by MustangAppy on Sept 15, 2007 23:35:38 GMT -5
High or low, don't know yet, so need info on both. Treatments, expected outcome, anything.  |
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Post by TashGaia on Sept 16, 2007 1:36:56 GMT -5
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Post by shelberttk2 on Sept 16, 2007 1:41:49 GMT -5
Chippy has high ringbone on the back left hind. I have had tons of X-rays done etc. and am keeping an eye on it, and so far it is fusing. Anyway, the best thing to do for ringbone is to give them MSM am/pm. In some cases shock therapy. Bute when needed, and regular activity is best....If it is in the beginning stages, sometimes aggressive injections help too!!! Need to know where it's at to really give you specifics though! Usually, the horse can be kept comfortable enough for trail riding etc......Keep us posted and good luck!
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Post by frr2 on Sept 16, 2007 11:34:50 GMT -5
First place I'd go would be www.thehorse.com for articles they have posted. Free to register. Here's one article I found: What is Ringbone? by: Justin Edwards, DVM May 01 2005, Article # 5513 ARTICLE TOOLSPrint Email Republish Link My 17-year-old Arab gelding has been diagnosed with ringbone. His granddam and another of her offspring also had this disease. What exactly is ringbone? Is it hereditary? What is its cause? My veterinarian has done an exam and X rays and recommended Bute (phenylbutazone) and regular exercise. Dana -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ringbone, a lameness disease of the pastern and coffin joints, is a degenerative disorder that has no cure. Once the condition occurs, it's always there and will progressively worsen. Fortunately, with treatment and good management, the disease's progression can be slowed, allowing the horse to remain competitive. Ringbone causes a circumferential enlargement at the level of the joint. High ringbone refers to the pastern joint and low ringbone refers to the coffin joint. The disease is similar to arthritis, with the affected area showing bone spur formation (additional bone buildup) and degenerative joint disease. Articular ringbone (affecting the joint surface) affects the cartilage and synovium (joint lining), resulting in enlargement, pain, and stiffness of the joint. Periarticular (near the joint) ringbone affects the soft structures near the joint, such as ligaments and joint capsules. These structures, when inflamed by trauma, laceration, or sudden or chronic athletic strain, respond by stimulating bony growth. Poor conformation for the athletic use of the horse can also contribute to ringbone. We find that periarticular ringbone is more common and more serious. The first sign of ringbone an owner usually sees is lameness that might be intermittent. The tissues around the area might be soft and painful. As the condition progresses, the area becomes firm, cool, and non-painful to touch. In chronic cases, the horse might have swelling around the pastern or on top of the coronary band. Diagnosis is based on a history of the problem and a lameness examination. Consideration is taken of the external appearance, palpation and manipulation of the joints, and radiographs. Prognosis depends on the severity of the disease at the time of diagnosis, the intensity of the horse's use, and the degree of management. Advanced ringbone cases have a poor prognosis. The foundation of treatment is rest. Treatment success is related to the cause. Bute might be more helpful in early stages; more aggressive treatments include joint injection with hyaluronic acid, Adequan, and steroids, or a combination of the three. Generally ringbone will progress if the horse is used at the same pace. Once in a while, changing the angles of the shoes with wedges under the heel will help take pressure off the anterior aspect (front) of the joint. This has improved pain in some horses. Surgical fusion (immobilization) of the pastern joint can be performed if that is the primarily affected joint and serves to eliminate the pain associated with the degenerative process |
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Post by lorsadoon on Sept 16, 2007 13:06:32 GMT -5
Hey, I know who that vet is. He is just up the road a bit in Estacada.
It maybe the one HyTyme uses.
Does one of your horses have ringbone?
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Post by outspoken on Sept 16, 2007 14:40:21 GMT -5
My mare has high and low ringbone in both front legs. Sigh!! I believe her problems stem from "Poor conformation for the athletic use of the horse can also contribute to ringbone. " She is a heavy draft cross who was a great jumper! We have retired her totally. We treated her with bute at first and still have to go that route when she has a flare up. Otherwise, she is on a buteless solution. Yucca powder did help tremendously for a few months as she was once again totally sound. She could be ridden again (light trail rides) for a few months and had a flare up again. Then she decided she hated yucca powder! I have also tried several supplements with no marked results. I try to have regular x rays to see the progression, but she is doing fine since we do not ride her. She is a happy pasture puff (at $440/mo for board!!). My vet did not recommend any aggressive treatment because of the lower ringbone. With high ringbone, when there is less movement and no joint involved, pain seems to happen only at flare ups, then it fuses. There is not much hope of fusing low ringbone however. Until she is very uncomfortable, we will continue to let her enjoy her life.
