lax tendon for vet

I appreciate the info Jack. I'm going with the Vet's suggestion. I don't know enough to debate what might be the Vet's reasoning, but my gut says trust the decision. Because generally he is a KISS fanatic, and for him to suggest this means he really feels it's necessary.

Jac if one would op to wait and see if it works out..could they come back at a later date and do the cut and get the same results as if done asap..

Its the Wrong one to be making at this point in time .But its your choice & not mine to make.

Cutting tendons is not going to change underdevelopment in other parts of the limb due to growth plates. It a premature knee jerk reaction cutting the tendons at this point in time . I personally would wait at least 3 months to get a better assessment on the limbs development. If there was no Foreseeable improvement. Then cutting the tendons would be the considered option.

Ok been doing some research.........

One thing I was noticing today was how popped out the Extensor tendon was down to the fetlock. Could it be that the Vet is concerned about it rupturing under the pressure placed on it by the knuckled forward fetlock? I'm also thinking that maybe I was looking at this wrong and that the heel on the ground is from the extensor pull and that this is more a DFT issue than SFT.

Also found this online............

S.W. Pierce Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital
"In my experience, the biggest mistake made when treating flexural deformities of the neonate is a lack of aggressiveness with non-responsive cases. Many times, foals are merely bandaged, given tetracycline, and turned out, although they are not responding. Aggressive splinting is required. By the time appropriate splinting is used, many foals will have severe pressure sores that may become life
threatening. In general, a flexural deformity of the fetlock or pedal bone should be corrected in 3 days of routine splinting. No
more than 5% of these foals will take longer than 3 days of steady splint pressure on the short flexor tendons to obtain normal
limb position. Oxytetracycline, given at 3 g diluted in saline IV as needed for 3 consecutive days, will relax most flexor
tendon contractions in neonates"

Surgery is scheduled for the afternoon, so I have time to consult some more with the Vet and find out the "Why" a little more than I did. I think I'd pay the same for the treatment listed in the above article from Rood and Riddle as I would the surgery.

Read these before you go to the vets Kim. I'd say it will cost you more to walk in the door at Rood and Riddle than the surgery.

http://www.ivis.org/proceedings/aaep/2000/117.pdf

http://www.equineortho.colostate.edu/questions/flexural.htm

I didn't mean going to KY, I meant the treatment listed in the Rood and Riddle article.

Well those two articles also state what I've found about the Extensor in severe cases. I'm wondering if the desmotomy of the check ligament would be the better starting point if there is fear of it being bad enough to rupture the Extensor in it's current state. Rather than jumping straight to the DFT and then do the splints, etc.

The limb cannot be manually extended, so perhaps this is why the jump to surgery.

From Gayle Trotter in the Colorado article
If the foal can stand and the limbs can be manually extended into a normal position, the prognosis is favorable for resolution with temporary splinting. More severe forms may require check ligament desmotomy for correction.

If you think of who that was, please tell us. Might be able to see if he wrote some articles, or something.

I've heard of other studies linking copper deficiency to flexural deformities, especially club feet. Wish I had a specific reference, but I can't come up with a name at the moment.

I'm not fond of surgery with these situations, but that's likely due to my own nightmare experiences with "the best vet" being stoopid knife happy.

That's interesting Ray. Copper is known for its antibacterial, bug-killing, properties. I wonder if it's effect is the same as the tetracycline?
Kim, is this your horse? You use the terms "my" horse and the "owners" horse, so not sure if he's actually your's or not. If he were MY horse I would opt for a much more conservative approach. I had a very, very bad, heartbreaking experience with a knife-happy vet on one of my own little ponies too. I would try the more conservative approaches (injection + spint) and give it a little time; but I am not a vet and do not play one on a farriers forum

Copper is an important trace mineral . . .
http://www.forans.com/information-and-articles/copper-supplementation-in-horses/

Yes, that's understood. I'm just wondering about the possiblity of underlying infection and why a shot of Cu would work as well as tetracycline in some cases. Would blood work show a deficiency of Cu or possible mineral imbalances?

Denise, she's my own

Owner was in reference to the head Vet at the clinic. There are two Vets at this clinic.

If a horse ingested enough copper that it served as an antimicrobial for a blood born infection then it would also serve as a systemic toxin and likely kill the horse. 'nuther words copper poisoning.

Copper sulphate is what is usually used in conjunction with iron supplement. For anemia .

You're speculating. Cu toxicity is almost unheard of in the horse--how much would it take to kill one? And how much to treat an infection? I think it's an unknown.

LOL Copper sulphate poisoning in horses does take place regularly. Caused by morons who feed it to there horse daily thinking their helping the horse. liver kidney damage resulting .

L

How many cases of Cu toxicity have you seen? Is there a difference between acute or chronic?