Bone spavin - please post any experiences/advice for me?

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tractorgirl

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Also in NL - sorry but trying to get all the info I can

My much loved Sec D has been diagnosed with bi lateral distal tarsal osteoarthritis... bone spavin to you and me. He's my superstar, hacks anywhere, hunts, dressages up to Elementary, and was going to do my first intro next month. He's only 9. Am absolutely gutted.

Please does anyone have any experiences to share... particularly if the horse has come back to the same level competition as before the diagnosis. He doesn't owe me a thing, and will be with me whatever the outcome, but am wondering if I have any hope or should plan for field ornament/light hack only?

Am waiting for the vet to call tomorrow to discuss options, so any advice on what treatments you have seen would also be very gratefully received. In fact any replies would be lovely. I need a cyber hug right now.
 
((Hugs)) but not all bad news
My mare went very lame behind and was diagnosed with bone spavin- she had steroid injection in 2007 and *touchwood* has never needed one since! Been giving her cortavet, and due to lots of other leg issues as well is not hammered around on hard ground. She is just as good as ever- couple of months back-
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Thanks I_love_duns, that's good to hear and thanks ever so for the hug.

He's not very lame at all, only on a tight circle and even then only 1-2/10. I'll speak to the vet tomorrow about the injection and will hope for an outcome like yours...
 
My mare uses a Forbes Copper pastern strap for her back and legs, as they say copper helps with arthritis. Here is the link:

www.forbescopper.com/

I also use Newmarket Joint Supplement too.

He sounds lovely. Its nice to hear he'll be with you no matter what, let us know what the vet says.

Good luck x
 
My boy was diagnosed with bone spavin last September.
His spavin has now fully fused and he is back to work as normal.
He did not get any injections etc as his spavin was already 80% fused when initially diagnosed.
I just kept him in gentle regular exercise (as this helps speed up the fusion) and gave bute as and when necessary.
I also have him on Riaflex 50:50 joint supplement.
Good luck!
 
Same as FAYEFUDGE, my girlie's bone spavin was allowed to fuse, with some bute to keep her comfortable. I competed her unaffiliated in showing and dressage afterwards and often got comments about 'pleasing trotwork' / 'nice paces' etc. Once the spavin fused, apart from being advised not to jump her, she was exactly the same horse as she was before.
I found that she was most comfortable after about 20 minutes gentle warm-up.
Regular exercise is a must to keep them happy, I have found. In winter, she was a little slower to completely warm up, but that might just have been her hating the cold!
At her new home, she is out 24/7 and her new owner has not had a moment's bother with her in a year.
It is a fairly common condition and certainly, if properly managed, not too serious at all.
Big hugs, I'm sure your boy will be grand!
 
Thanks Shanny, I'll try one of those. He's a bit special this boy, despite his welsh moments! Of all the horses I've had through the years, I've never had a connection like I have with him. Sorry I sound a bit fluffy don't I? Expect you know what I mean though....
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My horse was diagnosed with BS in Nov last year. He had intra articular injections into the joints and Tildren by IV. He also had a course of adequan. He is about to do a Novice and Elementary dressage test competition at unaffiliated level and he is jumping, galloping around the field and doing every thing he could do before totally sound. He is having another Tildren by IV in May just to be on the safe side and the injections may need to be repeated but this is more before the claim runs out on my insurance rather than because he needs them as such. My horse has mild bone spavin. The best thing to do for yourself is to put him on a decent joint supplement. Try Equine America 10,000mg glucosamine and MSM and double the amount you give him for 14 days as a loading dose. MSM has been proven to be beneficial to horses with bone spavin in particular mild bone spavin. Its only about £15 and last for months. PM me for more help if you need it. x
 
Applecart that 's really good news, thank you so much.

He's on a glucosamine supplement at the moment, but will look at the EA one, it doesn't sound any more expensive that what he has at the moment. Cortavet has also been recommended but understand you have to get that from the vet. I'm hoping it's mild or early stages as he's not very lame, but won't know any more until the vet phones once he's had a detailed look at the Xrays.

