Jerry

A Wintery Scene before Jerry went to hospital.

I'm trying to play catch-up with EHDC news!

Early in November we were concerned that Jerry's uneven gait was a problem that needed to be addressed considering his age being quite young.

Two visits from a chiropractor confirmed that he did have a problem that might be in the sacro-iliac region of the spine. A further visit from our vet, Mel, from Damory Equine Vet Clinic, resulted in a decision to take Jerry up to Liphook Equine Hospital for a thorough investigation as it was so difficult to diagnose a cause for his slight lameness. They started with nerve blocks on his near hind leg to identify the region. It was determined to be in the region of the fetlock. Xray of the joint appeared fine, but using ultrasound they found that the annular ligament was inflamed and causing pressure on the flexor tendons that passed under it which would account for slight lameness as he flexed his fetlock joint.

He received a cortisone injection into the flexor tendon sheath and sent back to us 2 days later to follow up with 3 week course of anti-inflammatory "Bute" and paddock rest with daily controlled walking exercise ( no frolicking about with his friends!) So poor Jerry is spending Christmas on his own but within sight of his companions and we keep our fingers crossed and hope this treatment has worked (a 70% success rate is reported). The alternative, if this conservative treatment doesnt work, is an operation at Liphook.