In April this year, one of our RDA horses, Blue (an 11yr old ¡¥Heinz 57¡¦ 15hh cob gelding) tripped, whilst in canter, straining his ligament (or so we thought) and became lame in his near fore. He was box rested for a few weeks, and recovered quickly; however since then, he's suffered intermittent lameness, especially on corners/circles and pulls himself up.
After an examination & x-rays at our local veterinary surgery, he was diagnosed with sidebone on both sides of each fore leg, and the ossification apparently looks quite advanced on x-ray. The vet advised that he was too young to be given Bute and suggested that he should be retired.
We have done extensive research on the Internet; ploughed through various books and have gained conflicting advice. In most cases the horses have been rested for a while. Some have been fitted with egg-bar shoes or had their hooves grooved at the quarters, and/or have been given Cortaflex (to help with their mobility and any pain). After the above treatments they have come sound again and not had to retire (Unless eventing/competition horses). Our Riding Instructors Farrier (not the RDA Farrier) has also suggested that the fitting of egg-bar shoes, after a period of rest should bring him sound enough to work with the RDA, however, our vet has not suggested this.
At the moment Blue isn¡¦t being ridden. When in the field, he canters, trots and walks quite happily, but struggles slightly when cornering. He does not have contracted heels, his shoes have been removed and he is on no pain relief (he doesn¡¦t seem to be in any pain). He is an RDA horse, ridden by disabled riders, and therefore doesn¡¦t do canter work, unless the stable hands are exercising/schooling him (not at the moment though).
We would be grateful if you could advise whether the above information I have found is correct in this case and worth trying, or whether the advice given by our local vet is our only option. Should we consider a second opinion? He is such a willing and loving horse; it would be such a shame to retire him at this early stage in his career. Thank you for you help
Natalie Love
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