miss_bird
Well-Known Member
Well done you must be so pround, she is looking fab
Before and after 4 months of competition livery
- Thread starter Achinghips
- Start date
tallyho!
Following a strict mediterranean diet...
Think I'll go with the majority of the positive comments as opposed to the minority negative comment from you
Yes, you should, sorry I was out of order.
Maybe its your brain thats upside down?
lol
You're quite right, it is.
Pedantic
Well-Known Member
Nice big ginger sausage, lovely 
hunting mad
Well-Known Member
Achinghips
Well-Known Member
I have had some bad/good news - don't known what to think and I need some advice.
Vet has been. She is the best she can be with her hocks - I CANNOT keep pushing her to work from behind, she is doing the best she can and she is wonderful - for her ability
Her bone spavin (osteoarthritis of the hocks) is still making her lame and she has a sore back. She will always find it difficult to engage from behind as she is - but for now she is achieving her potential and vet is delighted
Vet has given me 3 options - (she has already had steroid injections into hocks last year, results were relatively short lived):-
1. Do nothing
2. Long term bute to make her more comfortable and maybe hocks will fuse on their own
3. Fuse the hocks with ethyl alcohol injections - no guarantee to reduce lameness, as osteo will continue to happen underneath fusion, so long term bute still probable.
Dilemma:
Insurance for those hocks runs out mid June this year. Important point according to vet: what do I want to do with her? Answer: nowt - she's a happy hack and sale value isn't an issue, we are together forever, she is my responsibility.
My Mentor thinks I should try bute/danelon for 4 weeks and review.
What we think?
Vet has been. She is the best she can be with her hocks - I CANNOT keep pushing her to work from behind, she is doing the best she can and she is wonderful - for her ability
Her bone spavin (osteoarthritis of the hocks) is still making her lame and she has a sore back. She will always find it difficult to engage from behind as she is - but for now she is achieving her potential and vet is delighted
Vet has given me 3 options - (she has already had steroid injections into hocks last year, results were relatively short lived):-
1. Do nothing
2. Long term bute to make her more comfortable and maybe hocks will fuse on their own
3. Fuse the hocks with ethyl alcohol injections - no guarantee to reduce lameness, as osteo will continue to happen underneath fusion, so long term bute still probable.
Dilemma:
Insurance for those hocks runs out mid June this year. Important point according to vet: what do I want to do with her? Answer: nowt - she's a happy hack and sale value isn't an issue, we are together forever, she is my responsibility.
My Mentor thinks I should try bute/danelon for 4 weeks and review.
What we think?
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sun-shine
Well-Known Member
I agree. Bit of grooming and feed but not a lot else.. sorry
ETA just seen your post above which explains it
Achinghips
Well-Known Member
What a really helpful post, perhaps I should have her shot - Thankyou
sun-shine
Well-Known Member
Was that aimed at me..?
Achinghips
Well-Known Member
Yes
sun-shine
Well-Known Member
What a ridiculous response
Don't post pictures on a forum if you don't want opinions. Did you send mean little pms to the poster I quoted as well, or is it just me that gets the honour?
Achinghips
Well-Known Member
Not at all sunshine,In fact I think my pm said "thankyou" and that was all - that is not mean - I really am looking for advice. What would you advise me to do for my beautiful disabled girl? I have a life changing decision to make and seek advice from the experienced and knowledgeable people of H&H
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sun-shine
Well-Known Member
maybe I read both that and your comment wrong. Sure sounds sarcastic to me. Sorry if I misread that Ilovefoals
Well-Known Member
It depends on your ambitions for her. Don't let the vet talk you into something which you are not sure about. If schooling and competing is important to you, then go for the jabs to fuse the joint. If you are quite happy to hack, maybe just leave her to see if the joint will fuse by itself. It's a difficult choice I know as I've been there. My mare did respond well to the original injections and has had steroids 3 times now. But not for the last 6 yrs. She's sound enough to hack, pop wee fences occasionally and do a novice dressage test. I had to stop with the dressage at elementary/medium as she just couldn't engage her hocks enough or cope with a lot of lateral stuff. I'm lucky in that my friend is taking her on as a hack and I have a younger horse who I'm now working with to be a competition horse. I hope that helps a little?! PM me if you like. x
sun-shine
Well-Known Member
What pros are there to fusing the hocks with ethyl alcohol injections? If as you say they would fuse but she would still be lame.. is this just a possibility or is it quite likely? What is it about the process of fusing the hocks this way that has a different soundness outcome to the hocks fusing naturally?
