# Ballerina Syndrome - any experience??



## machannah (29 July 2008)

Well the farrier came out today, and said within 2 minutes ballerina syndrome, Dillon has tightened up in about 4 days (i first spotted it on saturday morning) and he is able to walk most of the tightness off as he relaxes

Thoroughly peeved with the vet, as my farrier said it was obvious to spot, especially as until now the feet have been good

Anyway Dillon will have extensions put on to try and sort ASAP 
	
	
		
		
	


	








 Absolutely gutted

Is there anything i could have done to prevent this? Or anything i can do to help?


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## Anastasia (29 July 2008)

Machannah, try not to beat yourself up about this.  It can be rectified if caught early enough.

Basically your mare is giving the foal a lot of good quality milk, which has caused the bones to grow and the deep flexor tendons to tighten.  This can happen very quickly and all you need is a quick growth spurt for it to occur.

Your farrier is doing the best thing.  I am presuming it is heel wedge extensions he will put on with a shoe?  We have seen this several times.  Then gradually the wedge will be taken down to encourage the tendon to stretch but without pushing it too much.  As sometimes the tendons can go into spasm, which means the foals will put less weight onto the heel, and thus the heel comes up and gives the ballerina affect.

Not sure what your farrier has advised, but you really need to keep your mare and foal inside, restrict the mares feed (i.e. put onto hay, cut down hard feed), what you are trying to do is stop the growth slightly in the foal to allow the tendons to catch up with the bones.  If you have a flat floor, bed down half of it and keep the rest bedding free so that the foal is standing on the hard.  Each day take your mare and foal for a walk on a road or hard surface, including some uphill work, and then hopefully between that and the feeding your foal could come completely correct again in a matter of 4-6 weeks (depending on how bad it is).

Good luck and keep your chin up, as it can be amazing how quickly these things can come right if given the correct treatment.


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## machannah (29 July 2008)

Thank you, feeling rather down as all seemed to be going so well 
	
	
		
		
	


	





They havent been out on brilliant grass, weight wise he looks ok, but as soon as the vet came out yesterday and didnt really offer any help, i knocked back the mares feed and also fed her high up so he couldnt pinch any off her as i was worried it was due to something like this. 

They are on hay, again not really high quality and in at night and out during the day. Mare is on spillers stud mix and top spec feed balancer, should i drop her back to something with less in it? I will push some of the bed back so he has a solid floor to walk on

Calling the vet tomorrow, to get him sedated so we can get the shoes on.

Thank you for the advice, its most appreciated Hannah x


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## Anastasia (29 July 2008)

Hannah how old is your foal again as I cannot remember?

There is no harm in feeding the foal Baileys studbalancer, in fact if you phone the nutritionist at Baileys they will probably tell you to increase the studbalancer (give them a call because they are so helpful), as it gives the correct nutrients to help the tendens.

Its not necessarily that the mare and foal are eating too much, your mare must have excellent milk, and if your foalie likes to drink a lot then that is all it needs.

We have several mares who are big milking mares and we always have to watch the foals growth and feed accordingly.

I know you will be feeling down, but its probably more common than you realise, and having a good farrier is worth its weight in gold when it comes to things like this.

The shoes should help any spasms in the tendons, and with the help of your farrier and keeping your foalie on hard ground without too much exercise (so that you do not exacerbate the problem), then I am sure as you have caught it early that your prognosis will be good.

Just remember that you cannot change what has happened, all you can do is concentrate on getting your foalie sorted now.

Remember never look back....only ever look forward....