But weight control is a problem. She gains weight looking at grass or hay and we cannot exercise her!! Vet was joking "delivery is imminent"... yikes.
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Post by watermarkfarm on Sept 16, 2007 15:01:48 GMT -5
I've had several horses with both high and low ringbone. Drafts seems to be more predisposed to it. My experience is that the high ringbone fuses just like bone spavin in the hocks, and the horse seems to be sound. They lose the side-to-side movement in that pastern joint, which might be an issue for a horse in hard work. I have seen far more lameness from low ringbone. However, I competed to 2nd level dressage on my horse, who had low ringbone and was nerved because of it. This horse competed until the day he died at age 27! So....it's not always a death sentence.
I have had a horse in my barn for sale recently, a 6 year old who appears to have high ringbone due to conformation issues (pigeon toed). This guy is quite sound despite the extensive calcification. You can see how the body laid down bone in order to stabilize the joint and protect it from the excessive torque caused by the pigeon toed-ness. He appears fully fused in both pastern joints. He has no side-to-side movement. I have no major qualms about putting this horse in moderate work as long as he stays sound.
One interesting thing, is that this 6 year old is barefoot. I had a barefoot trimmer gal come and work on him. She underlined how important it would be for the horse to stay unshod. He needs to break-over where it works for his body, not the shoe. She said that putting shoes on him would almost certainly lead to LOW ringbone down the road. I could see where it would. Interesting to look at it from that perspective.
Good luck!
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Post by watermarkfarm on Sept 16, 2007 15:14:37 GMT -5
I thought I'd add this digital xray from my horse CBER Rosalinda (aka Sunny), taken a few months ago. You can see the massive arthritis fusing the coffin joint ("low ringbone") due to an old injury. So much so that the lower joint is completely obscured. The pastern joint is visible (site of high ringbone), however. It is surprisingly clean given the carnage below, and the resulting strain on it. This is not a sound horse, but she is quite comfortable living the pasture life. I hope this gives you hope ---- you just don't see low ringbone much nastier than this!  |
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Post by outspoken on Sept 16, 2007 15:45:21 GMT -5
I forgot to add that my mare is now "unshod", not barefoot trimmed though. She has such a phobia of farriers/trimmers that once we found one she finally warmed up to (after four sessions when she was tranq'd), I refuse to look any further. He does trim her toe shorter to help with the break over as well.
Another interesting note: when we bought her, her previous farrier had Cytek shoes on her. I have no idea if those (combined with the jumping) caused ringbone but I am sure it did not help. We were new to horses, my daughter loved riding her and the former owner (a riding barn) was either going to breed her or sell her. I am glad we have her, even lame. At least I know she is safe with us.
And my daughter just came home from the barn and said she took her for a long hack, walking most of the time, but just let her run too for a while. She said she could see the smile on her face... even from her back!!!
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Post by cwinterburn ( RIP) We love YOU on Sept 16, 2007 21:53:59 GMT -5
Until you know if it's high or low- one foot or two- you won't be able to predict much. If it's high ring bone- that's a much better prognosis as it will fuse. If it's one foot only -it's usually a result of injury- if it's bi-lateral then it's usually conformational. Conformational deteriorates more rapidly . In either case, a bar shoe or a heart bar shoe, with rolled toes will help reduce the concussion. High ringbone is ofter called 'side-bone' and is usually visable sooner... also it will fuse completely.
If the horse is older and knows it's job ( not jumping) then nerving is possible but not usually necessary after it fuses the pain recedes. They don't really have lots of 'flex' in the pastern joint anyway, and for life and light riding are sometimes completely sound. It's not a death sentence if shod and medicated properly they should be able to manage the pain.
If I get a horse with bilateral low ring bone - I put it down, as soon as the pain is constantly evident. I like my horses too well to watch one suffer - and it won't get better, it's conformational and will never resolve, but you have to decide, when your horse has had enough, they usually tell you.
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Post by cwinterburn ( RIP) We love YOU on Sept 16, 2007 22:05:02 GMT -5
Opps one more thing - a hint on exercise. If it's low ring bone : when you ride the horse walk or canter ( not gallop)- the trot is the hardest on the structures of the hoof, as the hooves at the trot strike the gound harderand require the more flexion of the joint , at the trot, than the other two gaits. If you have high ring bone and the green light to aggravate the ring bone to force fusion - trot, trot, trot.
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