Hello,

I have a 9 yr old arab mare that within the past 2-3 months, has developed 2 bony lumps on the inside of her front right cannon bone. One on top of the other one, towards the top, and towards the front of the cannon. The one on the bottom used to be eraser head size and was a result of an inury as a baby. The one on top never exhisted.

they grew fast, but were never hot, swollen, and she was never off. She's not sensitive upon palpation.

My farrier and vet did not call them splints as they were not located on the splint nor interosseous ligament.

It was brought to my attention that if she were on a lot of alfalfa, the higher Ca content could trigger bone deposits in an area from an old injury. She was switched to a pasture with less grass last fall (she needed to;)), and as a result, was supplemented with alfalfa hay in pasture. She basically went from having maybe 2 flakes of alfalfa/day and all the grass she wanted, to ~6-8 flakes alfalfa/day.

Could this have triggered the bone deposit? If so, is there something I can do to counter it? Is there a name for the deposits?

Thank you,

Lorie:)

Where are you from? Savoy Illinois

How did you locate this forum? Web search

Hello Lorie,

When I read your description, my first reaction was splints, however, you have ruled that out. So, the exact name for these deposits is best diagnosed by your veterinarian.


Changes in the way bone mineralizes can be due to a variety of factors including stress on the bone, ligament tears, mineral imbalances (not just calcium, but also zinc, copper, manganese, and phosphorus), vitamin D, and even genetic disorders. So, I do not think that the alfalfa is the cause of this problem. Having said that, alfalfa needs to be balanced with other forages, grains, and/or insoluble carbohydrate sources, to provide a more favorable calcium/phosphorus ratio. Rather than add more alfalfa to her diet in this pasture, I would suggest going back to her 2 flakes/day and adding a grass hay for the remainder of her hay intake. I would also recommend giving her a good multiple vitamin/mineral supplement to balance out her ration.

All the best,

Dr. Getty

Thanks Dr. Getty,

If they continue to get any bigger, or start to cause her any sort of problem, I will take her to the university.

The grass isint' coming up as nicely this year in the pasture (their quicker to chomp it down!) so I will look into the multi vitamins. She's such an easy keeper so she only gets 1/2 lb 12% sweet feed in am and 1/2 lb pm. (We lovingly call this group of mares air plant eaters:) )Do you have any suggestions for a multivitamin?

Thanks so much,

Lorie:)

Where are you from? Savoy Illinois

How did you locate this forum? Web search

Hi Lorie,

For your circumstances, I would choose Vita-Key Antioxidant Concentrate. Since your mare is not getting enough nutrients from the grass and is eating very little complete ration, this would be an important addition to her diet. You can read more about it on my website at www.gettyequinenutrition.biz/products/antioxidantconcentrate.htm

In addition, I would recommend weaning her off of a sweet feed and offering one that is lower in sugar and starch. Excessive carbohydrates can have a detrimental effect on bone health. Of course, you are feeding very little, but it would be better if what you were feeding were doing good instead of possibly causing harm.

Glad to help!

Dr. Getty