second opinion

Hello again v &m, long time no hear.

3 years old but the particular condition I see in him I have seen in another not much older than him

NH pastern swelling.

Gay3 wrote: NH pastern swelling.

he is still running trackwork and swimming so could he possibly have that and still be going well in those activities?

All I see then, is a nicely enough conformed horse! Pity about the boots tho', I hate them with a passion as they cause more problems than they'll ever prevent & shouldn't be necessary with correctly balanced feet.

hope you guys are right about the NH swelling and its not something more serious. hopefully he doesn't go lame again when racing.
also he has always had those boots on in training and never had any problems with his front legs so...

Carioca wrote: I think he may have a developing ringbone problem in that n/h, he's quite straight in the hocks , not a fan of boots either unless bandaged under them, sand build up can cause chaffing which can lead to infection .

that's actually what I was thinking when I saw it :S

Also agree as above about swelling and potential ringbone on near hind pastern.

thanks everyone for your input. we'll see how he goes and I'll question the trainer about the boots.

just to give some background history. he was given corrective farrier work on that hoof because he toed out.

he was going really well in trackwork when he had his first prep but then he had to get gelded. got an infection from it, had to be rested in the stable which he didn't seem to like because his behaviour got a lot worst (kicking and biting people, broke his handler's finger) and some of us thought he needed to go out for a spell but trainer persisted with him and so he resumed normal work.
he calmed down and seemed a lot happier being able to go for a run and got a lot better after 2 barrier trials.
We then sent him out for a spell and he spent the first week mostly laying down in the paddock (growth spurt).
came back 6 weeks later I think and showing good signs of having gotten better but then about a week before putting him in his 2nd race his trackworker said there was something wrong, he wasn't extending like before but when trainer checked him over he could find nothing so he kept going with him. Entered him in a race and he ended up going lame. Vet checked him, gave him a radiogragh and swelling noted in LH pastern but vet said nothing else.
he was treated for it and then raced again when he was given vet clearance. He went lame again and vet looked him over again and this is the report:

Confirming that I examined him following a poor performance the week prior. He had previously been lame left hind and had his left hind pastern joint xrayed and injected.

He wasn’t lame when examined, and no abnormalities were noted on endoscope or cardiac examination.

While this doesn’t give a reason for his poor performance, I would still be suspicious of it being because of the left hind pastern, given the nature of his xray changes.


Nothing else was said so it left us scratching our heads.    

Bone cyst

“What causes the pain isn't just the inflammation, but the physical accumulation of pus and often gas, if it's anaerobic bacteria, inside the hoof capsule. It can do a lot of damage to the hoof capsule and the hoof wall if they're not able to get the pus out and drain the abscess where you can treat it directly.”Sep 26, 2017

"Last year I nearly had one of my horses PTS as he had been lame for over 5 months on first one leg then the other and nothing was helping, vet couldn't make him react to hoof testers and nothing found on X-ray. I poulticed for weeks: nothing. Bute: nothing. Finally an abscess broke out at the heel, but still very lame 2 weeks on, so 2nd, braver, vet dug a HUGE hole in the sole of the OTHER hoof and found horrible, black, nasty gunk. More poulticing, nappying, etc. and now.......I have a completely sound horse! So hang in there and be prepared for the long haul. I would never have thought that a horse could be so lame for so long with such a simple cause, nor that both front feet could be affected. Poor little man; he's very stoic.
Read more at https://forums.horseandhound.co.uk/threads/longest-abscess-experiences-please.689527/#xstAhbsMFZ11H1DP.99"