Here are Tango's xrays if anyone is interested?

ladywiththebaby

ladywiththebaby

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Mar 6, 2007
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Now I have done a lot of research on ring bone, side bone, navicular and looked at xrays (whilst waiting for Tango to go in to horsepital) in an attempt to educate myself. But it's not really worked as i still don't know what I'm looking at!

I'm attaching his xrays which I've just been sent. If anyone can tell me what I'm looking at, I'd be very grateful! I've sent them on to my farrier and he'll understand them which is more important I guess! :mstickle:
 

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That's ok - makes me feel better to know I'm not the only one!! :giggle:

Not sure if he's enjoying his holiday tbh. He really loves going out and his field is getting muddier and muddier by the second. It made me feel better to get him out for a bit!
 
ladywiththebaby said:
Now I have done a lot of research on ring bone, side bone, navicular and looked at xrays (whilst waiting for Tango to go in to horsepital) in an attempt to educate myself. But it's not really worked as i still don't know what I'm looking at!

I'm attaching his xrays which I've just been sent. If anyone can tell me what I'm looking at, I'd be very grateful! I've sent them on to my farrier and he'll understand them which is more important I guess! :mstickle:
Click to expand...

Looks to me like lower ringbone, there is a deformity there, I've gone here http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=x-....,cf.osb&fp=83d085d56c27df88&biw=1280&bih=685 looking for healthy hoof x-rays and as you can see, there is no 'boney peak' at the front of the middle phalanx, also here's another site http://www.summitforge.co.uk/ringbone.html that shows a couple of diagrams of hooves with ringbone...
Your horses symptoms does match ringbone to be honest looking at those x-rays..
 
I may be very wrong (very likely, as I normally am) but these are taken from the same angle on both of his front legs, his shoes look very uneven. There is no support to his heel on his right front ( what I mean is the shoe looks alot shorter to his heal on compared to the left) I hope this make some kind of sense!
 
I can't see the nails, so I assume they took the shoes off to help make the x-ray clearer? It looks as though they used something to raise the foot to also give a clearer view..
One diagnosis is worse than the other, personally out of the two possibilities, I'd prefer sidebone if given the option to have the better of two evils (my old horse had it with scar tissue, she apparently jumped a fence as a youngster and caught it) it quite often enables the horse to remain a happy hacker, ringbone prognosis is slightly guarded,as it will/may need further treatment, I wouldn't like to comment further on that one, as like I said, I've only ever dealt with sidebone..
It would go along way to explain the tripping when hacking though..
 
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From reading your other thread LWTB I don't think the vet mentioned ringbone did they? Or if they did it wasn't a huge amount?
I was in the same boat - the vet showed me a heap of Xrays he'd taken of Flip's hooves, pointing at the screen to virtually indecipherable little marks and points that he'd obviously spent years learning to understand and read. I'll follow with interest like MP. Hope Tango's enjoying his rest. Weather is crap anyway - I'm thanking Flip for choosing a crappy time of year to be ill - so should you!!
 
Ringbone is a horseman's term for Osteo-arthritis.. Tango had steroid injections in both his coffin joints for this..
 
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Maybe I should stop being a book worm:redface:.. Everything I come across, I always research, I did a lot when I had my old horse, as I really wanted to know what I was dealing with and how to manage it (sidebone).. at one time, I also thought the two conditions weren't related..
 
It will be helpful when your farrier has a look at the x-rays.

Your vet will know far more than any of us about what the problem is, so if they are not sure what is wrong, that is what I would take note of.

LWTB, could be something as simple as unbalanced feet. Maybe get hold of a remedial farrier and send him the x-rays. Honestly, some horses are much woosier than others. Tobes for instance was quidding and so I had the vet out to do his teeth. He said there wasn't a lot there to cause that sort of behaviour, but clearly there was, because Tobes stopped quidding immediately after.

My vet is fab. When Tobes was lame he said chuck him out, bring him at night so he can lie down and rest, give him a couple of months and see. And perhaps that is the best thing to do for you after you have spoken to a couple of farriers?
 
Very interesting seeing them lwtb, but I certainly would not be taking anyone's opinion from here on them to seriously. Your vet and farrier are qualified to give you results from these and no one else, seeing the horse in person and being medically trained to read them is completely different to reading a few symptoms and comparing x-rays on line.

What's the next step for tango?
 
They are interesting to see LWTB - but as others have said do NOT take one bit of advice about what they may or may not mean from forum members!:eek:

Tis a pet hate of mine TBH - people googling for information and then spouting it as gospel according to their extensive knowledge! Very dangerous ground to tread on - afterall, we could all do the same and then hazard a guess - some might come up (by luck!) with the correct diagnosis, but others might get it VERY wrong.

I know you are far to clued up to listen to anything but veterinary advice that has been learnt by MANY years of studying and experience - but there are some who wouldn't be so wise and might well make huge mistakes with horses care based on forum advice. Tis one thing to give personal opinions when you first had the stumbling issues with him - but to attempt a diagnosis of xrays etc. by googling is frankly, ridiculous IMO:confused:!

I bet there are a few on here (myself included!:redface:) who would love to have a stab at diagnosis based on Tango's history and those xrays - but I for one would NEVER presume to give any advice or opinion on something as potentially open for MIS diagnosis and end up making a total pratt of myself and possibly further distress to you as his owner!:rolleyes:
 
Oops - sorry I haven't been on for a bit and have missed all this!

Ring bone, side bone, osteo arthritis... I'm not too bothered what' it' is. That may be being naive, but what matters to me is whether or not we can do anything to make it better. My vet at Cambridge University Vet School is optimistic that there is and that is what I am concentrating on.

I have sent the xrays to my farrier who also does the remedial farriery for the Vet School and also has an equine radiographer OH! He said "the xrays look good - room for some basic remedial shoeing. I wouldn't worry too much as I've definitely seen a lot worse."

Nat - the next steps are 2 weeks off riding (he had an injection to both coffin joints at the horsepital), and in the meantime get egg bar shoes on and play around with wedges in them to change the angle of the foot (he has very upright pasterns). It will be trial and error for a while trying to get the best angle (and somethiing to do with the break over point but my brain couldn't take any more information by that point!).

Vet wants me to see how we go for the next 4 - 6 weeks and then she'll come out and reassess. I'm not totally naive though - I know it still could be navicular as it doesn't always show on an xray, but one step at a time. We'll try this, and if it doesn't work, we'll see what else there is to try. It's costing me every penny I own, but I'll keep trying until my purse is empty!
 
Lauzy said:
I may be very wrong (very likely, as I normally am) but these are taken from the same angle on both of his front legs, his shoes look very uneven. There is no support to his heel on his right front ( what I mean is the shoe looks alot shorter to his heal on compared to the left) I hope this make some kind of sense!
Click to expand...

Yes Dark Storm is right - his shoes were removed for the xrays and the thing you can see on the bottom is something to raise his foot to get a clearer picture.
 
Most of my research is not done by the internet, the only reason I've done so is to give comparison of a normal x-ray to what the normal x-ray would show, like i said I have some experience of side bone, but not ring bone, hence why I said I wouldn't comment further on it.. how else are we supposed to learn? I'm sorry if some of you think I'm taking too much with regards to the internet and books, as well as vet advice, but how else are we supposed to learn about conditions and how to manage them?
you can't smooth over what the vet tells you, why else would LWTB be researching ring/side bone if they hadn't been mentioned by the vet? You can't wrap her in cotton wool, she has to know all possible diagnosis that could be out there, tis better to know how bad it 'could' get, than be told it's probably nothing..
 
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