Flexor tendon issues...

Question
Hello there,

I have a QH mare that x-rays show, has chipped the back of the navicular bone. The injury has calcified and the added growth is rubbing her Flexor tendon.. Without pain medication she is very lame- toe pointing, severe head throwing at the walk- lame.  My vet suggested nerving. Wedge shoes do not help and it take a maximum dosage of medication to give her any relief.  My question is.. If I have her nerved will the Flexor tendon be ok with all this rubbing or will the friction saw it in half?  Will the calcification continue to grow. I just want to make her pasture pet sound but if she will loose her flexor tendon eventually I will have her euthanized. Thanks, Jennifer

Answer
Jennifer:

this is a big problem. Anything you do to take away the pain will probably increase the likelihood of the deep flexor tendon rupturing. Your options include nerving, injecting the navicular bursa with steroid medication and shock wave therapy for the foot. However, I dont know how effective all of them will be for this severe a lameness. Nerving the foot will definately be a concern for the tendon rupturing, but probably would be the most effective way to control the pain. You could try the other 2 therapies first, but realize that your horse may not respond completely or at all- and the money spent would be somewhat wasted. At the end of the day, you will need to choose one or all of these options and realize that the pain may get controlled (most likely with nerving), but the tendon may rupture at any time. If and when it does, you will need to euthanize the horse- there wont be any way to fix that. Im very sorry for this situation for you- its very tough to manage and will likely be something for which you will need to make some very difficult decisions. Persistent pain medicaton is dangerous to the intestinal tract too, so you do need to approach this in another manner as well. I recommend you consider these 3 options, your financial willingness to pursue one or all of the options, and recognize that rupture could occur following any of these procedures, requiring euthanasia. Again, Im very sorry for this. Please feel free to contact me again if I can help any further in facilitating an approach to this situation. good luck to you and your horse.