Valor took a trip to Rainland Farm Equine Clinic for his bone scan procedure at the end of September. It was great to be able to get some concrete answers and know where his lameness issues really lie. The trouble with a bone scan is that it can reveal a large number of potential problems, and someone with an un-trained eye might assume that all of those potential issues are true trouble areas. Valor had quite a few of these areas that showed up on the scan. Luckily, Dr. Fleck’s trained eye easily determined which spots need addressing and which ones are clinically insignificant.
The areas that we think are true potential problem areas are his feet, shoulders, right stifle, and right hind pastern. We plan on putting him in glue-on shoes to help protect his tender feet. Beyond that, our next step is to get radiographs of his right hind pastern to determine what’s going on there. Dr. Fleck suggested we also consider treating his shoulders with steroid injections, and radiographing and potentially injecting his right stifle, as well.
The information we gained from the bone scan is incredibly helpful since Valor’s case has been a challenging one. We no longer feel like we’re trying to find needles in a haystack. Now there’s a straighter path to follow to help get him back to soundness. Dr. Fleck will be out again next week to perform the radiographs of his pastern. Once we know what that shows, we’ll be able to devise an overall treatment plan. In the meantime, Valor is content to just hang out and get loved on.
