Bone Spavin = Back Pain??

[Dot1]

I was wondering if anyone has had any experience of BS causing back pain (reluctance to be mounted)? My mare is stiff in her hocks and always has been, tends to loosen after 15 mins on the lunge. Vets have always been unable to diagnose the cause saying 'she has something in her hocks probably arthritus and sacriallac (sp)joint'.

A horse on my yard has been diagnosed with BS and whilst reading up on the subject the symptoms seem to match hers. Also she can be very 'touchy' on her back (obviously had her back checked, and found slight displacement) and I have found it difficult to build a topline.

Any advice or feedback from BS sufferers (horses not owners!).

Thanks

 

[emilyw]

My boy has to have his back looked at every 3 months due to BS - due to his 'odd' action he puts more strain on his back all the time (the back person explains it better) but basically yes it wil cause issues with the back

 

[Kenzo]

Out of interest, were nerve and joint blocks carried out?

It is a condition that is confused with horses that have sore backs, often than not it can be bone spavin as it has a knock on effect on the horses back, because horses with spavin problems are not always forsed to be lame, often than not people automatically think there is problem with the horses back rather than starting at hocks.

 

[Rowreach]

Bone spavin will often cause compensatory sacroiliac and other back problems. It sounds like your horse would benefit from clinical diagnosis (ie xraying her hocks) and if she has BS then medication of the joints, which will alleviate the pain and reduce the strain on her back. Your farrier may be able to help also by putting rolled toe shoes on her hinds.

 

[Dot1]

No they never did either nerve or joint blocks.

It was just when I was looking at the information on BS and back pain that I suddenly thought it made sense. She has a strange action to me it looked like it came more from the pelvis but she is stiff in her hocks.

Looks like I will be giving the vets a call and treating the cause rather than the symptom. Feel awful if I didn't recognise the relationship between the two.

 

[Archangel]

Interesting post.
My horse has a kissing spine (confirmed by xray). My gut feeling is that there is a hindlimb problem too and this caused or contributed to the kissing spine but hind legs were more or less sidelined by the back problem.

The vet's eyes glaze over when I mention it but I am still convinced there is a hindleg problem, even more so now have found a couple of places in the field where he has dug a sort of trench with his hind legs so he stands resting hind toes down.

A retired farrier who happened to be leaning over the gate said "oh that's where the big boy is taking pressure off his legs, seen it lots of times" So back to the vet now!

So short answer is - def yes!

 

[Kenzo]

The vet will carry out flexion tests first and if anything shows up then they will do the blocks and lastly an xray, due to the amount of bones in the hocks.

Has the back person checked the horses back also?

 

[FAYEFUDGE]

My boy has suffered with bilateral bone spavin (now fused).
My physio said he was sore across his pelvis/rump area due to this.
I now get him checked every 6 mts.

 

[cob1]

My boy has had recurrent back pain, and we were unable to find anything significant. turns out, a chance check of his soles, and he has been footsore (bearing in mind hes a massive H/W cob!). Set of shoes on and hes fine - but the compensatory back pain was quite severe!!

SO i would defo say pain/slight lameness in leg(s) can cause back pain!

 

[SpruceRI]

[ QUOTE ]
No they never did either nerve or joint blocks.

It was just when I was looking at the information on BS and back pain that I suddenly thought it made sense. She has a strange action to me it looked like it came more from the pelvis but she is stiff in her hocks.



[/ QUOTE ]

Can you explain her strange action a little more?

Is it anything like this?:

Rode friends horse the other day. Had the weirdest action I've ever felt.

Couldn't trot in any rhythm at all. Every other stride it seemed to do a double bounce, and back dipped away every so often.

Owner wasn't sure that mare looked lame from the ground, but riding her, she felt terrible

 

[Dot1]

Yes back person check her over last week, pelvis was out as was a vertebrae on the spine.

The only way I can think to describe it is she walks with her left hind slightly pointing in with a majority of the weight on the outside of the hoof. Always short until she warms up.

BUT she doesn't look lame as such just an odd movement however she is uncomfortable in cold weather and being shod was very sore for her. So she is bare foot which is working well. Trots in rhythm fine, walks fine but this odd movement is noticeable and constant not intermittant.

 

[Kenzo]

How is the mares hind leg confirmation by any chance, does she track wide?

 

[Dot1]

Kenzo, sorry for sounding thick, but what do you mean by tracking wide?

 

[mtj]

i know of a horse that had kissing spines that went on to have hind tendon issues - maybe ask the vets for a scan?

 

[Dot1]

Now I am worried! I really hope its not kissing spines my last horse had it and had to be PTS

This doesn't seem the same with him all four legs were effected and it was lameness rather than an odd movement, or am i grasping at straws?

 

[mtj]

whoa! stop panicking!

I think what a lot of us are saying is that horses that have pain in one area, often have it in other areas due to compensatory movement.

my connie has spavins (x-rayed) and does get stiff in his back. so he also gets 3mth visits from physio and shares a magnotherapy rug and massage pad with my warmblood.

conversely, horses that primarily have back pain can also display lameness due their backs. i occasionally get sciatica - it makes me very unsound!

 

[Dot1]

Lol no I know what everyone is saying! My preset is worry/panic mode!

Think it is going to be a trip to the vets, to be sure though!

 

[Kenzo]

[ QUOTE ]
Kenzo, sorry for sounding thick, but what do you mean by tracking wide?

[/ QUOTE ]

Sorry I should of said why I asked, all I'm getting at that sometimes a horses hind leg confirmation will alter the movement which is sometimes over looked in which can cause symptoms of bone spavin if they horse is not lame and nothing shows up in flexion tests.
Horses that track wide from behind as opposed to being too close which is also not good, so they will have more difficulty tracking up correctly and coming through underneath, if you watch the hocks are not coming forward as far as they should be, which is why horses like this take alot more working in, which then takes a strain on the back end...thus thinking back problems.

You often see young stock travelling like this from behind but they grow out of it as the back end strengthens and once they have finished growing.

Horses with this problem will develop a second thigh but will have a very weak backend and often straight in the hocks in which case correct shoeing will help and just work them through it.

 

[Dot1]

Thanks Kenzo, now makes sense!