Bone Spavins - anyone had any experience with them?

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miss_p

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Hi all, haven't been on here in a while but just wondered if anyone else has had experience with bone spavins?
My old boy is 27 Welsh Cob, he was a riding school pony for 14years and has been semi-retired for 9years. He's been getting increasingly stiff over the past year and my vet said he has bone spavin in his hock on his off hind and to manage it with Danilon and to keep him turned out as much as possible. He has a very awkward gait in walk now and seems to 'stamp' that leg as he's walking and his stride is very short in that leg but he doesn't seem to be in any pain? Spoke to the vet again and she says its probably just the way he'll move now but as long as he's happy and alert (which he is - he still drags me out of his stable in the mornings!) then he should be ok. The Danilon doesn't seem to make much difference but I give him 1 sachet a day anyway in the hope it might help in some way.
Anyone else had any experience with this? Would really appreciate you're comments :) Thanks x x
 
Keep him moving as much as possible. I school my 23 year old a couple of times a week. Massage helps as the surrounding muscles and loins get very tight. Some people rate magnetic boots and feeding copper and turmeric. Put him on a good joint supplement - mine is on riaflex. Micronised linseed is also helpful.
 
Thanks for that, I've got a pair of Bioflow boots so will see if that helps and will try adding some linseed to his feed. I'm just a bit concerned about the way he's moving that off hind now, do they become 'mechanically lame' where it looks worse than it actually is? My vet doesn't seem worried about it and has said to ride him if he seems willing but I feel bad if he looks lame? Has anyone else had this? Xx
 
Yes my horse has bone spavin. He had the injections of steroids and HA and then had the tildren, and had this three times along with adequan.

It worked really well for a while, but then petered off and stop being as good as it had been and then last year (may have been the year before now I can't remember) he had fusion using ethanol (alcohol) and it was very effective, and remains so, he is jumping at 3ft 3 and dressaging at elementary level and he is nearly 16. You just have to be sensible - no trotting on roads, not cantering on baked earth!

Fusion using ethanol, whislt not suitable for every horse is a billion times better than messing around with injections and drugs. Its approx £300 for both hocks and kills the nerves immediately so the horse can feel no more pain. They can be turned out straight away as there is no laminitic risk. Ask your vet for more info or read this link: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.2042-3306.2011.00512.x/full
 
Injections only worked temporarily for our mare. The vet said that once the bones have fused there would be no more pain, but that she might be a bit stiff in her hocks. If the Danilon doesn't seem to make much difference to your pony, then the bones may have fused and just left him with an awkward gait. Perhaps a good joint supplement like Supplease Gold would help him?
 
My horse who is now out on loan to a teenager, has bone spavin. He had an injection couple of years ago, and has had no reported problems since! He sometimes comes out the stable a bit stiff, and the vet has advised to just warm up longer before doing any intense work (sj,xc etc). The vet has said that he may need to have an injection again at some point when its noticeable that hes uncomfortable again, but hes having great fun going out and competing! It obviously depends on the horse and the diagnosis itself, as some horses will respond better than others to the injections, but always worth a go in my opinion!
 
My boy had a bone spavin at 12, and had the original operation that used to be carried out to fuse the affected joint. He is now 24, and has never looked back!
 
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