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Here is an example of a horse with sidebone on both front feet. The lateral cartilages have ossified into what looks literally like a bone on the sides. The parts that appear ‘broken’ are most likely not fully ossified yet.
The plainly prominent and deep collateral grooves can prevent flexing of the foot which further prevents shock absorption, which can contribute to the formation of sidebone.
June 1, 2007 at 10:45 pm
This is very intresting.
June 25, 2008 at 3:45 am
I rescued a horse from auction that has been diagnosed with sidebone. Her xrays look very similar to these (minus the shoes). Was the horse that you posted the xrays of sound or lame?
June 25, 2008 at 12:42 pm
The horse was sound. Sidebone is not usually a factor in lameness from everything I have heard.
July 14, 2008 at 11:42 pm
My horse has just been diagnosed with sidebone following x-rays. The sidebones are about the same length as above but all of a piece. He has been slightly lame on and off over the past 2 years but has also had long periods of soundness and competed in show jumping without problems. The vet has said that until ossification is complete there will be some lameness and that I should ride him when sound by try to reduce concussion. My plan is to keep him barefoot and just shoe for essential competitions and not to jump him at all on hard ground.
July 16, 2008 at 1:06 am
Hi Phoebe,
Thanks for the comment. That sounds like a good plan for reducing concussion as shoes are the single biggest source of concussion. If your horse can be sound barefoot you may not need to shoe him at all for competition. Staying off hard ground is never a bad idea. When you have the horse trimmed barefoot I would recommend a trim that maximizes hoof mechanism to make the foot more flexible thus able to absorb more shock. Sidebone remains a big question as to how sound horses can be with it and I’ll be interested to hear updates of your situation.
November 8, 2008 at 1:16 am
My 9 year old gelding has just been diognosed with side bone, i am trying to decide on the best treatment for him. the vet said a nerve block for starters, and to see how he does. i have been reading that i should have his shoes removed, and put him in pasture…any advice you could give me would so helpful.
thank you,
leslie
November 8, 2008 at 2:09 am
Hi Leslie,
The most important thing is, is he sound or lame. I’m guessing he’s lame because your vet suggested nerve blocks, to see if he goes sound with the block? Honestly I have never heard of that diagnostic approach for sidebone, and to add to that, sidebone is not normally a cause of lameness (though it is possible). I am not even sure how you would block the nerves to that part of the foot without blocking other parts or nerves too; I don’t believe there is a single, discreet nerve serving the front/side of the top of the foot. I would look into that more. Further, I would look into other causes for the lameness. Such a boney change is low on the list of things that could be causing it.
Removing the shoes is a good first step. Shoes cause more concussion to the foot and leg than bare feet, and repeated concussion can cause inflammation in the soft tissue which if unabated, causes the soft tissue to try and stabilize by calcifying (which is what sidebone is – the lateral cartilages start ossifying). Being barefoot with a good trim (emphasis on correct trim) will immediately reduce the causative effect. However I don’t think you need to give up and throw your hands up in defeat and retire such a young horse. I would do the normal veterinary diagnostic work and I would get a consultation from a well qualified barefoot trimmer.
Good luck and keep me posted. Also feel free to send me pictures for a second opinion if you like.
Christina
November 20, 2008 at 3:41 am
Hi, I have just been reading the comments and was interested. My 6yr old mare suddenly went profoundly lameand was found to have an abscess. This was dealt with over a week period by being released and dressed, although only a small amount of pus was found. Lameness was still evident, and again the foot was peared open to release what again was a small amount. Over the period of approx 3weeks, she was sound lame sound lame, endlessly! There was no pattern or logical explanation to lameness, she had been on box rest and those days where she was sound was allowed to spend time in a sand scholl, but then went lame!So back to box rest.
Recently contacting the vet yet again has lead to xrays and a ?possible co-incidential finding of side bone. Is it possible that this is in fact the cause of her inconsistent lameness??? And if so what is the future prognosis in terms of riding? My 11year old daughter is devasted as we’ve had the pony 6 months.
Reply would be appreciated, Thanks, Lisa.
