Bone spavin!! any advice!

[sm07097550]

My horse was diagnosed with bone spavin about a year and a half ago. Since then she has been in and out of work because of the problem. I was advised by my vet to put her on a course of danilon and keep working her. However, she is currently out of work and not on any painkillers as i dont want to keep giving her painkillers.

I am considering putting her into foal this year to give her some time off, and give the bones a chance to fuse. However, i have heard that bone spavin can be heriditary. I have looked around in books and on the net but cannot come up with a definite answer as to whether it is or not! If i find that it is and im advised not to put her foal, it is likely that i will put her put in the field for some time off anyway, if it will help her.

Has anyone any advice or experience with bone spavin? Please share!!!

 

[scotsmare]

I've never heard of spavin's being hereditary

Just pick your stallion carefully if your mares conformation is contributing to her problems.

 

[nicnag]

My mare has spavin and this was a question I asked the specialist who treated her. He said the only way it could be considered hereditary is by breeding from animals with poor conformation as Scotsmare has already said. My mares spavin is probably down to an accident she had as a youngster. I worked mine until the spavin had fused but reduced the level of work she was doing and she decided what we did, if it was too much we steped it down.

 

[poppydolly]

hi there i may or may not be in the same predicament . my 17.3h gelding appears to be showing symtoms of the same and although as yet undiagnosed its looking pretty likely. i have been to a website today called 'just answer' and recieved fantastic advice from and online equine surgeon who is based in the states . i am in the process of emailing back and forth and the info is really helpfull . you may want to give it a go. xx

 

[FAYEFUDGE]

Hi, My boy was diagnosed with a bone spavin, in his near hind, in Sept 08.
At that time it was 80% fused.
My vet advised me to keep him in work and use Danilon, as and when necessary.
The work helps to speed up the fusing.
By March 09 his spavin had fully fused - he is sound and working away as normal (touch wood lol!).
I have Fudge on a good joint supplement (Riaflex 50:50), Omega oil and Devils claw.
Workwise I made sure I warmed him up well and cooled him down properly, I avoided small circles or bad/hard ground - I was also told to avoid going "down" steep hills as this is hard/painful for horses suffering from a spavin.
Good luck!

 

[Delta99]

My mare is showing signs of this, after a bad fall in the field last year. still in the process of investigating but am also considering putting her in foal.
Read that it might be hereditary, as certain breeds like icelandic ponies seem to be more prone to it.
I would try to get some info on your horses parents and if possible on any other foals they have produced to see if any of them show signs of this.

 

[Birker2020]

I would recommend intra arcticular injections and Tildren. Tildren is £350-£400 per go but it has been very affective for my horse. It is administered in an infusion over 1/2 to 1 hour duration. Little side effects. In a horse with navicular or any other chronic bone condition—ringbone, for instance, or osteoarthritis of the hock (bone spavin) —Tildren inhibits bone deconstruction by shutting down what are known as osteoclasts. Osteoclasts, like hungry termites, digest bone, and Tildren impedes their progress.

More scientifically, Tildren is a class of substances known as bisphosphonates, which inhibit osteoclast action and the resorption of bone. In healthy horses, bone is constantly being remodeled. This is how animals get stronger; when the skeletal structure is stressed through training, it responds by making new bone tissue. Osteoclasts in a healthy horse eat away old bone to make room for the new and denser bone, which is formed with the help of osteoblasts. But typically, osteoblasts work much more slowly than the nibbling osteoclasts. This is especially important in horses with navicular syndrome and other chronic bone conditions, where the bone breakdown process may exceed the bone rebuilding process, explained veterinarian Rick Mitchell, of Fairfield Equine Associates in Newtown, Conn.

“By reducing bone breakdown and further degeneration, the thought is that the drug reduces pain,” Mitchell explained. “Before Tildren, we didn’t have anything that could do this.”

 

[sm07097550]

Thank you for all your comments, they have helped a lot! I looked at that website just answer, but realised you have to pay. How much did you have to pay for the advice?

My mares sire is Blue Rajah and her dam is Coral Belle. I know of a few horses also by Blue Rajah and as far as i am aware none have bone spavin. I know nothing about her dam other than she is an Irish Sport Horse, as Coral Belle's breeding is not recorded on my mares passport.

 

[poppydolly]

hi there yes i paid £16 for the answers that i asked questions on but you can ask as many questons and send several to them and only pay when you are totally happy with the response. My horse is by 'farney clover by cloverhill and the dam 'sextons girl' none of which appear to have known faults but when i first started asking around people stated that as my horse was very tall that seemed to be a common problem and often in heavy boned animals that were crossed with finer ones i have no idea if there is any factual evidence to that but it doesnt help that i adore the horse and seem unable to do anything with him.. . xx

 

[Birker2020]

Sorry SazM I just realised I didn't reply correctly to your question. I know OCD is heridatary as there is someone trying to loan out a coloured broodmare atm that has that and also OCD which I think is totally wrong as it is a breeding loan.