I'm hearing a lot of good stuff about Tildren.
 
Hi. My mare was diagnosed with bone spavin in her right hind about a year and a half ago, i was advised by the vet to put her on danilon and keep her in light work. She has been in and out of work since then.

I decided to take her to re xray her leg yesterday as she was still not sound. However the vet said it is now the left hind she is lame on, so he x-rayed both legs. It turns out that she has bone spavin in both legs. The leg she originally had the spavin in has now fused, and she is now sound on that leg. The other leg is about 2 thirds fused, and the vet thinks it should be a max of 6 months until it is fully fused, although it is hard to put a time span on how long it will take.

Joint injections had been suggested, however my vet said they would not be necessary as it is clear the fusion is occurring. I have again been advised to put her back on danilon to keep her comfortable until the joint is fully fused, and keep her in light work as it helps to accelerate the fusion.

I had started to give up hope, but her trip to the vets yesterday has restored hope! My vet said that once the fusion is complete she should be able to go back into full work, and the bone spavin shouldnt give her any further problems!

Hope thats helps a bit! Good luck!
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My horse had BS at the age of 10. He had steroid injections and the joints were allowed to fuse naturally.

I was advised to avoid tight circles even for turning him in and trotting on hard ground and roads.

Once the bones had fused, he was fine (touch wood) and is back to his normal self. He is a wee bit stiff, but thats because his joint has fused.

The lower the joint affected in the hock, the better the outcome. Not only that, there are such a lot of treatments available now.

Believe it or not, light, regular gentle exercise is the best way to encourage natural fusion. This process can take a year or longer, but it is better than subjecting a horse to a general anaesthetic.

I feed my horse cider apple vinegar, Releaf (hilton herbs) and cortaflex. He also has magnotherapy boots on at night when stabled.

BS can be managed and needn't be the end of the world. My vet told me that most showjumpers have BS and still compete regularly.
 
My daughter's intermediate eventer had BS diagnosed June 07. Had the jab. Is now re-xrayed periodically to check things are fine but he is top or close after dressage at Intermediate level and has won 2 BE events and got placed since - cross fingers he is better than ever; so you don't need to resign yourself to quiet life only. I think there are lots of other post-BS eventers out there at high level; it's just that people tend not to advertise it in case they want to sell later. So be optimistic.
 
my horse developed bone spavin at some point before 1998 (when i bought him), he was in ridden work until he retired in 2005, TBH, i imagine he could have continued as a hack but he has 6 months off as i went abroad and no-one dared to ride him for me whilst i was away! He has since then been a loved pet and it is only the last few weeks he has got bad and we are looking at the 'options' the vet diagnosed a bad heart murma 11days ago and i have pretty much been told he could have a heart attack at any time, he is 27 and has had a fab life, and i honestly can say the spavin hasnt ever been a major issue. He lives out all year as that reallllllly helps, magnets also seem to help, as did sharks cartlidge when it was readily available.
I recall at one point my gelding was 2/10th lame, he had some time with light exercise and after that we had 6 years of ridden work out of him, he was never on long term bute either as one vet had suggested we do (i imagine that 11 years of daily bute whould have finished him off long ago)
Keep
smile.gif
as its really not as bad as it all may sound x
 
hi


Please could anyone tell me more about your experience with bone spavin?? my horse has been diagnosed and i'm unsure as to what to do?? there are so many options! he is back at the vets to get more x rays next week

many thanks
 
Hi,

After reading your info above i was wondering where you buy the supplement from? Many people have advised me of getting Synequin as my horse has just been diagnosed with bone spavin in both hocks. He had them injected and Tildren via IV. He then had a week off and i rode him for the first time yesterday in walk for 15 minutes and this morning his hock was swollen and hot!
Did you get this at all?? Thanks x
 
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