Bone spavin... He's been diagnosed!

milesjess

milesjess

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After a month of lameness, mis-diagnosis and box rest my boy finally went to the vets yesterday.

He's been diagnoised with bone spavin his hocks :(

Ive had him 7 months now and we've only done light work but I'm lead to believe spavin is formed long term...

He's on a course of injections every 4 days for the next 4 weeks and dandelion twice per day. Hes finally allowed turnout again.

Please can someone help who has experienced this before?

I'm not expecting to have him in heavy work or even take him jumping, but just a general idea on a horses future with spavin, treatment and does/donts.

Thank you!
 
I think it depends how severe they are. My friends horse has spavins and went sound after the injections so she still jumps British Novice/Discovery on her. The mare seems to enjoy her work and hasnt gone lame from it! On my old yard another horse had spavins, injections didnt really help so he became a hack on soft surfaces only :)
 
My boy has spavins and after a year of treatments he's finally coming right after having the surgery to fuse them 9 weeks ago. He's a rare case though as many stop being lame after cortisone or tildren etc. But mine didn't. It's not the end of the world though as when they are fused he shouldn't really feel any pain and can get on with whatever he feels comfortable and the way mine is feeling he could jump over the moon if I let him
 
You're right that it's a long term thing. Unfortunately the proper name for spavins is degenerative joint disease of the hock so it is only going to get worse except that fortunately we can do a lot to treat it and reduce the symptoms.
My mare has bilateral spavins - last autumn she had steroid injections and Tildren in February which brought her beautifully sound.
The vet said to bring her back into full work, just to be careful about showjumping as tight turns to jumps are hard on their hocks. To be honest I tend to do a clear round or a minimus then get bored and go home rather than real SJ like Snowysadude's friend so the vet said that was ok but still avoid tight turns in jump offs which is fine. If I wanted to do an open I would just do one class and do wide turns. XC is fine apparently as it's straight lines. We did some sponsored rides in the spring which she loved and she was jumping like a stag (proper 3'6 fences not mini fences).
She's come up a bit creaky again and we are coming to the end of the insurance so we are retreating with steroids, Tildren and Adequan (which is the same injections as you are having). I had my first ride after the steroids last night and you would have thought she was a trotter she was feeling so good!
I also use magnetic stable chaps when she is in at night and make sure she gets turned out every day. Arthritis can cause stiffness in the back so I have an equilibrium massage pad for her. The back man told me she is also tight in her lumber area and I need to do travers and renvers to help her stretch it out. It is definitely worth getting them checked regularly though and doing stretches in the stable. Their hamstrings can get tight as well as their backs as they compensate.
Your farrier can also help - my pony has lateral extensions and rolled toes to make breakover easier and more comfortable.
In terms of supplements - she was on synequin then when I went away she got changed to glucosamine by vet and YO. When the insurance runs out I am going to change to riaflex as it has all the ingredients of synequin but as it isn't the vet prescribed one it is much cheaper. I only heard of it recently through some people on here.
You also need to make sure they get regular exercise - my pony doesn't really get days off because it's much better for them if you're consistent. In winter if I can't turn her out I yard walk her or play with her in the mornings before riding in the evenings so she gets out twice.
I hope that helps. Good luck and it will be ok!
 
milesjess said:
After a month of lameness, mis-diagnosis and box rest my boy finally went to the vets yesterday.

He's been diagnoised with bone spavin his hocks :(

Ive had him 7 months now and we've only done light work but I'm lead to believe spavin is formed long term...

He's on a course of injections every 4 days for the next 4 weeks and dandelion twice per day. Hes finally allowed turnout again.

Please can someone help who has experienced this before?

I'm not expecting to have him in heavy work or even take him jumping, but just a general idea on a horses future with spavin, treatment and does/donts.

Thank you!
Click to expand...

I'm not much help but just wanted to say I am at the exact same point as you, just recieved diagnosis mild in one hock moderate in the other. And not at stage of doing all the research I can to manage it long term. My girl was lucky though so far, hasn't been lame apart from on flexion tests. Schooling and unusual wearing down of the shoes was the catalyst for me to find out.
Good luck and please keep us informed on progress I'd be really interested.
 
milesjess said:
After a month of lameness, mis-diagnosis and box rest my boy finally went to the vets yesterday.

He's been diagnoised with bone spavin his hocks :(

Ive had him 7 months now and we've only done light work but I'm lead to believe spavin is formed long term...

He's on a course of injections every 4 days for the next 4 weeks and dandelion twice per day. Hes finally allowed turnout again.

Please can someone help who has experienced this before?

I'm not expecting to have him in heavy work or even take him jumping, but just a general idea on a horses future with spavin, treatment and does/donts.

Thank you!
Click to expand...


I think Danilon might work better ;) though it's not as cheap! As unbalanced said, for the rest of it.
 
brighteyes said:
I think Danilon might work better ;) though it's not as cheap! As unbalanced said, for the rest of it.
Click to expand...

Haha, thanks for that ;)

Thank you for the advice folks, sounds like there are a number of routes to take to find the right treatment for him. I'll certainly be looking into it more and will speak with his farrier to find the best option for him.

Many thanks, will keep you updated :)
 
alma said:
On this subject, if horses have joint injections do they have to go on box rest ? Sorry to be thick but not had experience of this
Click to expand...

Yes, usually for two days. The reason is to prevent infection as the needle has obviously penetrated the joint you want to keep it very clean rather than turning them out. Also with the steroids there is a risk of laminitis so you need to soak their hay for the two days as well and be extra-vigilant. My vet prefers that I just stand her on the yard while I muck out and don't even yard walk for 48 hours. I am currently on day 5 after joint injections and Tildren - I am allowed to ride in walk/trot/canter in straight lines for the next month but no schooling! The vet will come back to see me then.

I hope that helps :)
 
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