Badly fused bone spavin

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arabmania

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Hi, My mare has bone spavin on her off side which has, unfortunately, badly fused. She appears sound in walk but is lame in trot. She cannot canter due to very limited flexion on that side. We tried the osphos injection approx 6 weeks ago which has not improved her at all...... infact she appears to be more lame now in trot.
My vet has suggested an operation that involves drilling a hole through the spavin. He says it sounds worse than it actually is and the prognosis is usually good.
Can anyone offer their experiences of this type of operation and what the outcome was.....
thank you in advance.
 
Is she lame in trot all the time? Can she canter about the field without a rider?
I haven't had that op as we ran out of insurance money, not sure whether it would work or not. My horses spavins have fused and he has limited flexion so we don't do much canter stuff but he can certainly belt round the field with no issue.
 
Hi. yes she is lame in trot all the time although she did show some improvement several weeks ago. I think the damp weather is possibly affecting her arthritis atm. She is currently unridden (my reasons probably belong on a different thread :( ). She doesn't voluntarily canter she only trots in the field. I am at odds as to what to do for the best regarding the operation that my vet is suggesting.
 
Yes I definitely think the damp weather makes it worse, I have definitely noticed my lad finding things slightly tougher as the weather and ground deteriorates.
Not being able to canter at all would concern me tho.
In theory the operation suggested sounds quite self explanatory however it was never offered as an option to us.
I presume x rays etc show it's not fused well and there is a clear way to drill to sort it?
 
Does the vet think it is mechanical or not if down to bad fusion? what will the drilling do (it is usually to surgically fuse but if the hock has already fused is the intention it will 're fuse' better?
 
yes the hock has fused. The reason for the drilling is to help free up the fusion, which is currently bone on bone, in the hope that the bone will re fuse better? I am at odds with it all and do not know what to do for the best. She is now 22 yrs young. Loves her ridden work (although she has been unridden for 3 months ). Exercise is the best thing for arthritis and i want to keep her as active as i can for as long as i can...... however i am not comfortable riding a lame horse. hence not being ridden for a few months. When i say she cannot canter.... i don't mean she doesn't canter......i mean she is totally disunited. Thought please :(
 
Really, in terms of experiences... it is entirely reasonable to ask the vet who will be operating how many of these they do per year/have ever done/etc and what their personal success rate it. Similarly rates at that horspital (assuming this isn't something done standing) for recovery from the GA itself. These can vary a lot for a variety of reasons...
 
I guess my question was has the vet said she is in pain with or it does it just not function (ie just a mechanical issue). I think that makes a difference on my opinion of how I would proceed.
 
ester said:
I guess my question was has the vet said she is in pain with or it does it just not function (ie just a mechanical issue). I think that makes a difference on my opinion of how I would proceed.
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Yes this for me too. If it's mechanical then I probably wouldn't bother. My horse is mechanically lame as in he doesn't have quite the flexion you would expect but he isn't in pain and can hack out great although wouldn't look great on a dressage test!
If she is in pain tho, and the op could solve that then I would consider
 
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I guess my question was has the vet said she is in pain with or it does it just not function (ie just a mechanical issue). I think that makes a difference on my opinion of how I would proceed.
Yes this for me too. If it's mechanical then I probably wouldn't bother. My horse is mechanically lame as in he doesn't have quite the flexion you would expect but he isn't in pain and can hack out great although wouldn't look great on a dressage test!
If she is in pain tho, and the op could solve that then I would consider
Read more at http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/foru...2-Badly-fused-bone-spavin#fK9dc7o0mLjDICiV.99


Excellent points!!!! Thankyou!!!!! I had not differentiated between the two. Will speak to my vet.
 
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