bone spavin bothering her or pulled muscle??

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jessicaamy88

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my horse was diagnosed with bilateral bone spavin about 2 years ago.. i had all the scans/xrays etc done and she ended up having steroid injections and i was told by my vet to light hack for a year or breed from her. i chose to breed a gorgeous foal from her and have just started bringing her back into work. i have noticed she is short on her near hind when riding in the school and has a habit of trying to miss trot out! (she will trot if i make her with pricked ears so not sure if this is just beacause she is fresh) but after a while she gets a bit nappy and doesnt seem to want to go!!
our school is quite deep so is quite hard for her to work in and with her being quite fat and unfit im not sure if shes just being a typical "stroppy mare" or if she has strained a muscle (causing her to be short) OR her spavin is bothering her??
she is an absolute diamond out hacking and is never a bother to trot/canter but seems to dislike any schooling work.

any suggestions please??? :)
 
Most horses with spavins find school work more difficult than hacking it is much harder with the constant turning especially if the going is deep.

They also tend to get tight in their backs and need regular physio to help relieve this, I would get her looked at, the saddle may also need looking at as she may have changed shape.
 
be positive said:
Most horses with spavins find school work more difficult than hacking it is much harder with the constant turning especially if the going is deep.

They also tend to get tight in their backs and need regular physio to help relieve this, I would get her looked at, the saddle may also need looking at as she may have changed shape.
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hi, thanks for reply :) i am aware that schooling is more strenuous and to avoid tight circles etc but as it was her first week back in work after approx 2 years i thought it was my safest option. its the napping thats worrying me as she has never napped before or refused to go forward :\ im getting her saddle looked at this week so will see if that improves anything.
 
My mare also has bone spavin, both hocks and has steroid jags approx every 12 months. Didn't work on the first attempt but did on the second and I was given a strict program for her. 5 days off, walking for the next 14 days etc. After 4 weeks vet re-visited and said carry on as normal she is as sound as she will ever be. We still do everything as before, jumping, dressage, schooling etc and yes she is short at the back and finds bending harder but doesn't really stop her. She does have physio every 3 months and my farrier keeps an eye on her shoes for uneven wear. Still going clear in most of her jumping comps so as long as she's happy and pain free it's very managable. I was never told to just hack her, vet said some top dresssage and event horses have this and as lond as managed, doesn't affect them too much. Good luck x
 
He did say to build her up with a weeks walkin then start a bit of trotting etc which is what I'm doing anyway (with her just coming back into work) I'm thinking the school is too deep and is straining her hocks causing her to be stroppy as like i said.. She is fine out hacking! Do you have special shoes on yours or use any supplements etc?
 
A horse I look after has it in both her hocks, she is 22, it was diagnosed at 18 but she probably had it a while before this age, the owner purchased her at 18. She cant do school work, its just too hard for her. Vet told us to gently hack her out, straight lines are easier and roadwork more fittening and strengthening. Also told to give her some bute to help her and basically to keep her in light work to keep her strong. Thats what we do and it seems to be working. My guess is that the napping is pain related and she's trying to tell you it hurts. Sounds from what your saying that she's happiest hacking out so if I were you I would do just that. When shes fitter you could try her again in the school, if its too hard for her then she will let you know!
 
I too spent the first two weeks walking flat even surface then next two weeks introducing trot for a few steps gradually building up more trot if she was happy. After that I started to work on getting her fit and doing canter work. If I am going to a H/T or jumping comp I give her a sachet of bute the night before and one the night she has jumped. She seems to be happy with this. She also started getting nappy by just stopping on hacks which is why I got vet in first place. She didn't want to go forward or even turn for home so we were just stuck there! Not like her so I knew something was wrong and she started kicking the stable walls even in the middle of the night. I now know she was trying to get rid of the pain. As she is a welsh cob she puts on weight easily and the steroids can bring on laminitis so work for her is an absolute must, especially at this time of year with all the grass too! She is not on anything else and the lessons I have been having in the school don't bother her much. She can't turn as quick and our dressage test results always say she doesn't work from behind enough but I know she finds this hard so I deal with it. She is back to the happy wee horse she was before now, rather than the crabby little cow she turned into before diagnosis and treatment. I thought about selling her cos lots of people told me she was being naughty but in my heart I knew something was wrong!
 
missmischief said:
I too spent the first two weeks walking flat even surface then next two weeks introducing trot for a few steps gradually building up more trot if she was happy. After that I started to work on getting her fit and doing canter work. If I am going to a H/T or jumping comp I give her a sachet of bute the night before and one the night she has jumped. She seems to be happy with this. She also started getting nappy by just stopping on hacks which is why I got vet in first place. She didn't want to go forward or even turn for home so we were just stuck there! Not like her so I knew something was wrong and she started kicking the stable walls even in the middle of the night. I now know she was trying to get rid of the pain. As she is a welsh cob she puts on weight easily and the steroids can bring on laminitis so work for her is an absolute must, especially at this time of year with all the grass too! She is not on anything else and the lessons I have been having in the school don't bother her much. She can't turn as quick and our dressage test results always say she doesn't work from behind enough but I know she finds this hard so I deal with it. She is back to the happy wee horse she was before now, rather than the crabby little cow she turned into before diagnosis and treatment. I thought about selling her cos lots of people told me she was being naughty but in my heart I knew something was wrong!
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oh really - i didnt know the steroids can bring on laminitis!!! my mare is on the large side obviously after having her foal so i will have to be extra careful now you have said that! hopefully if i can resolve this problem and get her into routine exercise she will lose some weight. did you only have the injections repeated after a year because they didnt work first time?? im not sure whether to contact my vet anyway and ask if its likely she needs another go! i have never ever had any problems with her napping which is what is worrying me the most!! do you have her on a joint supplement at all?? or have special shoes on her?
 
No she is on nothing but a bit of bute before competitions. We have jumping lessons twice a month in an outdoor school but I don't give her any then, Only when she's been to x country or Horse trials etc. She doesn't have any special shoes (may need them later in life) but as I ride her 4 or 5 times a week she is fully shod every 6 weeks anyway. Since developing this condition she does occasionally over reach now which she didn't before. Her first steroid jags were given after diagnosis, she also went to Hexham for Scyntigraphy(Spelt wrong) to make sure she didn't have it in her front ones too. Then she had first jags, by the time I had done the 4 days off, two weeks walking and then started short trots I knew they hadn't worked. Vet came out and seen her moving and agreed, so they were done again about 2 months later and done the whole program again. Last year she had them again in April and they worked first time but I know she will probably need them every 12 months. I am trying to wait till autumn if possible this year as I want the grass to go a bit first. Good Vets know how much to give them to minimise the laminitis risk but the risk is still there! I have had her a long time now and can tell when there is something wrong with her, she gets crabby and cross and stamps her feet and is just generally miserable, but since having treatment she's gone back to being a wee sweetie (most of the time) Went round a horse trials last weekend and didn't seem to have any probs, went round 100 mph and jumped everything as usual, she would not have been able to do that at first diagnosis that's for sure. If it's two years since you had the jags they prob do need done again. Then follow instructions and you should be fine. (my vet said "20 mins walking, no hills, no bends and when I say 20 mins time yourself") so he was very strict about it. Give it a go and don't write horse off just yet, can have a good horse for a long time yet.
 
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