Will BoSe fix this leg? Update on therapy that is working so far!

[freemotion]

He also had the loose hocks that went too far forward, but a day after his first BoSe injection, the hocks are fine. This crooked leg is rather firmly crooked, however. I try to "physical therapize" it by gently stretching it towards straight...it feels pretty firm, though. He can walk and hop on it. Will more BoSe do the trick? Any tips for me?

 

[Roll farms]

Are you saying that it's sort of fixed in that position / won't bend easily?

I'm sorry, I've never had one I couldn't bend, so I'm not sure what to tell you.

I'm not sure BoSe would help, as the vet explained it to me, it contracts the tendons, making 'loose' ligs tighten up. Sounds like his may be too tight in that leg.

I would try to move it as much as possible in the opposite direction, POSSIBLY even brace it straight *if* it will bend, but just goes back automatically.

That's just my gut instinct from your description...what I think and what *needs* to be done may be wayyy polar opposites.

 

[freemotion]

Yeah, I can't really get it to straighten. The picture is pretty accurate, although it looks like he is bending it to walk. You can also see that the foot is not directly lined up with the fetlock and cannon bone (called the same in a goat as in a horse?) but deviates inward. Guess this would be club foot?

 

[Snowhunter]

I'm just throwing this out there.. I know not much about goats, so take it with a grain of salt..

Horses have what is called a check ligament, at the back of thier knee. If you've ever seen a younger horse "over at the knees", short or tight check ligaments are the generally the cause. They will cut them, or graft extra ligament tissue into them to allow the legs to be straight and plumb, like they should be. (Had a horse injure one when doing hill gallops due to hyperextension)

Now I have NO idea if this can transfer over to goats or not, but its possible. (my gogglefu turned up nuttin tho)

 

[ksalvagno]

I had an alpaca cria that was like that. The owners took him to the vet. The tendon was too short to do surgery. He would have been walking on his ankle. Unfortunately, the owner had to make the choice to put him down. He was healthy otherwise. If his foot was that way in the womb, then the tendon is probably permanently contracted that way. If it truly is not stretchable at all and you can't get his foot straightened properly, it is probably permanently like that. You may have to make some tough decisions.

 

[helmstead]

You may have to make some tough decisions.

Not if you're willing to have a pet wether. They get along fine with fused joints...even really BADLY fused joints. See?
http://helmsteadstables.com/LG.htm

She's 4 years old and a great babysitter.

 

[freemotion]

Whoa, he isn't nearly as bad as that Little Gimp! His hoof does touch the ground. I will work on the check ligament as well as gently stretching the joint, but it looks like it is too late. He will do fine as long as he isn't kept with someone who is too rough and knocks him about.

So, it is too late for BoSe for him....So much for religiously keeping fresh minerals out! I even hand feed everyone when I put fresh ones out a couple of times a week or more. I make sure everyone gets their share while they are fresh. Peach, although young, is far from the lowest...she is second in command now, higher than her mom. So she got all the minerals she wanted.

Let's talk selenium deficiency, please. Was it because there were three and that was just too many for this doe?

 

[20kidsonhill]

I don't think another shot of bo-Se will fix that, Maybe time will straighten it out as the kids grows, maybe bracing, but my guess it may just stay that way, We had a set of triplets born a couple years ago and two of the kids had bent front legs and fused at the knees, but they were bent all the way under the body at the knee, needless to say they didn't make it. This year that same doe had a badly deformed mummy. We are going to try copasure with her next breeding, she does have a fish-tail.

 

[helmstead]

With LG - she was a litter of triplets out of a SEVERELY malnourished doe. ALL THREE KIDS were born soft-boned, as in there had been no conversion of the leg cartilage to bone pre-birth. The, ahem, "breeder" said they were as floppy as rag dolls.

In that case, it was probably selenium, copper, calcium all together that caused them to be like that.

In your guy's case, I almost wonder, given how tangled up they were, if he wasn't just cramped in-utero and contracted for that reason. If you can call an equine vet, they have an injection for contracted tendons that works REALLY well on foals (cannot for my life remember what it is!)...

 

[ksalvagno]

My personal finding is that while they do still need the mineral out every day, I still have to give them shots of Bose twice a year and copper bolus twice a year. The minerals just aren't enough. I'm sure the people who make the minerals are too afraid to make them as strong as they really need to be for fear of a goat overeating it and getting toxicity. I also know that they can only legally put so much selenium into a product that is sold to the masses. My alpaca feed has way more selenium than the average alpaca feed but it is specially mixed and only sold to private alpaca breeders and not in the stores en-mass.

I know there was someone that was having success with kelp but I looked into the cost and it was just too cost prohibitive for me. A bottle of Bose is $37 for me and goes a long way before I need another bottle.