Broken Apical Sesamoid Bone

[Bob Gould]

Hi Martha, I had the mare fluorscoped by my vet today. He found a broken apical sesamoid bone in her right rear ankle. He recommended surgery and I am taking her to MSU tomorrow. He said the prognosis is good because of where the break is and he expects a full recovery in 60 days. Have you heard of a horse having this problem and making a full recovery?


An injury to the sesamoid can be a difficult injury depending on where it is located. If your vet is giving you a good prognosis then you should probably have good results as long as the aftercare and rehab is done properly.
Good luck.
Martha Wright

Hi Martha.
Thanks for your comments. The fracture was in the upper (apical) sesamoid. She is recovering well and is on stall rest for 30 days with hand walking only. The vet said is will be 4 mos. til she can start working again. He also said there is a chance that she has an inner ear infection (otitis media interna) but he couldn't say for sure. She had rubbed all the fur off of her ears because of ticks in her ears. The girl that had her did not take care of her at all.

The vet noticed a small head tilt that he was concerned about but he couldn't say for sure what it was yet. If it is an inner ear infection, it will be chronic and she won't have the balance to run barrels. So, at this point, I am trying to see if the girl who I bought her from wants to take her back and breed her or I will just breed her because it is going to be a while, if ever, she is going around the barrels again. I am surprised that with all the modern research, they can't give antibiotics for an inner ear infection. By the way, you were the one who clued me into looking at her ears, thank you!!
Linda