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## machannah (29 July 2008)

Thanks again, your advice and experience is invaluable. I trust my farrier implicitly, and much more so than the vet who came out (will be requesting my normal vet next time). I'm glad i trusted my instincts and called him (actually called him first!). Will put a call in to Baileys tomorrow too

Dillon is 10 weeks old, and suprisingly doesnt drink masses from Mum, so she must be doing him very well! Hopefully caught it early enough and can now manage the situation to get the best result


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## springfallstud (29 July 2008)

Dito A some good advise there and although you and your farrier saw it the fact that your vet missed it means it cant be "too" bad so there is lots of hope 
	
	
		
		
	


	




 I agree watch the mares feed but my vet (from Arundel so excellent stud vet) says if you cut the mares feed out she will end up skinny but still provide the foal with excellent milk! Controlled excercise and extensions will improve things with time, a day in a foals growing life is a very long time! ((hug))

Also if you think it is "really" obvious then maybe look for a new vet as missing things like this can be devastating for all concerned so a huge pat on the back for you and a slap for the vet LOL


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## S_N (29 July 2008)

Everything that Anastasia says is excellent advice, BUT there is now research to suggest that cutting down the mare's feed does nothing other than make the mare skinny, as she will simply keep making good milk for the foal!  IME using Bailey's Foal Assist for foals that are upright/ballerina is the recommended route - by vets and nutritionalists (not just Bailey's nutritionalists either!)  

Restricting their turn out is important, BUT resist the temptation to put them on a nice deep bed of shavings/straw or whatever you use.  Doing this simply allows the toe to dip forwards more easily and supports the heel in it's elevated position, when you want to be encouraging it down.  Rubber matting is the way forwards.

I am surprised that your vet could not see it and if I were you I'd be pretty upset tbh!!  If he's really that bad then he might benifit from Oxytetracycline treatment.  This an antibiotic, that can help the tendons relax.

H did this to me as at 6 weeks old and it happened overnight.  The farrier had been out the day before, but had to leave on an emergeny of some sort before doing H, but had done B and my other horse.  He came back the next day and was shocked at the difference in H - as was I tbh!  So there really is nothing to beat yourself up about.  I had to fork out for rubber matts and I kept them in for almost a month, though I was turning them out sedated for 2 hours in the evening.  My vet thought that the sedation was an excellent idea of mine, as it would help relax the body.  H was also on bute - as are a few foals at work who have extensions on for being upright.  I was lucky as H was caught early and my farrier came out weekly to trim tiny weeny bits off his heels.  

xx


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## Anastasia (29 July 2008)

Hannah I like to think that through peoples experiences that they can share and give some advice to others who find themselves in the same situation.

Your instinct was correct and the farrier is the first port of call, with help from a vet.  But not all vets are experienced with these problems.

Well Dillon's dam much be producing top quality milk, which is not a bad thing, all you need to do is feed accordingly now.   I cannot speak highly enough of the nutritionists at Baileys.  You will find the number on their website, but they are excellent.  A lot of the time they will suggest increasing the balancer to help give more nutrients into the foal without adding more bulky feed or forage.

Keep me posted and I am always here for support if you want it (even PM if you want).

Cx

Edited to say only realised the other two posts above, which have excellent advice also...


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## S_N (29 July 2008)

Forgot to say re-feeding of the mare, lower calories and higher levels of good quality protein (Alfalfa) and oils (Bailey's Outshine, Karon Oil) and a good quality stud balancer (Suregrow) will help your mare and trying not to let the foal eat her meals too!


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## machannah (29 July 2008)

Thankyou also, vet is going to get a telling off tomorrow, i was so worried it might have been joint ill, was desperate to get someone out asap, so ended up with the one i dont like. In future will "always" request my normal vet, just not worth the risk. 

My mare will still need a reasonable amount of feed, she's a vain girl and doesnt eat if she doesnt fancy it, hard feed is one good way of getting things in to her. 

Here's to some long days, very mucky stables, and more farrier bills!!!


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## machannah (29 July 2008)

Thanks SN, will do lots of research tomorrow and sort out next steps. Was H ok with being on bute, and for how long? and what sedative did you use? sorry for all the questions, really want to reduce the pain (if thats what is making it worse) and if i need to use bute then so be it, just a bit worried about using it on a young stomach

Thank you all once again, it really is most appreciate x


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## S_N (29 July 2008)

I put H on Coligone for his tummy whilst he was on the bute.  He had 1/2 a sachet of bute am and pm, in a syringe with honey'd water for 10 days, then 1/2 a sachet once a day for 7 days, then 1/2 a sachet every other day for 5 days.  On H I used sedalin gel - 2 notches and on B ACP tablets crammed into carrots.  I didn't want either of them hooning around!  The bute wasn't for any pain, but for it's anti-inflamatory properties.


