DSLD Or Possibly Confirmation? | The Horse Forum

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ChipandChief C Hi everyone! I recently rescued a horse that I think may have DSLD. The kill pen I got him from seemed to think it was just a confirmation thing. When I brought it up with my vet they did not really have an answer for me. He does not seem to be in any pain whatsoever. We think he is around 10-13 yrs old and that is all we really know about him. He is also very pigeon toed in his front feet. It is not that bad if he is trimmed very regularly. What are your guys thoughts? Do you guys know of any horses with dropped fetlocks that do not seem to have DSLD? I will try to get better pictures this weekend. Horse Working animal Liver Horse supplies Horse tack

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Status Not open for further replies. #1 · Sep 23, 2021 Hi everyone! I recently rescued a horse that I think may have DSLD. The kill pen I got him from seemed to think it was just a confirmation thing. When I brought it up with my vet they did not really have an answer for me. He does not seem to be in any pain whatsoever. We think he is around 10-13 yrs old and that is all we really know about him. He is also very pigeon toed in his front feet. It is not that bad if he is trimmed very regularly. What are your guys thoughts? Do you guys know of any horses with dropped fetlocks that do not seem to have DSLD? I will try to get better pictures this weekend. Horse Working animal Liver Horse supplies Horse tack

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5 Sort by Oldest first Oldest first Newest first Most reactions #2 · Sep 23, 2021 In desperate need of quality hoof care. Needs to be first order of business so you can have a better idea what's going on., #5 · Sep 23, 2021 He just got his hooves trimmed last Sunday. This weekend I will get updated pics. Do you know if shoes may help him? Show more replies 0 Reply #3 · Sep 23, 2021 OH.. thats a pretty big drop . I would not use that horse for any one with any lbs on them. Maybe small kids, but if it is DLSD it will get worse and painful. #6 · Sep 23, 2021 I’m starting to lean towards DSLD. It is very hard to get a diagnosis where I live. The vets close by aren't very familiar with it. Someone did tell me they thought it was because he is some sort of gaited breed. I have seen gaited horses that appeared to have normal fetlocks and some that looked like my horse. Have you seen other gaited breeds with this issue? 0 Reply #4 · Sep 23, 2021 Looks like it could be. I don’t know much about DSLD but this seems to be a good article:

DSLD in Horses - Degenerative Suspensory Ligament Desmitis

DSLD in horses is a painful disease of the ligaments, leading to incurable lameness. Read more about the diagnosis, treatment, and supportive care. www.smartpakequine.com

www.smartpakequine.com #7 · Sep 23, 2021 I would say DSLD you can keep them comfortable for awhile - it really depends on how fast it progresses. My Friends mare was ridden into her early 20's with DSLD. But they were just mosey along trail rides nothing technical or super fast #8 · Sep 23, 2021 Was the mare being ridden after the fetlocks had dropped? My little sister rode him when we first got him but I do not want to risk making it worse. How long did your friends mare live with DSLD? Show more replies 0 Reply #9 · Sep 23, 2021 You can't just look at the ankles, look at the hocks too, especially when the horse is standing. The lower the ankles go, the straighter his hocks will get. If this horse has it, it's in the early stages. But if he does, the older he gets, and not talking about a lot of years, the lower he will get. #12 · Sep 23, 2021 My first statement would get be "get another vet". An experienced equine vet will be able to provide some actual help. Second, does your farrier have experience with therapeutic/medical shoeing? DSLD is bad business but there are things you can do that MAY help mitigate it. 1- Im a big fan of Iconoclast wraps. They provide quite a bit of ligament and tendon support. Now, you dont want to leave them on constantly but if you plan to work the horse, use them IMHO. 2- Egg bars (mild) and Fishbars (Severe) can provide quite a bit of comfort. 3- Was this horse vet checked prior to purchase? 4- From the pictures it appears that the horses rear hooves have stress rings in them. That could be the result of a previous Laminitis attack (serpentine rings) or that the toes were left too long (horizontal) for quite a while. Talk to a good equine vet BEFORE you go crazy reading horror stories on the internet!!! #13 · Sep 23, 2021

