coffin bone

[stcath95]

abscess on foot----The vet confirmed what I had thought. He treated her and said she'd be fine. His only concern was that the abscess may have been caused by the shape of her coffin bone (club foot). He recommended I talk to you about having her x-rayed. She would have to be shipped to the clinic to get that done. If the bone is a little off, they can do a minor procedure to fix it while she's young..Any comments !! appreciate your words of advice !!.--want her to be a racer !!!...........Thanks...Kenny

[madelyn]

Sounds awfully fishy. My vet x-rays here, for things like legs, feet, etc. Clinical x-rays are for spine/ribs/back stuff.

A club foot is a severe conformation defect, and can signal permanent unsoundness. What sort of procedure is he talking about? Is this a very young horse who might correct on his or her own as growth occurs? In an older horse, a club foot can result from the regrowth of the hoof over a rotated coffin bone after a severe bout of founder. In a young horse, it can just be a phase as the deep digital flexor tendon has not fully grown out.

[KamiBrooks]

I have to agree with Madelyn. I don't know how old your filly is, but the cofin bone isn't even fully formed until about 2yo. You mentioned club foot, so is the abcess in the toe area? That would make sense if she's high heels. Is she some sort of seriously extreme example of club foot?

I have a foundered mare and saw a new surgical approach to helping these horses (this is also the cofin bone) on the web. I asked my vet what the procedure is, since I can't imagine fiddling with the cofin bone itself because it has a complex set of blood vessels and stuff... my vet said they're fiddling with tendons and to stear clear of those kinds of surgeries. My vet specializes in horses and specifically lameness issues in H/J types, so I took his advice and dropped the topic.

If she's clubby and under 2yo? A GOOD trimmer can have a positive impact by keeping her balanced/trimmed correctly while the palmar process (the wings on the cofin bone) are developing. Foals tend toward getting clubby because the palmar process isn't there yet and keeping the foot trimmed right helps them develop into the right shape. The sooner you have a good trimmer/farrier the better. But its not anything other than keeping her timmed and balanced correctly. I had a clubby colt that was probably at least partly caused because he was NEVER trimmed in the first year. His second year (yearling) he was kept trimmed/balanced frequently and now he does pretty well with routine trims and has fairly normal feet.

A good farrier that has studied some of the natural trimming techniques or an actual natural trimmer would probably be your best bet.

hope this helps.

[Shammy Davis]

I agree w/Madelyn and others, your VET is not being upfront with you. I'm a retired farrier and I suggest you get a second opinion Also I've got to wonder about a VET who doesn't carry an X-RAY machine in his truck. Shoot I know a VET who still carries his ex-wife around in his truck as his technican. There is a VET in our area who always tells her clients that they should bring there horse to her hospital for further tests etc. She is the same VET who billed an unknowing horsewomen, whom I'm acquainted with, $700 a month for herbal supplements to better condition her horse. That went on for 3 months until it was suggested that she get a second opinion. With the second opinion, the horse is doing fine now on a better quality feed and the owner is able to afford to feed her family and the horse and all (horse and human) are gaining weight. Ask questions, insist upon honest answers, look for options, get an itemized projection of cost, and don't let any equine professional do anything to your horse without your permission. Remember once your horse enters the hospital stall, you are invested big time.

[FancyHorse]

Coffin Bone problems don't occur because of an absess. Its usually cause of a diease called Laminitis (spell check?) or founder. To be on the safe side. I would cut out all her gain, sweet feed, alfalfa or anything that contains high protein or sugers and get that foot x-rayed to know for sure!
I currenty have a racehorse gelding with laminitis and it rotated his coffin bone, it rotated bad enough to cause him to need corrective shoeing just to walk, I havn't been able to ride or train on this horse for months.
There are many vets that will come to you facility that have portable xray equipment so you don't need to transport your horse!

[mikec]

Seems like this topic appeared just in time for me not being as astute as I ought to be. Have a 5 month old filly and within the last week or so I've noticed her right front hoof taking on a weird appearance. Our regular farrier hadn't mentioned anything so I thought I'd get an opinion from a different farrier. The guy came in and within 30 seconds proclaimed she had clubfoot. Started reading about check ligament surgery to correct it although the new farrier indicated it could probably be taken care of with proper trimming. Have vet coming out tomorrow so this should be interesting. As usual everyone's postings here prove enormously helpful !