X-Rays & Scans for Pea

Not the greatest photo! & please mind the mucky pony!

Pea has had a lump on his stifle which has been there for about a year or two. He got it checked when it first appeared and Alex, our vet from Oakham, didn't think it was anything to worry about but to keep an eye on it. However, with Pea's recent behaviour, I decided it was worth getting it checked to be 100% sure it wasn't anything to worry about. 

We trotted him up before Vicki clipped the area where the lump is. He was a little saint for the whole thing and I found it rather amusing when Vicki mentioned that Alex refers to him as 'the Legend'! Not sure if it's a good thing or not but hey ho! I stepped out the stable whilst he was being x-rayed, which he ended up needing to be sedated for as he decided to show how handy he can be with his back legs! They took quite a few images at different view points but they all showed that the lump is not bony at all. It also showed that there's no arthritis but that there is an area where the bone is more dense which could be due to a previous kick that we weren't aware of. 

Following the x-rays, the lump was then scanned. It was fascinating to see the scan as I've only ever seen still images. It all looks a little bit complicated but it shows that the lump is on top of a ligament. It doesn't appear to be joined to the ligament but Vicki wanted to check with Alex to be 100% certain. However, she did say that it's very unlikely to be causing any of his behavioural issues. 

I'm quite glad that I had it investigated, although I'm not looking forward to the bill :( Pea's now having a week off whilst I'm working and then I go away for the weekend. When I return he's having the physio as he's been leaning in a lot in canter, especially on the right rein so I want to get that investigated a bit. 

Thanks for reading,
Laura xx