wvfarrier said: My first statement would get be "get another vet". An experienced equine vet will be able to provide some actual help. Second, does your farrier have experience with therapeutic/medical shoeing? DSLD is bad business but there are things you can do that MAY help mitigate it. 1- Im a big fan of Iconoclast wraps. They provide quite a bit of ligament and tendon support. Now, you dont want to leave them on constantly but if you plan to work the horse, use them IMHO. 2- Egg bars (mild) and Fishbars (Severe) can provide quite a bit of comfort. 3- Was this horse vet checked prior to purchase? 4- From the pictures it appears that the horses rear hooves have stress rings in them. That could be the result of a previous Laminitis attack (serpentine rings) or that the toes were left too long (horizontal) for quite a while. Talk to a good equine vet BEFORE you go crazy reading horror stories on the internet!!! [/Q What is a fishbar ? Click to expand...

0 Reply #14 · Sep 25, 2021 I put my old mare down due to dsld just last month. There's nothing you can due to prevent the disease from progressing. I don't think shoes or boots are proven to help. Pain control is essential as the disease progresses. If I was given a DSLD horse I would probably consider euthanasia before I became attached to the horse. Because it is painful and only gets worse over time. My mare was retired for 10 years and I probably could have put her down sooner. However she was a very sweet and friendly horse and I kept her comfortable with pain medication. Making the decision was very hard but she was getting worse. It did not progress very quickly in her case. She had a later onset of the disease - it can present early or later in life. if the horse is sound and comfortable now, you are probably okay for light riding. But I must warn you, this is like any other terminal illness. Your horse will be okay today but it will eventually progress. It is difficult to decide to euthanize because despite being lame, these horses will be happy, eat all their feed, and still run out in the pasture. My mare ran out in the pasture and possibly slipped or somehow bowed a tendon in her front leg. I don't know if it was a true bow vs a torn ligament but that was when I made the decision to euthanize as soon as the vet could come. She came in lame and limping with a swollen front leg. If you do not mind having this horse as a long term retiree, you can continue on for some period of time, but you need to be prepared that they will get worse and you will need to decide when to call it quits. Secondary arthritis can also be an issue. As for pain management, I first used bute, then equioxx, then Naproxen. Kept Banamine on hand for the farrier. Watch for heart disease and leaky heart valves, as others have reported that as an additional complication of the disease. Probably not an issue this early in the disease though. #15 · Sep 25, 2021 My senior mare is a part of the Davis University DSLD study group. She's had the x-rays done, and the little chunk taken out of her nuchal branch in her neck. I think we did the blood draw test with the company that makes Prascend (can't remember since my vet is one of the vets involved in the study and pulled out all the stops to get this stuff paid for without costing me a dime). The only thing the study needs left from her is an autopsy, and she's made that pretty clear that it's not happening yet. She has thus far, outlived the other horses that were entered into the study the same year she was (2018). The one advantage I have with her is that she's got the rarer form that affects her front legs bil-laterally. Her hocks and pasterns are fairly fused as a result of the microfractures and cartilage buildup that occurs, but her hind legs are in working order and she can get up and down easily so she's able to get off her feet when she needs to. Like @4horses's mare, her pain management is treatable and disease progression is very slow. I retired her over 6 years ago, thorough no fault of her own (I was recovering from a broken leg in a driving accident and couldn't face getting 2 horses back under saddle again). Given that she's an older mare (possibly late 20s, by our best estimate), my vet and I are pretty much playing it by ear at this point. There will come a time when it's time to put her down ... but it's not this day. (yet). Every fall, my vet and I discuss this, and every fall so far, we've decided against it. One of the determining factors is going to be whether or not she ends up with secondary lameness issues or colics or something super bad happens. So far, we've been lucky. But I know that luck isn't going to last forever. Status Not open for further replies. You have insufficient privileges to reply here.

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