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## henryhorn (29 July 2008)

I think your foal has the same as ours by the sounds of things, he's just gone outside after three weeks' box rest. 
The vet insisted I gave the mare nothing but old hay to reduce her milk, the foal hasn't lost any weight but she has.  
	
	
		
		
	


	




He was trimmed by our farrier and has improved a lot over three weeks, if you send me your own email I'll email pics of him at his worst and some from yesterday showing the difference. 
There are other treatments if the rest doesn't work, such as calcium infusion which will relax all his muscles or cutting the ligaments. (I really didn't want to do that).
There are plenty of pics on my blog showing his problem too, go to www.narramorehorses.blogspot.com and work backwards looking for pics of Galileo or Leo.
I'm feeling a lot more hopeful after seeing the improvement in our foal, we've never had this problem before . Ours is also a bit toe out but again, I;m hoping htat will disappear.


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## casey2312 (30 July 2008)

One of mine had this, and we never really got to the cause of it. But nevertheless the farrier put a toe extension on, and over a period of a few months the leg righted itself. He has beautiful strong even feet now. So if caught early enough, he will be fine.

I didn't keep mine in, but cut down the mares hard feed. But she was giving everything she had to the foal and lost condition as a result.

Good luck


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## ColouredFan (30 July 2008)

Nico had simular but less severe symptoms at the age of 6 months, basically he had a growth spurt and his bones grew faster than his tendons, he was easier to manage as at vet advised just to wean him as mare was doing too well by him, the farrier came every week for 6 weeks to trim his heal then every 2 weeks for the next 2 months. our farrier was very pleased with his progress and both vet and farrier say he is back to normal now. they did mention slackening injections but luckily this wasnt needed. 

Nico at just under 6 months 






Nico as a yearling






Hopefully you can see some difference. Good luck with Dillion I'm sure it will all work out fine in the end x


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## CBFan (30 July 2008)

With my filly suffering from Developmental Orthopaedic Disease I have had countless conversations with my vet re feeding and he stands by his theory that ad lib hay / grass is ample for mare and foal... I would certainly be concerned about feeding stud mix AND Topspec together and would be inclided to drop the mix at least in this circumstance...

Henryhorn... I wouldn't like to teach you to suck eggs but I would be inclined to get a vet to have a look at your foals joints... there appears to be some effusion around the hocks and hindsight being the wonderful thing that it is... his fetlocks look similar to how my filly's did at one stage...


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## machannah (30 July 2008)

Thank you all, spoke to the vet today (the good one) and she agreed with restricted turn out, and lowering the bed. I thought he actually looked a bit better this evening after a day in, however my eyes are probably deceving me! Shoes will be put on Dillon on Monday morning.

Rubber matting being delivered on Saturday, and the postman will be delivering my HUGE bills probably soon after!! 
	
	
		
		
	


	





I'm going to try and take pictures, so i can atleast give something back on here if anyone else experiences it

Thank you all once again, not sure where/what i would have done without this place.


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## henryhorn (30 July 2008)

Thanks, have pm'd you to ask more.


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## henryhorn (30 July 2008)

CBfan, just looked up what effusion was and no, he definitely has no puffiness or swelling at all (you worried me enough to go out and check!)
He has the same size joints as her last colt foal which is now 16. 1 hh and is a four year old.
I had a look at the pics and yes, they do look puffy but it was the atmosphere being a bit humid affected the quality of the pics I think, not his joints being swollen.
Phew, that worried me for a minute, and I do like the way we can all learn from each other on this forum, I honestly hadn't a clue what effusion was...


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## CBFan (31 July 2008)

phew! well thats a relief! as I said in my pm... it's scary how quickly things change!

and I didn't really have a clue about the ins and outs of DOD 6 months ago... I knew about feeding to prevent such problems and the risk etc but nothing has prepared me for the last 5 months!!


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