anxiously awaiting the vet report *he is coming home*

[fleur de duc]

Well, to say the least I am freaking out. I dropped my big bad TB off at New Bolton this morning for a lameness workup. He was scheduled for a bone scan today. It originally was just the hind end, but it turned into a full body scan after we watched him jog. For the first time ever he was dead lame up front.. now 3 out of his 4 legs are gimpy :sigh: I just decided we better go ahead and just do it all to avoid having to come back for a second trip. (Hopefully they will scan his head as well in hopes to find where his brain has gone lately!:winkgrin:)

I arrived around 7:45am, waited til about 10:30 to speak to the sports medicine docs about what the plan was for him, watched him jog and misbehave the whole way back to his stall:uhoh:, then finally got back to my barn around noon to get the stalls done. I was told I would get a call this afternoon with the results of the scan and to discuss what our next step was.

Well, to say the least, I am still waiting for that phone call. It is now 9:10pm, and I have heard nothing. I am freaking out inside. I have been ubber stressed over this whole mystery lameness, and now he is physically at the clinic and I am still left in the dark; very frustrating indeed. He has me worried sick. Sunday marks the one year anniversary of loosing my once in a lifetime mare; its one year later and now BOTH my remaining horses are broken! (pony is on 16 weeks of stall rest come saturday, and the big man has been NQR for 3 weeks now) Makes me want to just take up tennis:sigh: I just want both my big and small goofy babies back to their young selves :cry:

oh and a phone call to know the results of the bone scan would be nice...
oka ... vent over ... thanks COTH ;]


edited to add ... forgot to mention I have called them and left a message asking to be called back.

[Zu Zu]

Call them - they forgot to call you or somethig -- don't stress * Call them back maybe they lost the number * really ! They should not treat you like this - this is too important, you need to know and deserve to know tonight.:yes:

[fleur de duc]

woopss forgot to put I have already called! left a message, its the best I can do until they call back

[Zu Zu]

Sorry you are having to go through this wait - not easy* been there* done that.. Good-Luck. Keep us updated .

[fleur de duc]

ugg ... just called again and found out no one can help me until at best 9am tomorrow:mad:

[Zu Zu]

Again, I am sorry - BEEN THERE too - not fun. I think "this waiting - when they should have called" *** should be illegal! Please let us know when you find out.

[TBMaggie]

Ugh - the waiting is awful:(:( Not uncommon though - some tech somewhere is madly typing up results, and then trying to pin down the lameness expert to ok it before sharing it all with you no doubt. It would have been nice if someone called you and told you that things were 'in the works'.....

It sounds like you had a very stressful day - it's sooo much fun to drag a horse in for tests, especially when horsie wants to be naughty:yes::yes:
You might get a comment on your final hard copy like I got: "Thank you for bringing Cooper to the ......hospital. He was a good boy despite being nervous." HA understatement!

I hope you have encouraging news soon!

[vxf111]

Not much consolation, but they treated me the same way the two times I had a bone scan. Like I was some wart on their behind that wasn't worth bothering with. This wart was half tempted not to pay the bills. ;) The second time they were really apologetic about the delay in getting back to me. Once you get the right person on the phone, you'll get answers. Jingles!

[fleur de duc]

thanks guys. this is a TOTALLY different experience than the one I had just a few weeks ago with my pony. I had numerous phone calls daily updating me on everything, and the doc even took me around to show me everything that would be done and where. Very nice guy! he is on his honeymoon this week, so I went elsewhere in sports medicine for my big guys treatment.

i better get some answers tomorrow. i will be calling at 9am sharp. no waiting around anymore for me.


TBMaggie- I got a good kick out of my pony's discharge sheet. It raved about how happy he was to be there and what a joy he was, after he got over the initial "fun". he was VERY playful at first. Then it went on to suggest he needs work with injections ... he HATES needles and it involved pure manpower of about 4-6 people and a twitch to get a needle in him if I am not with him. then again, they never listen to me or his regular vet who is a field vet at NBC. we both know my pony and know you need to get a twitch on him BEFORE he even sees a needle. get the twitch on and you are good to go .. but NOOOO they wanted to do it their way ... and flash made sure to let him know how much he did not appreciate that;)

i know .. naughty naughty pony! thankfully all 17hof my big guy is happy to get injections! boy would that be scary otherwise:eek:

[fleur de duc]

he has a number of hot spots that showed up on the scan. the major ones are on the splints of both right front and right hind. He is being prescribed 2-4 (ideally 4) weeks of rest (as in no work, not stall rest) and reevaluate then to see about starting work again. So its good news I suppose.

I couldn't help but chuckle when she said they are having the neurologist look at him:lol: he is super clumsy sometimes and she is wondering if it is something other than his large size and immaturity. He has fallen from it in the past, and this past one was worse. Just to be safe they are going to take a look at him.

