I have a February Yearling Heifer that all of the sudden cannot walk. She has always been a little straight off of her front end, but since Saturday morning she has been walking terribly on hard surfaces. She walks fine on grass, but if you put her on gravel or a hard packed surface she starts short stepping off her front end. When I say short stepping, I mean that she will step maybe twelve inches with one front hoof. We were at our state breed show when it started. Banamine did not work, and neither did aspirin boluses. The University of Illinois vet clinic thinks it is laminitis (I think I spelled that right?), but no one else that I have talked to thinks that this is correct. We have not bumped her feed drastically in the past few weeks, and we have had trouble with the U of I diagnosing cattle before. They are going to do radial X-rays tomorrow morning to try and get a better look at everything. This is a high dollar heifer from Canada, and we don't want to spare any expense. I have basically resigned myself to the fact that I will not show her again, but I would like to be able to keep her as a cow.
So, does anyone have any ideas as to what this could be? Or, does anyone know of any vet we could call to get another opinion in the IL, IN, WI, IA, or MO area? And finally, if it is laminitis what do I have to look forward to in the next few months?
Thank you in advance for any and all help.
So, does anyone have any ideas as to what this could be? Or, does anyone know of any vet we could call to get another opinion in the IL, IN, WI, IA, or MO area? And finally, if it is laminitis what do I have to look forward to in the next few months?
Thank you in advance for any and all help.