Bone Spavin- Jumping

[Hal1k1]

I have never considered jumping my gelding as I bought him with a bone spavin and splints (both at least 5 years before i got him) because of his temperament.

I divided the menage with poles set at about 4ft off the ground intending to do some groundwork I was stunned when without any encouragement from me he just decided to jump over. Judged it perfectly with plenty of height. He looked fantastic! So then I lowered apole to 18 inches so he could be on the side I wanted and he wouldn't even step over it at first.

What would be the best way to check how his legs are now as I am not prepared to jump him if it will cause him damage? Would x-rays be enough?

 

[Flicker]

When my mare was diagnosed with bone spavin, it was quite advanced and the vet took us down the route of allowing it to fuse naturally and she then came sound.
He advised strongly against jumping her, to give her more longevity and make her comfortable for longer. His reasoning was that we could carry on as normal, jumping and xc etc, but it would just mean that her useful life would be shortened and she'd have to be retired earlier. Popping the odd log out hacking or a couple of 50cm poles for a bit of fun was fine, but anything that put serious strain on her joints was strongly advised against.

There was a little cob at our yard a couple of years ago who had been jumped and hunted quite extensively after developing bone spavin. It was quite heartbreaking to see the level of stiffness in both hocks. She had to have her back shoes removed in the end because she couldn't lift her legs for the farrier and she went out each day like an old lady. She was a stark reminder of the need to be cautious with the management of these conditions.

 

[Ginger Bear]

My mum bought a tb gelding with a bone spavin (fused) & she used to just take him to a few local shoes in the summer.. he was always fine & loved his jumping but it wasn't big jumps or lots of classes..just the odd few. He was well into his 20's when we lost him to a growth on his stomach.

 

[skybluepinko]

Sounds like a cool horse! I bought an ex-eventer with a fused bone spavin, and he was supposedly fine to jump. But he never really liked it - he did go round novice BEs, but he'd put in unaccountable stops and finally threw in the towel altogether. He just seemed much happier sticking to dressage and I can only assume he was in pain with the pressure of jumping off his hocks.
I was a teenager then and, with hindsight, if I had him now I would just do fun small jumps out on hacks and sponsored rides, not competitive.

 

[tikino]

my lad has bone spavin in his hock and he jumped at riding club level and does some xc. He is sound and happy and would be the first to tell you if he wasn't. He is not pushed hard but loves his jumping

 

[unbalanced]

My horse has spavins. I asked my vet about jumping as I was bringing her back into work and she advised me:
- cross country is better than show jumping as it is straight lines and bounding over jumps rather than collected canter and tight turns
- a little bit of show jumping is ok. As in if there are some jumps out in the school and you fancy a play, or a clear round now and then, go for it. BSJA every weekend is not fair.
- avoid too much collected work in dressage (fat chance! we do prelim and hopefully will get onto some novice!)
- listen to your horse and what she is telling you.