any experiances with djd in youngsters? advice pleeease

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lynnandbella

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After numerous vet call outs on my now 4yr old i have changed vets , she went in for scans yesturday and diagnosis is severe djd, had this correctly diagnosed 2yrs ago i wouldnt be facing this dreadful.decision. Either she can have injections to surpress pain but wont stop degeneration of stifles, an operation would possibly make her a bit more comfortable but is unlikely.ahe will ever return to ridden work or the pain free option of putting her to sleep, has anyone had any good outcomes
 
Sorry to see this, is she insured? If so I personally would do all i could to see if it could bring her back to sound.

Esp if you can get her operated on at AHT or Newmarket, Sue Dyson would be who I would want to see her.

I would exhaust all possibilities and then look into PTS :(

Good luck!
 
The vet has just called me back, unfortunately it sounds as though the best option for her is to give her a few months pain relief and to be happy and painless, have he reassessed and go from there. I am totally devastated, as its badly affected both stifles and the cushioning has gone, there is literally bone rubbing on bone. Poor pony i do love her xxx
 
lynnandbella said:
its badly affected both stifles and the cushioning has gone, there is literally bone rubbing on bone. Poor pony i do love her xxx
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I am so sorry for you. I think you know the answer. The hard part will be carrying your decision through. If bone is rubbing on bone I don't think there is a lot you can do, but it would be worth a call to Sue Dyson to ask. If an operation is an option with a better prognosis than her ending up retired in a field then maybe it is worth exploring. Can you ask your vet to refer to Sue Dyson?
 
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Very sorry to hear your news. devastating.

If the cartilage has degraded then I don't think it's a simple case of finding the right person to do the surgery - the surgery can remove a few chips and even smooth off some roughness but it can't put back what's gone, especially if the condition is still deteriorating.

I will be really honest, severe stifle conditions do not have a particularly good prognosis. The joint is under a lot of stress and there is really no way a horse can not use it, even doing very low level tasks. I am particularly leery about conditions like this in horses just starting their careers when all the stress is in front of them and, however careful you are, they are bound to have "youthful moments" and require repetitive training even for very basic skills.

I hate to say it, but even an earlier diagnosis might not have changed things. There are horses that live long and happy lives with DJDs, some treated surgically, others not, but, as with all conditions, it's the condition itself that affects prognosis not just the efforts of owners and vets.
 
Yep, i know, i could go ringing round every surgeon in the country, get different pespectives, if she was a human or lighter animal that doesnt rely so much on the joints they would be replaced with new ones but the cushioning surrounding the joints and cartaledge has gone, they can and will operate if i wish, but they doubt she'll be able to stand after surgery as its so extensive in both stifles. She really truely is a beautiful kind hearted extremely well mannered pony, i would sell all i own if i could gaurantee she would get better , she is insured but i mustnt make her suffer for my benefit, she was given to me to help me get over losing my last horse 2 yrs ago and shes been the best help ever, the least i can Do is the right thing xxx
 
Really sorry to see the severity after my post, a second look at scans wont hurt, but it does sound like you only have one option, and not to be harsh but with winter coming do you really want to go through a few extra months?
 
She will have pain relief for a while, but im not willing to watch her turn into an arthritic mess, i have been asked if i want to loan her as a companion but i cant give her away its not going to get better, i truely.live that horse and strongly believe no animal should suffer like that, if there was the slughtest chance of a happy speedy recovery there would be no question, ive looked at implants allsorts but its just not an option with such a large animal, horses are just not built right poor sweeties xx
 
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