Equine Health

Case Report:  Sport Horse Medicine

Spinal Lesions

 

Patient: 7 yr. old Quarter Horse Gelding

Intended use: Team Roping, head horse

History:  This horse had been used extensively for 3 years in roping. In the last few months of competition the horse had seemed clumsy and lethargic. While in a lay-off period the owner noted the horse becoming thin and was acting depressed.

Physical Examination:  On physical examination the horse appeared depressed, dehydrated, underweight, generally stiff, and had a high heart and respiratory rate.  He showed an inability to flex his neck to the left or right and was painful when lowering his head to eat.  Palpation of the spinous processes of the back revealed intense pain and a reluctance to flex the spine.  Over several days of observance, the horse had a lameness which would shift from the left and right legs.

A blood chemistry and complete blood count analysis were normal other than  mild dehydration and anemia.

Blood tests for Valley Fever, Pigeon Fever, and Coggins were negative.

General radiographs of the neck and spine did not reveal any significant lesions.

Diagnostic thermographic imaging of the head, neck, legs, and back revealed severe areas of “coldness”, or decreased blood flow.  The image to the right shows the thermographic scan of the front hooves and fetlocks.  The left leg show a thermal pattern indicating a severe decrease in blood flow to the limb.  The scan of the back also showed a thermal pattern indicating cold spots (see arrow).  When examined with thermography, the head, neck, and rear legs also indicated disrupted patterns of blood flow.

Diagnosis: After physical examination and thermographic scans a cervical or thoracic vertebral injury, mass, or infection was suspected.

Treatment:  Given the poor prognosis for any successful treatment of these type of lesions the owner elected to euthanize the horse.

Discussion: The horse was sent to the University of California Diagnostic Laboratory in Tulare for a necropsy.  Pathologists found an arthritic fusion in the first four thoracic vertebrae of the spine (where the neck enters the shoulder area) and a dense bone tumor infiltrating the area.  A second smaller tumor was also noted in the lumbar region of the spine (where a rider would sit).  The spinal lesions had been causing a disruption in the horses blood flow and nervous system causing the clinical signs that were noted by the owner.  This was not a treatable case, and due to the horses extreme discomfort, euthanasia was the best option.