Apparently he was very "sensitive" and had to be sedated, and re sedated "several" times.:uhoh: they described it as "the normal horse would shift his weight and maybe take a step sideways with the touch, but tommy found it better to move 50 feet or so" .. poor guy ;]

[Zu Zu]

Glad to hear your news - now at last you * KNOW and HAVE A PLAN. Good -Luck & keep us updated.

[Lori B]

So glad for your sake and pony's that you've been prescribed 'rest' and not 'stall rest'. Good luck, and keep us posted! (He sounds like a character)

[i'maddicted]

Would definitely look into Lyme disease if you are having lameness moving around without any specific diagnosis. Will also effect their temperment - act more spokky/goofy, etc.
Good luck!!

[Instant Karma]

Maybe the neurologic symptoms caused him to be clumsy and pop the splints in the first place. I second the lyme's suggestion- it seems like lyme's disease is running rampant anymore.

Good luck with your boy!

[fleur de duc]

thanks guys! all is well with his head ;] just got a call saying nothing came back as a concern so they are moving forward with blocking him again to see what is worse in his hind end.

I will mention getting him tested for lymes when I hear back next.

[Kiwayu]

Definitely test for Lyme!!! My clumsy OTTB was falling, tripping and on/off lame all over. It went from a lameness in the hind end to the front. IV tetra and bingo! He was back to normal except for the arthritis damage.

[TrotTrotPumpkn]

God, I hate waiting. Glad you know!

[Dispatcher]

What exactly is a "hot spot" and the diagnosis?

I can't tell whether you are saying your horse popped 2 splints or if you are saying something else.

I hope all it is is splints--they'll resolve soon enough.

[fleur de duc]

A hot spot is what comes up on the bone scan, or at least that is how they refer to it. My understanding is that it is a point of heat/swelling that the scan picks up on, sort of as a way to locate any issues.

They did some blocking and he became DRASTICALLY better after blocking his right hind inside splint. so into radiology he went. looks like he has some old changes there and he just re-aggravated them in his fall. So hopefully 4 weeks of rest and 4 more weeks of slowly coming back into work, we will be good to go!

I never did vet him before purchasing him. he was cheap and I wanted to get him home, so I skipped out, almost not wanting to know. So we have to evaluate him once he is back in work to see if he will be able to hold up to the work I want to do. all these problems started peaking out as he entered into a harder work schedule, and then the fall added to it as well. So we will have to wait and see.

[Dispatcher]

Good news then! A little rest and all is well. Yay!

[Peggy]

What exactly is a "hot spot" and the diagnosis?

I can't tell whether you are saying your horse popped 2 splints or if you are saying something else.

I hope all it is is splints--they'll resolve soon enough.If the OP's horse underwent nuclear scintigraphy, areas of bone (and soft tissue, earlier in the timeline) that are undergoing remodeling due to injury or whatnot take up more of the radioisotope that was injected. The scan phase detects those areas. Sometimes referred to "lighting up." Better info here (http://www.greenmanequine.com/advanced-diagnostic-services/) if you scroll down a bit.

Jingles for the OP and her horse.

[fleur de duc]

well im leaving to go get him in an hour. its going to be a long 4weeks for us. and I am REALLY not looking forward to starting him back into work after a total of 7 weeks off (he has pretty much had the past 3 off as well). I JUST got over paying for his "winter break" in march! he does not do well with work once he gets a taste of the cushy life.

I am just hoping we can bounce back from this better than new .. lets hope

[Isabeau Z Solace]

Glad OP heard back from the clinic. I would caution ANYONE leaving an equine at a large veterinary clinic to be proactive in keeping track of their animal while at the clinic.

I had an INFURIATING experience with a large clinic in VA several years ago. On recommendation of my local vet, I took a gelding I was training to them to have melanoma treatment and surgery. While at the clinic, the veterinarians identified another defect in the horse (he had a very, very small dent in his hoof wall, which my own vet had looked at before the horse left, pronounced "eh, just leave it. It'll be fine") and took it upon themselves to perform a MAJOR procedure to correct the defect. (They called me, and left a message saying, 'hay we see this problem, we are going to 'fix' it. I called back said 'um, nope. My local vet already determined nothing needed to be done. By the time I heard from them again at the end of the day, it was done.

What was done, you ask ?? They drilled 4 holes in his fu@^ing foot to 'stitch' the defect !! B&^$tards !!

The RESULT, was that instead of the horse being at the clinic for a day or two, he was there for 4 WEEKS. I was beyond furious. Spoke with the head honcho, made my feelings known, etc. The owner DID NOT have to pay for the extra 4 WEEK stay at the clinic or extra procedure.

But my trust in these people was forever destroyed. Never again will I just drop off a valued animal and leave them to do whatever they feel like.

And, to boot. When I went to pick the horse up. I received a report that said "We examined ____ horse, found he had _____ wound,WHICH WAS DIRTY AND NEEDED IMMEDIATE ATTENTION." B@#tards !!

Never be shy about DEMANDING information from these people. I don't care how busy they are.