Ringbone

From: Aaron

Dear Jessica, thank you for the help you give horse owners everywhere. I got my first horse ten years ago, made all kinds of mistakes with him, then gradually got to know what I was doing. My wife and I have been HORSE-SENSE readers since the very beginning, we used to read your posts on rec.eq about six years ago and really appreciated your wisdom there too! Guess you don't have time for newsgroups these days.

Here's our situation. My old horse, the first one, is sixteen now. He's getting pretty lame, always on the same leg, and ther is a hard swelling on the pastern. The lameness is usually obvious when I get on him, then seems to get better as we warm up, and sometimes just about disappears by the end of the ride. But I worry that riding him is making him worse.

I know that you always say to get the vet, and that's just what we did. He said that Major has ringbone. He didn't take any xrays but I guess he is very familiar with this kind of lameness, and he said that the pastern swelling was typical. I asked if I could ride him and if it would make him worse, and if there was anything I could give him to help with pain. The vet said he'll just be lame, and I can use bute if I want to. That didn't really help me very much. I plan to call him again in a few days when my wife and I are less emotional about all this (you know how it is with your first horse). What can I ask him when we talk? I really want more information, and maybe a suggestion other than "use bute if you want to." Or is there just nothing we can do? And how did he get ringbone, was it something I did? He's only done light trail work for the last five years or so, and our trails are basically soft dirt.

Thanks, Aaron

I'm sorry to hear about your horse. I'm still going to say "get the vet" - your current vet and/or a specialist (ask your vet for a referral). I can't take the place of a vet. What I can do is give you some ideas of what the possibilities are, and suggest subjects for you to discuss with your vet(s) and farrier.

When you talk to your vet again, ask him to take some x-rays. "Ringbone" is a generic term for arthritis in the pastern. Most vets will distinguish between "high ringbone" and "low ringbone", depending on which joints are most affected. Some horses can continue to do light work, especially if the owner, vet, and farrier work together to mount an active attack on the condition.

You probably didn't do anything specific to cause the problem. Lots of hard work on a hard surface can contribute to the development of ringbone, but your horse does light work on soft dirt trails, so I think you're off the hook there. ;-) Ringbone is often associated with poor conformation of the leg - not something that is under the horse owner's control. Another common factor is poor trimming and/or shoeing practices that contribute to unbalanced feet - but don't assume that this is an issue; talk to the vet about foot balance and angles before you get angry with your farrier for no reason.

As for what you can do about it, don't give up - there may be quite a few things you can do or arrange to have done. Work with your vet and farrier on this. Sometimes a change in shoeing can make a big difference, even if the current shoeing is not part of the problem. Talk with your vet and farrier about balancing the horse's feet and possibly changing over to a wider-web shoe. Sometimes farriers can use rim pads to help absorb some of the shock and lessen the stress on the afflicted joints. . a problem with your horse's shoeing, There are some good antiarthritic drugs available these days, and one or more of them might help your horse. Ask your vet about Adequan and Legend. Legend is usually given as a series of IV injections over a few weeks or months. Both it and Adequan seem to act as effective, non-destructive anti-inflammatories. It's not yet clear how much (or whether) cartilage healing is actually stimulated, but both products do seem to make a clear difference - IF they are administered early enough! Once there is considerable loss of cartilage, and once the exposed bone starts to form bone spurs, it's much less likely that you'll see a dramatic healing effect. Some horses also seem to derive real benefit from oral supplementation of chondroitin and glucosamine sulphates - at worst, those products would fall into the category of "can't hurt, might help".

Best of luck with your horse, and do by all means talk to your vet; if you think he is giving up on your horse too soon, talk to another vet, preferably an equine lameness specialist. The sooner you act, the better for your horse.

Jessica

Back to top.

Jessica Jahiel's HORSE-SENSE is a free, subscriber-supported electronic Q&A email newsletter which deals with all aspects of horses, their management, riding, and training. For more information, please visit www.horse-sense.org

Please visit Jessica Jahiel: Holistic Horsemanship® [www.jessicajahiel.com] for more information on Jessica Jahiel's clinics, video lessons, phone consultations, books, articles, columns, and expert witness and litigation consultant services.