Wizard’s Veterinary Report: 5/30/12

The vet evaluated Wizard’s lameness on Wednesday morning, May 30. We began with her palpating his front limbs and examining his overall appearance. We had been in touch about his weight loss, but upon inspection, she confirmed that he lost well over 100 pounds since our last exam in April. He is now on 2 acres of pasture 24/7 and the same amount of grain as he got at the old barn, so he is simply stressing it off. He is finally in his permanent paddock, so I’m hoping that he will gain everything back soon. She said that horses can gain 20 pounds in a week when they are relaxed and not stressed.

The vet did 4 blocks: Palmar Digital Block, Basisesamoid Block, Low 4 Point Block, and Proximal Suspensory Block.

The Palmar Digital Block covered the following:

Structures Anaesthetized

All of structures with PD
P 2, 3
Pastern Joint
Coffin Joint
Entire corium
Dorsal branch of the suspensory ligament
Extensor tendon insertion
Entire foot

Common Conditions Diagnosed

Laminitis
Ring Bone
P3 Fractures
Solar Pain
Subsolar Abscess
Pedal Osteitis

The Basisesamoid block covered the following:

Structures Anaesthetized

All of structures anaesthetized by PD n.block
Three phalanges
Coffin and Pastern joints
Entire corium
Entire sole
Dorsal branches of suspensory ligament
Digital extensor tendon
Distal sesamoidean ligaments
+/- Proximal sesamoid bones
+/- Palmar fetlock joint

Common Conditions Diagnosed

Laminitis
Ring bone
Soft tissue injuries of pastern
Occasionally block fetlock or sesamoid problems

The Low 4 covered the following:

Structures Anaesthetized

All structure of previous block (all of structures distal to the location of nerve block)
Navicular structures
Soft tissue structures of pastern and foot
Sole, Laminae
Three phalanges
Coffin and Pastern and Fetlock joint
Distal Digital tendon Sheath

As we did the Proximal Suspensory block, I could feel my back twist up with the stress of a possible outcome. But there was no change with the suspensory block- WHEW!

While none of the blocks made a significant difference in Wizard’s lameness, the Palmar Digital Block and the Low 4 Point Blocks made a little difference each. But it was not exactly dramatic. It was really subtle. Added to that, Wizard was hollering for mares and not really trotting the way the vet needed. She wanted him relaxed so she could see his true movement. We gained a good amount of information, but not enough to pinpoint which joint was causing issues. It could be his foot, his ankle, or his knee. Also, Wizard was not as lame as he was in the video (above). The vet said that the lame the horse is, the easier it is to diagnose.

So the next plan is to wait til he settles more and is a better candidate for lameness exams. Or wait til he is lamer. And so we wait…

I Wanna Be Sedated: Wizard’s Veterinary Appointment

After a relaxing and enjoyable long weekend in Georgia, it was time to get back to business with Wizard. Yesterday, the veterinarian did a lameness exam and floated his teeth.

The exam began by watching Wizard trot on a longe line. I probably should have anticipated that Wizard would be a little fresh since he is fit and has had so much time off, but instead I was surprised when he came close to pulling me off my feet as soon as we began longeing! The halter with the longe line snapped to the chin ring is normally just fine for control but he was feeling his oats yesterday. The vet pronounced him sound in both directions. I asked her about his high action and she said it’s likely a combination of animation and a loose, flexible way of going.

She performed flexion tests on all four legs and the prognosis was good. She heard a little creakiness in the right front knee when she folded it, but it is probably a touch of arthritis and nothing that should keep him from the level of work we’re doing. His left hip is dropped a bit, which is in line with what the chiropractor mentioned about the tight muscle tissue in his hamstring and pelvis. I’ve known horses whose hips are dropped far more than his and they have gone on to perform well with correct strengthening work. The vet recommended more work with ground poles to help Wizard’s topline and hind end strength. His right hind leg also showed a little stiffness with one of the flex tests, but nothing that caused concern for his current workload. Wizard quite enjoyed the jogs on the dirt road and was arching his neck and throwing his head playfully.

The vet examined his back and carefully went over his acupressure points. No back pain and just a little tightness in his pelvis. She evaluated my saddle fit and said it looks good.

The veterinarian’s advice? Get back on Wizard and try riding again. If he still is showing signs of distress under saddle, treat or test for Lyme Disease. She also suggested doing another 4-day bute test (as a diagnostic tool, not as a treatment). If both fail, further evaluations will be needed, like x-rays or blood tests. But so far, everything looks good.

Wizard also had his teeth floated. All of the hooks have been fixed and more corrections were done to his wave mouth. She was pleased with the way his mouth looks and said he can have his teeth floated next in a year- hooray!

While Wizard was under sedation, I cleaned his sheath, clipped his bridle path, and pulled his mane. I LOVE how he looks with the pulled mane- it does my hunter/jumper heart good :^) I did a combination of traditional mane pulling and a little thinning with scissors by teasing the mane up and cutting the excess vertically with scissors. I did not want to subject the poor guy to an entire mane pulling- he had almost a foot of hair and now it’s the length of a pulling comb.

Thursday, Wizard has a farrier appointment. I hope to be back in the saddle very soon.