November 20, 2008 at 5:25 am
Hi there Lisa, thanks for writing. Based on your statement that the lameness was ’sudden and profound’, I draw the conclusion that the lameness is from the abscess and not the sidebone. That is the most typical presentation of an abscess. The other evidence that it’s the abscess is that the treatment of paring and trying to drain an abscess, actually causes exactly the pattern you describe of intermittent lameness then soundness then lameness. This is because it has been prematurely opened and partially drains, then the remainder keeps on ‘brewing’, then that drains, there is temporary relief, and it repeats several more times. The better treatment for an abscess is to let it fester until it is ready to blow, letting it form an exit through some part of the foot and encouraging this through soaking in Epsom salts, poulticing, and hand walking to get the circulation going. Definitely not box rest! The more movement the faster it resolves – and you can see this is exactly what happened as each time she was let out to move around, it started draining again (causing the pain/lameness). The restriction of movement actually slowed down the resolution.
The sidebone is probably incidental, it rarely causes lameness unless it is currently ‘active’ and in the process of calcifying which causes inflammation to be present.
Good luck with the pony and your daughter!
Christina
January 8, 2009 at 11:07 pm
my 11 yr old gelding has just been x-ray’d and it showed he has fractured sidebone! he has sidebone quite bad (nearly at the pastern joint) on both sides of the foot but until the fracture had been sound. ive been told to put him on 8 weeks box rest then more xrays. hes already barefoot. anyone know what the prognosis is? do you think m gelding will ever be a normal riding horse again?
gillian
January 9, 2009 at 1:12 am
Hi Gillian. A ‘fractured’ sidebone isn’t really fractured, insofar as a sidebone is not a bone, either. It is ossified (hardened) cartilage. The lateral cartilages are hardening and the common name for this condition is ’sidebone’. What appears as a fracture is actually the only remaining un-ossified part of the cartilage. Once the whole thing ossifies, you will no longer see that line on the xrays. So putting him in a stall for 8 weeks will do absolutely nothing for him except probably drive him batty. Sidebone is not generally something that causes lameness so first, I wouldn’t be concerned about that, and secondly, I would continue looking for the actual cause of his lameness. As far as being barefoot – if he already has boxy upright feet, this creates more concussion on the feet and soft tissue and predisposes a horse to such a condition even with bare feet. How long has he been barefoot for? If you like, you can send picture and your xrays and I would give you my evaluation.
March 4, 2009 at 7:11 pm
Hi,
I had an osteopath check my 7 yr old mare yesterday and she thinks there may be a sidebone on the rear right foot. My mare rotates that leg quite strongly at the walk. She is shod and osteopath suggests removing shoes.
If I do that won’t she wear away the hoof because of the rotation, or will the fact that shoes are off not only give less concussion but perhaps also less rotation or at least cause less stress on the joint? She is not and never has been lame.
Lesley
March 6, 2009 at 3:23 am
Hi Lesley,
Thanks for writing. Did your osteopath not recommend taking xrays? If this is indeed an orthopedic issue I would try and have them done. Having said that (without seeing photos which would allow a much better and specific answer) I would guess that the rotation is due to the way the foot is balanced and not due to a sidebone. When the foot is unbalanced, and then shod, the horse tends to compensate by twisting the foot. This eventually will put undue stress on the hock from the torque of twisting the joint. And by unbalanced I would guess, in this case, that the inside of the foot (the wall) is higher than the outside which is typical for hind feet. The horse no longer lands flat because one side is higher than the other, and must twist its foot during the flightpath to accommodate the changing heights.
If you would like to send pictures for better evaluation, use the address in the ‘Contact Us’ Form on the front page.
Christina
March 6, 2009 at 6:33 pm
Hi Christina,
Thanks for fast reply.
Yes she did recommend doing the X rays. that would be next step. The inside wall is higher.
Shoes were taken off today (I couldn’t be there) but I discussed situation with blacksmith (not my usual one because my mare is in a training stable right now) beforehand and he also stressed how important is was to get foot level. He has a horse himself with the same problem. He said it was definitely worth trying without shoes. We will be observing carefully what happens now without shoes.
