...for what it's worth.....
Becky
Semper Fi & The ShadowRat
Huffman Horse and Cattle Company
Fine Endurance Arabians and 'Horned Cows'
hhcc1@htcomp.net
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> From: lindavan.eqath@juno.com
> To: dli-adf@transport.com
> Cc: lvanceylon@vines.colostate.edu; ridecamp@endurance.net
> Subject: Cannon Alignment
> Date: Wednesday, April 23, 1997 6:03 AM
>
>
> On Tue, 22 Apr 1997 18:05:35 -0700 "dli-adf" <dli-adf@transport.com>
> writes:
> >Linda,
> >
> >After your last note, I went out and really checked over Istys' legs.
> >Uhoh, hard bump just below the right knee, vet book says "splint", a
> >trip
> >to the vet and it is confirmed. He (the vet) says it's old, probably
> >pre
> >'97 but no way to age it. It's not huring the horse and she moves
> >freely
> >without favoring the leg...cool. His only down grade on her is that
> >her
> >cannon bones (ea. side) are 2-3 mm to the outside of the knee.
> >Devastation....now what do I do? He says endurance is iffy, she may
> >not
> >hold up under repeated long distances (Is this true? Is he guessing?
> >What
> >about other endurance horses).
> >
>
> Hi Alan,
>
> Yep, a slint would make sense in the case of the misalignment you just
> explained. However, I can't really visualize the condition with way you
> explained it. Is the cannon bone offset from the forarm by 2-3mm or
> actually outside the knee? In other words, if you were to drop a plumb
> line from the center of the front of each forearm, it should pass ~
> through the center of the cannon. So what I think you are saying is the
> cannon is offset to the outside of that plumbline. Does your horse wing
> it's front leg(s) laterally when it travels? This is what one would
> usually see with this type of flaw. Is it just one leg or both? I've
> heard of horses' cannon bone remodeling (laying down bone on the weaker
> area) to try to correct a problem like this. However, that would take a
> lot of time and you might have lameness layups anyway.
>
> Is the splint on the inside or the outside of the leg? My guess is the
> outside. If the horse wings out, even just a little, it can whack its
> front outside cannon with it's hind foot. If the splint is old and not
> currently sore, it probably is not happening often.
>
> As for your decision whether to continue with this horse or trade her in,
> I'd say you need to have someone in the sport look at her and watch her
> move. Preferably an endurance RIDER with lots of miles or a Vet who
> also endurance rides. There are probably several folks in your area who
> can give you a good honest opinion. Then, it's your call. It's best, of
> course, to start with as near perfect conformation as you can get,
> especially in the legs.
>
> Before you jump to any hasty decisions, get a second opinion.
>
> Good Luck?
>
> Linda VanCeylon & crew
> Buhni, Sunny, Rabbit, & Fiddler
> lindavan.eqath@juno.com