Advice needed please?

[Bluebell7000]

I have a 9 year old WB that has just been diagnosed with osteoarthritis in his neck joints c6/c7, kissing spine T12 to T17 and osteoarthritis in both hocks ?

The vets are confident that after a strict rehab program and steroid treatments into effected joints that he could come back into some sort of work!! Has anyone any experiences good or bad?

 

[dorsetladette]

I haven't experience with any of your horses issues, but I didn't want to read and run. So here is a friendly 'bump' to get your thread back to the top.

 

[ycbm]

I'm really sorry, but with arthritis at the front and at the back and kissing spines in the middle, I wouldn't even try unless returning the horse to work meant everything in life to me.

 

[Goldenstar]

You are going to pay the vets a fair bit of money for steroid jabs and the like and yes you may get the horse into some work having struggled through the winter on a rehab programme but it won’t long with so many issues before troubles are back .

 

[IrishMilo]

That's a REALLY crap set of diagnoses, sorry. I wouldn't even try either. Your vets are right, he would come back into a level of work, but is that really fair?

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

I'm sorry but I wouldn't put the horse through the treatment and rehab needed for all those conditions. The osteoarthritis is degenerative so I can't see that the horse is going to be comfortable for long. I would have a serious conversation with the vet and really explore what percentage of likelihood is there that the horse will have a good quality of life for any prolonged period of time.

 

[AmyMay]

I wouldn’t try either tbh.

 

[Polos Mum]

I liked the comment in an article recently that horses need to thrive not just survive. You might be able to inject him up to get him to do a little gentle work but it's a massive expense of £ and time to slightly delay the inevitable.
Too many inter-related things that won't be resolved.

 

[Carrottom]

I don't have personal experience but in similar situations I would say it is your trust in your vets that is important and to be able to have detailed conversations with them.
You have had detailed diagnostic work done so I would want to be able to discuss the various options candidly with the vets.

 

[QueenT]

What a sad set of diagnoses... our pony “only” has spavin in one hock, and we haven’t had a single month without vet bills for 1,5 years. She is doing fine now, but definitely not performing to the level she was purchased for (that’s ok, but that’s probably your outlook too) According to vet we are good at spotting a slight decline in soundness - but in his words, when we see it, she has felt it earlier.