Achinghips
Well-Known Member
Thankyou for your experienced advice, it is lovely to see such generosity of spirit out there, this girl is my life - she is my only horse and I am a "mature" rider. May will stay with me forever, until she is shot. My only goal right now is her comfort and the fitness for her back. I do not want her to be sore and I want her to be painfree or at least as comfortable as she can be for as long as I can make this last - this is such a blow to me - I thought I had her going so well and I was happy, now I know my girl is sore. Competition, despite my initial hopes - is, out the window.
I will pm you tomorrow - thankyou so much for your support
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unbalanced
Well-Known Member
Have you tried Tildren? It seems to have worked well for my pony and my vet sings its praises.
If it comes to that with my horse (who thankfully is still working well after injections last November) I will probably have the vet help the hocks fuse with insurance money. If you do nothing she will still be in pain so you will have to bute her to take away the pain, if you fuse them you have the possibility of getting her sound before the insurance runs out, which for me would be a major factor. That said, apparently they can cope for 5-10 years on daily bute (we have some on our yard on it for navicular) so if she is sound on it then it is very viable so you might not have to write her off just yet!
Good luck! I have all the sympathy in the world because I might end up in the same position as you. I hope it all works out and keep us posted.
If it comes to that with my horse (who thankfully is still working well after injections last November) I will probably have the vet help the hocks fuse with insurance money. If you do nothing she will still be in pain so you will have to bute her to take away the pain, if you fuse them you have the possibility of getting her sound before the insurance runs out, which for me would be a major factor. That said, apparently they can cope for 5-10 years on daily bute (we have some on our yard on it for navicular) so if she is sound on it then it is very viable so you might not have to write her off just yet!
Good luck! I have all the sympathy in the world because I might end up in the same position as you. I hope it all works out and keep us posted.
Shilasdair
Patting her thylacine
A difficult decision for you.
I don't think I can give any advice without more information, really - how lame is she? How old is she? When did the bone spavins develop? What do you want to do with her and will you keep her even if not rideable?
S
Pedantic
Well-Known Member
Whats, knife necked ?
Achinghips
Well-Known Member
I think it means lack of muscle on the neck - she finds it hard to build up muscle there as she has trouble working from behind due to her hock osteoarthritis - and she's a Tb. I think the term is being used towards her in a derrogative manner - some people find doing that fun.
Maesfen
Extremely Old Nag!
If you post pics on a public forum you are going to get some that disagree with you whether you like it or not but adults normally accept it in the spirit it was meant, ie, a genuine comment of what that person thinks but a different viewpoint from your own. No malice is intended with it but different eyes see different things otherwise what's the point of asking for other's views. You don't have to like it but it's very childish to get shirty about it and to send shirty PMs as they were only doing what you asked for, constructive criticism.
FWIW I agree with both Tallyho and Sunshine but on the other hand I accept you have done well with an old mare that has underlying soundness issues.
A mare of that age will have lost her normal elasticity a long time ago due to it being unused and it does not come back just like that; like humans, her body will have stiffened up, let alone the problem with her hocks for her to compensate. I do wonder whether she has been pushed too far too quickly for the age and shape she was in with regard the Pessoa and schooling and think she would have been far better off being worked far more naturally and gently as you would for fittening horses that have been laid off for some time so that her muscles would have adapted easier instead of being forced into a false outline before her muscles had regained any strength and elasticity. Hacking is an excellent tool to increase fitness; once fitness is achieved, then is the time to bring in un-natural aids if you must and with the amount of time she's had off, for her sake, she should only just be about ready to go in the school for short periods let alone using a Pessoa that many times a week. It's a quick fix tool which won't have done her ageing muscles at that particular stage of her fitness, that much good I'm afraid, it was a bit unfair to ask her of it IMHO.
If you can make her comfortable enough to hack out then I personally feel that is as much as you can expect or ask from her, I'm sorry; she looks a nice mare.