# Side bone



## bushbaby28 (1 October 2008)

Hiya, 

my horse has been lame on and off for the past couple of months and after xrays they have now found evidence of side bone. it is still being looked into so may or may not be the cause of his lameness

has anybody got or know of a horse with side bone who has been lame? is it treatable? i've read that you can relive the pain with bute but is this the long term solution? 

any advise very very much appreciated 

xx


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## cellie (1 October 2008)

http://www.clydevetgroup.co.uk/equine/newsletters/dec07.htm
Thanks for pm heres a link for side bone hope it helps J


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## Julieq (1 October 2008)

[ QUOTE ]
Hiya, 

my horse has been lame on and off for the past couple of months and after xrays they have now found evidence of side bone. it is still being looked into so may or may not be the cause of his lameness

has anybody got or know of a horse with side bone who has been lame? is it treatable? i've read that you can relive the pain with bute but is this the long term solution? 

any advise very very much appreciated 

xx 

[/ QUOTE ]

My mare lass was diagnosed with side bone about 5months ago when i first startd the investigation with lass and ks. She had a real slight lameness had nerve blocks and xrays. She has remedial shoes and has had 5months off without riding due to the ks problems she hasnt been lame since touch wood!!

I will just continue and see how she is, hope things work out for you


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## daphnebs (2 October 2008)

hi there,

sorry to hear about your horse's side bones. I have had 2 horses with this problem. My first was 8 years old and we only found out when taking xrays for a pre-sale vetting. He had competed at 2-star CCI level eventing at this stage and never showed a lame step in his life. The person buying him still bought him and he is still competing now in America and is now 16 and still no problems!! The other was a racehorse I got in for training, he was 9 and had already been lame with the sidebone at this stage. I rested him for 3 months first and put him on a very strong joint supplement. He was sound after his break and returned to full training and ran on the track again until about 11 
	
	
		
		
	


	








. As he got older the sidebone did get worse and did end his racing career but with proper shoeing and anti inflammatorys continued as a happy hunter and hack for quite a few more years. 

I think it really depends on how much work you intend to do with your horse, also I would limit exercising on hard surfaces and would definitely put him on a joint supplement. I find cider vinegar very good as this is a natural anti-inflamatory and is also good for other things. 

I hope your horse will be ok and you get to enjoy plenty of more years together


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## Julieq (2 October 2008)

[ QUOTE ]
hi there,

sorry to hear about your horse's side bones. I have had 2 horses with this problem. My first was 8 years old and we only found out when taking xrays for a pre-sale vetting. He had competed at 2-star CCI level eventing at this stage and never showed a lame step in his life. The person buying him still bought him and he is still competing now in America and is now 16 and still no problems!! The other was a racehorse I got in for training, he was 9 and had already been lame with the sidebone at this stage. I rested him for 3 months first and put him on a very strong joint supplement. He was sound after his break and returned to full training and ran on the track again until about 11 
	
	
		
		
	


	








. As he got older the sidebone did get worse and did end his racing career but with proper shoeing and anti inflammatorys continued as a happy hunter and hack for quite a few more years. 

I think it really depends on how much work you intend to do with your horse, also I would limit exercising on hard surfaces and would definitely put him on a joint supplement. I find cider vinegar very good as this is a natural anti-inflamatory and is also good for other things. 

I hope your horse will be ok and you get to enjoy plenty of more years together 

[/ QUOTE ]

Hi, thanks for your reply very interesting what supplement did you do you use??
Did you horses have to have different shoeing?


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## bushbaby28 (2 October 2008)

thanks for all your help guys. hes still at the vets again 2nite after having a new type of treatment that attempts to regulate the calcium levels in his body or something? to be honest i'm a bit confused!!! 

he's got to have this drug 3 more times and has to go in as a day patient each time as it can have a few nasty side effects including colic and increased heart rate. 

then 3 months in a restricted paddock as big as 3 stables. 

what do you all think? too much risk? still no promise he'll be 100% again


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## cellie (2 October 2008)

Sounds like tildren I was offered it for bone spavin .It shows good results for spavin and I would imagine would work on a similiar principle for side bone I think it dissolves the extra calcium bone build up which is what causes the pain.


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## bushbaby28 (3 October 2008)

just got the report from the vet and yep its tildren which apparently is new for side bone but has been used in splints and navicular.


