Lame - equine chronic foot problems Flashcards
What has allowed better diagnosis of chronic lameness cases in horses?
MRI
What are the main causes of chronic lameness?
Soft tissue lesions
Osteoarthritis
Navicular syndrome
Chronic infections - thrush, canker, quittor
Keratoma
What do soft tissue injuries in the foot tend to be in horses?
Strains and sprains to ligaments and tendons
What tendons and ligaments can be strained in equine feet?
Collateral ligaments of DIP joint
Distal DDFT
Impar ligament of navicular bone
Where abouts are enthesiophytes seen in horse feet with osteoarthritis?
At the joint capsule insertion of DIP joint - mid distal P2
Where abouts are osteophytes seen in horse feet with osteoarthritis of DIP joint?
At the pericartilagenous tissues - on P3 and navicular bone
What type of horses get osteoarthritis of PIP (pastern) joint?
Heavy horses
How do you treat subchondral bone cysts in equine hoof?
Trans lesional screw from dorsal aspect
What type of nerve block will navicular syndrome have a good positive response to?
Palmar digital nerve block
What does navicular bone syndrome look like on radiograph?
Lucent lesion in the flexor cortex or medulla of the bone
Change in thickness or opacity of flexor cortex
How do you treat navicular disease?
Egg bar shoe with heel cushioning
NSAIDs
Bisphosphonates
Surgery
What are the surgical treatments for navicular disease?
Navicular suspensory desmotomy - cut ligament
Palmar digital neurectomy - de-nerve the foot
What does the owner need to do for horses that have had palmar digital neurectomy surgery?
Palpate digital pulses daily - wont get lame from abcesses etc.
What is a keratoma?
A benign tumour with space occupying lesion effect
Tubular running from white line to coronary band
What can keratomas increase the chance of developing?
Recurrent abcesses - white line is damaged allowing bacteria in
How do you diagnose keratomas?
Palmar digital nerve blocks
Radiograph/MRI
What is the best treatment for keratomas in horses?
Surgical resection of abnormal tissue - can be done standing or under GA
What can cause grass cracks (vertical from sole)?
Possible dry hooves
Overlong hooves
What can cause sand cracks (vertical from coronary band)?
Damage to coronary band
What can cause circumferential cracks in hooves?
Ruptured abcess
Severe endotoxic event
Laminitis
What is the type of crack that will take the most management?
Sand crack
How do you fix grass cracks?
Rasp a horizontal line at top of crack to stop it increasing
Balance foot, raise area below crack so no pressure
How can you treat sand cracks?
Difficult - wire them together to stabilise
How do you treat a circumferential crack?
Just wait for it to grow back - dont rasp too short as might break off and cause problems
What is thrush?
Infection and necrosis in the sulci either side of the frog
Fusebacterium necrophorum
Foul in the foot equivalent
What predisposes horses to thrush?
Poor environmental hygiene - wet soggy bed, not picking out
What bacteria causes thrush in horse hooves?
Fusobacterium necrophorum
What is the treatment for thrush?
Farriery - pare away dead necrotic frog
Keep foot clean and dry
What is seedy toe?
Disruption of the white line
What causes seedy toe to occur?
Occurs after multiple abcesses
What is the treatment for seedy toe?
Resect defect by paring it back
What is canker?
Chronic, moist hypertrophic pododermatitis - painful
Where on the hoof does canker occur?
Starts at the frog and slowly extends
What causes canker?
Poorly understood
Maybe bovine papilloma virus
How do you treat canker?
Debride
Antiseptics and dressings
What is the prognosis for canker?
Guarded if extensive
What is quittor?
Necrosis of collateral cartilage after wound to coronary band or deep sole puncture wound
What type of horses is quittor seen in?
Heavy driving horses
How do you treat quittor?
Surgical removal of necrotic cartilage and tissue
