A couple of years ago I was trying to
sell an 8 year old mare I had raised, and the prospective buyers required
x-rays of her front legs - she was to be used for endurance. The x-rays revealed
sidebone. The mare had never been lame (and still hasn't shown lameness,) but
the buyer backed out of the deal.
In the meantime I bought a 5 year old
gelding and when he began to exhibit signs of lameness, I had his legs x-rayed.
The vet said he had bad sidebones and would not be sound for endurance or
gymkhana, my two favorite sports.
Now I have found a mare that I really
like, but because of my experiences, I decided to have her front legs x-rayed.
This revealed the beginning stages of sidebone.
What I would like to know is if any of
you have horses that have had legs x-rayed and sidebone revealed? The texts I
have read all say that sidebone doesn't normally cause lameness, but my
experience has been 50% lameness. I would appreciate responses with the
following info from anyone who has ever had front leg x-rays of their
horses:
Was there evidence of
sidebone?
How old was the horse?
Was the horse lame?
How was the horse used? Arena only? Trail
only? Gymkhana? Endurance? NATRC?
I reallylike the mare and will probably
buy her anyway, but I'd like to have an idea of my chances of being able to ride
her in 50's.
I am trying to determine how commonplace
sidebone is, and since x-rays are the only way to tell if your horse has it, I
need input from people who have had x-rays done. I would really appreciate
any help you can give me. Thanks.