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## cellie (3 October 2008)

I was offered it for Ollies spavin but decided on the operation instead.I wonder if Ollie has something similiar he is always going lame on front foot/leg.Im going to get the vet to do xrays of his hoof after he has had another couple of weeks rest  and when we come back of holiday.That should give tendon enought time to settle if he has strained it .Daft horse was going mental in restricted turnout tonight .He can leap and buck on the spot .
How long will you have to wait for prognosis .


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## daphnebs (4 October 2008)

Hi,

Re your side bones, I did not change the shoeing in any way with either of the horses I had. Fortunately both had good strong healthy feet. My farrier did tell me at the time that if the horses feet were on the flat side they might require a bar shoe to disperse a more even pressure. 
In relation to the joint supplement, I use cortaflex or the stronger version with cortaflex HA.

Goodluck with yours!!


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## bushbaby28 (4 October 2008)

they havent said anything about shoeing yet but i guess that will come after the tildren and time off. thanks for your suggestions. 

gotta wait 3 months till they can give a longer term outlook. the restricted paddock may not work as hes already messing around!!! 

cellie- might be worth having it looked at, it shows up on an xray so not too hard to disagnose. although a lot of horses have side bone and are totally fine!!

thanks for all your help guys xxxx


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## myboyroxrocks (6 October 2014)

daphnebs said:



			hi there,

sorry to hear about your horse's side bones. I have had 2 horses with this problem. My first was 8 years old and we only found out when taking xrays for a pre-sale vetting. He had competed at 2-star CCI level eventing at this stage and never showed a lame step in his life. The person buying him still bought him and he is still competing now in America and is now 16 and still no problems!! The other was a racehorse I got in for training, he was 9 and had already been lame with the sidebone at this stage. I rested him for 3 months first and put him on a very strong joint supplement. He was sound after his break and returned to full training and ran on the track again until about 11 
	
	
		
		
	


	








. As he got older the sidebone did get worse and did end his racing career but with proper shoeing and anti inflammatorys continued as a happy hunter and hack for quite a few more years. 

I think it really depends on how much work you intend to do with your horse, also I would limit exercising on hard surfaces and would definitely put him on a joint supplement. I find cider vinegar very good as this is a natural anti-inflamatory and is also good for other things. 

I hope your horse will be ok and you get to enjoy plenty of more years together
		
Click to expand...

Hi you mention in your post a strong join supplement , please can I ask what you used?


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## skint1 (6 October 2014)

My horse was x-rayed about 3 weeks ago and it was revealed she had a sizable side bone in the rf foot, this was after being on and off lame with abscesses for a few months and the abscess. The vet and farrier advised that most of the time they're not problematic but occasionally can cause problems, such as abscesses, if bits of it began to slough off (I think that's what they said) .  

The way it was explained to me is that basically side bone is calcification of cartilage that would normally act as a the shock absorber for the hoof.  Bear in mind my horse is older and has other issues such as arthritis and possibly metabolic issues that have generally left her with terrible hooves I was advised that when she returns to work I should  avoid concussive work on hard ground, no jumping (no problem- we are happy hackers my girl and I)

She was already on a hoof supplement (Hoof First by Horse First) and joint supplement (Premierflex Plus)


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## Kelpie (6 October 2014)

I've got a horse with sidebone who was initially lame as a result but then it settled fine after a summer off and we've not had any problems since - though I do notice that he is quick to shorten his stride if he's on hard ground so we avoid hard ground work like the plague.  That said, he happily evented up to BE100 level and spent most of his time barefoot (after finding out about the sidebone).


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## Chavhorse (10 October 2014)

Mine was diagnosed at 6 also at a pre purchase vetting he has it in both feet and it was totally ossified .  Purchaser did not go through with the purchase and my vet told me that in all probability my horse would be totally fine so just crack on, but only jump at low levels and only on a good surface.

4 years on he has never had a days lameness, I did lots of research and found that it is advised to keep them barefoot (less percussion), and I put him in front hoof boots when I am hacking him out.  He is on a joint suppliment (Suppleaze Gold), I feed him a mug of micronised linseed and apple cider vinegar as a suppliment. I am also very careful when the new grass comes through as this tends to make him a wee bit footy so I restrict his grazing then.

As far as insurance is concerned I am insured with Lycetts and the only exclusion they have put on is any issue in the front limbs directly attributed to the side bones (which my vet thinks is excellent).

Below are his x-rays taken 4 years ago and the vet was astounded.


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