I'm bumping this back up in hopes that Stacy or Ann (Parker on here) sees this -OR Barbie too whose little Red Dawn was born with hers out of socket. Both Stacy and Ann helped me immensely when I went through this, Barbie was going through it at about the same time as me.
Coxofemoral luxation is the dislocation of the head of the femur, or the ball of the thigh bone, out of the socket of the pelvis (acetabulum). This luxation is usually the result of trauma, in my case my little mare we think got her leg caught under a fence. The round ligament of the femoral head that normally holds the femoral head within the acetabulum, completely ruptures or pulls away from its attachment, causing the dislocation.
Depending on the severerity it usually Cannot be simply put back in. The two options are Euthanasia OR Femur Ostomy. The size of the horse is very important since the femur ostomy is mainly a dog operation.
I've spoken with Donna and directed her to speak with Stacy and Ann.
After speaking with both myself, as well as long talks with 2 specialists at UGA and a surgeon in Washington state I opted to not do either of the options they gave me.
In the Femur Ostomy the ball is removed and the leg left to set up a false joint out of scar tissue. I decided not to have the ball removed and the result is the same....the place my Glorys leg was in healed by setting up scar tisssue and forming a false joint. Xrays were taken every 3 months on it.
This was/is a LONG process. Today she runs -
on all 4 legs, bucks while running but not normal looking
: and plays and rears. She is doing absolutely wonderful today a year and a half after the injury. She was confined for 3 months, I went out and moved her EVERY 2 hours and YES at night also. I massaged her legs and moved her legs and we made a tilt table to ease her over on to. She was put on banamine for pain and took Gastro Gard, she was also on MSM and Corti flex. The first week she stood and would not move, the only time she moved was the day I went out there after deciding to put her down, sat down on the hay manger and started crying, she walked over to me and put her head against my back. After thay day every day was planned around making her as comfortable as possible. She responded to what I chose to do and made regular improvements, in a month and a half she moved her tail again for the first time, in 6 months she bent and lifted that leg, in 9 months she could stand and bear weight on that leg so I could rasp the opposite hoof without laying her down. IT is a LONG process but now seems like it did not take long at all, this was less than a year out of my life I gave to her, I bred her it was my responsibility to do as much as possible to make sure she live dpain free or was put down.
I have to watch her weight and make sure both back hoofs are balanced, other that that she is fine today....WAY spoiled.
I have learned this is VERY common in miniatures. There are a lot of them out there with dislocated legs if you see one with a slight limp or it jsut looks like one side of their hip is sunk down a little this is the reason.
It is caused by trauma- injury or by stifle problems where the stifle is locked and a misstep is taken to force the ball out of the socket or the horse was born with cups too small or shallow.
I hope Donna finds what she needs, she is a very nice person put into a bad situation and I pray for her and her colt.