My mare is not (apparently) in any pain but i want to keep stress out of the joints witha view to avoiding arthritis and any other problems in the future. I will take some pictures tomorrow. Can I submit a film?
Many thanks again
Lesley
March 7, 2009 at 1:37 am
HI Lesley,
Sometimes, depending on how hard the hoof walls are, you can solve or at least ameliorate this problem by removing the shoes. When barefoot at least the inside wall has somewhat of a chance of wearing down evenly with the outside wall, which obviously is impossible if it’s shod. In addition to over-correcting by trimming the inside shorter (if possible), yYou can encourage the inside wall to wear faster by thinning it with the rasp. Another thing you can do is make sure the horse gets as much turnout as possible. When the horse is loafing around (as in a stall) it unweights and cocks a hind leg, causing uneven pressure on the other hind leg which causes the inside to grow faster.
If you mean can you email an xray, yes, certainly.
Good luck
Christina
April 11, 2009 at 3:08 pm
Hello,
Removing the shoes has created a huge improvement. Obviously she still has a tendency to rotate but it is much, much better. However, of course the hooves themselves are suffering and I am thinking I need hoof boots at least during riding out and working. Are there some you would particularly recommend, bearing in mind they should not “grip” too much or I will have the same problem of stressing the joints as with the normal horseshoes?
The walls appear to be wearing down evenly … but quickly!
She is as from today back in her small herd and out for hours a day in a big field with poor grass.
Thanks in advance.
Lesley
April 11, 2009 at 3:35 pm
Hi Lesley,
Glad to hear the shoes are off and your mare is doing well without them. It’s really hard to comment with any specificity at this point without actually seeing the feet. Often people who are used to seeing shod feet are surprised at how ’small’ a correctly trimmed foot looks to them. Are her walls actually wearing off or are they chipping? Another issue when removing shoes is that the wall that has grown during the time she was shod is weaker and shellier so it will have a tendency to break and wear faster and more. Not until you have unshod growth hitting the ground will the walls be stronger. Finally, you can trim to encourage more growth by encouraging circulation. There are certain things you can do for that in the way you trim. If you would like more specific input you can send me pictures which I can mark up and discuss and post on the blog. Thanks. Christina
April 13, 2009 at 4:14 pm
Hello,
I have sent two lots of photos of Kantana’s hind feet from various angles.
On closer inspection I would say the off hind is wearing down unevenly. Chipping is not too bad. Look forward to your opinion.
Best Regards,
Lesley
May 22, 2009 at 7:12 pm
HI
I bought a horse in dec last year – until now he has been sound, 4 weeks ago whilst at a show he became lame mainly on corners where his outside fore was on the outside – i have rested the horse for 4 weeks since then i have troted him up inhand once a week- he may look sound on the first trot but then lame on the next and so on- but after week 1 the short strides he was taking on the corners had stopped but appears to take short strides occassionally on the straight – i noticed early on in the lamness 2 identical hard lumps just at the bottom of the pastern (but they could of been there all along !) – could this be side bone ?? any advice ps my farrier says it could be a bit of bony chage but i dont know if this is the same thing and how serious it is ?
May 23, 2009 at 11:17 pm
Hi Joanne,
Sorry to hear your horse is lame. This does not sound like sidebone, it sounds more like ringbone. Sidebone is further down the leg, right inside and right above the hoof capsule. And hard lumps often indicate the presence of ringbone. Boney changes is the catchall term for all these kinds of issues including both sidebone and ringbone. Also lameness from ringbone gets worse as the horse works more, rather than working itself out like navicular might. Most people will tell you it is irreversible but that has not been my experience – with correction of angles I have seen the lumps get smaller in diameter and the horse more comfortable. Reducing concussion by going barefoot also helps. The key to seriousness is whether it is articular or non-articular, and the only way to know is by the vet taking some xrays. Good luck.
May 24, 2009 at 8:25 pm
thanks for you advice – he is off to the vets for x rays on wednesday thanks