Nerve blockers..

[nat17]

I know you all are sick of my whittling about minnie and this bloody leg but i just wondered if anyone has had the nerve block tests done on there horses and what is in involed.

I am sorry to ask but it would be good to know what to expect when he comes to do the xrays and nerve blocking.

Sorry again for whittling.:(

[Esther.D]

Sorry don't know. I just wanted to say Good Luck to you and Minnie. Fingers crossed for you.

[nat17]

Thanks Esther, I cant concentrate at all, i think its going to be like this till tuesday!!!:D

[Mehitabel]

when the vet does nerve blocks for an unexplained lameness, they start off by watch the horse trot and lunge so they can identify what leg it is. then, they start at the bottom, and inject an anaesthetic so that it numbs the bit below the injecton, and try again. so first they block the hoof, then the pastern, then the fetlock joint, etc. when the horse trots up sound, they know they have found the problem area. so if the horse comes sound after the first injection,then you know the problem is somewhere in the hoof and can narrow down what to look for.

is it being done at your yard or at the vets? thew x-ray procedure varies depending on whether it's a big x-ray machine or a portable one that comes to the yard.

with a portable machine, you normally sedate the horse to ensure it stands still, then someone holds the horse, someone hlds the x-ray [plate behind the area bing x-rayed, and the vet operates the machine - it isn't very big. you all wear lead aprons and you aren't allowed to help if you're pregnant.

hope it goes well and somethng is found low in the leg before poor minnie has to have too many injections!

[Billybo]

Hi Nat,

I don't know the full story behind Minnie's problems as I'm new here, but my Billy's had nerve blocking done on two seperate occasions, firstly on a front leg (due to a conformation fault and a cr*p farrier) and latterly on a hind leg (due to arthritis).

It involves numbing the leg with local anasthetic starting at a low point and working progressively upwards until the horse trots up sound. Although it's a serious of injections and it's horrible to watch your own horse being injected Billy didn't seem to mind it (and neither did my friend's TB when he went through the same thing).

The point of it is to find out where the pain's coming from so the vet knows the correct bit to x-ray. When he x-rays he'll probably want to sedate your horse a little so he gets a clear image without the horse moving.

Try not to worry, it's all done to find out what the problem is and as soon as the vet knows the cause he can start the treatment. I know how you feel, though, I went through agonies with Billy and when I found out it was arthritis I was gutted, but in saying that with six months field rest and special shoeing he's now sound and hacking out happily!:) I hope this helps you, even a little.

Good luck, I'm thinking of you,
Mags

[nat17]

Thanks es and billybo that is exactly what i wanted to know. In my terms as well so i am not frightened.

Es, its being done on the front of my house! with a mobile unit, I dont have power down the field and i live round the corner from the field so i am taking her home as i have a perfect flat drive so i dont think they can lunge her but i can trot her up and down the road as its quite quiet and flat. I hope the sedation is not to bad to deal with but min is normally excellent and standing still as long as she has a mint or 50!!!
I think its going to be the hock area as thats were we have some swelling and a little heat, so a few injections expected!!

Thanks to both of you as i cant explian how much your info has helped me settle my nerves! (no pun intended) and now i know its not that bad really. thanks again.:D

[nat17]

just one more silly thing, with minnies lamesness coming and going all the time, will they still so nerve blocking if shes sound? As if shes not lame they wont tell were it is will they? Silly i know but sometimes she comes sound as quick as she went lame!!:(

[Billybo]

I don't know, I shouldn't thinks so, though, there wouldn't be much point. If you're pretty sure it's the hock that's the problem maybe the vet'll just x-ray it if she's sound???

Certainly with Billy though, I thought he was sound at one point but the vet could detect slight lameness that I couldn't see, so they carried on with the nerve-blocking.

Mags

[nat17]

thanks mags, i shall have to see on tuesday.:)

[ros]

The sort of nerve-blocking you're talking about is just a means of identifying the point of lameness; it isn't a permanent thing. Permanent de-nerving is (or used to be) used sometimes for navicular, I think, to enable a horse to carry on working; I suspect it isn't used as much nowadays because there seem to be more things you can do with modern shoeing techniques, but I could be talking out of my bottom here?

[Billybo]

Good luck, Nat, and let us know how you get on.

Fingers crossed,
Mags

[nat17]

thanks, i will let you know, i hope the xrays dont tke to long to develop.!!i am so impatient!

[Billybo]

Billy's were developed within an hour, but he was at the vet school. You should know within the day if it's the morning, or the following day if it's the afternoon.