bone spavins

[emerald2006]

i have put this on veterinary but think will get more opinions on here! pony went to vets this morning for lameness through right hock and has come back as bone spavins. i have never really had anything to do with this and was wondering if anyone else has and what they now do with thier horse?

 

[SouthWestWhippet]

Hi,

my horse has a bone spavin on the inside of her hock following a nasty field injury before I bought her. She was off for about 9 months (I think - I didn't own her at this point) then bought back in slowly. I believe she was a bit one sided at first because as she had healed she had favoured the non-bone-spavin hock and had a bit of muscle unbalance.

However...
She is 100% sound now. We do quite a lot together, mostly showjumping although I will be (hopefully) doing some eventing with her next season. I don't really give the spavin a second thought these days. The only problem I've ever had with it is because the spavin sticks out, she caught it once and it got infected. She wasn't lame but it swelled up and then popped (gross, sorry). However a course antibiotics later, she was 100% again.

I hope this is what you wanted to hear!

 

[debbielinder]

my horse has slight spavin in her near hock she wasnt given that long box rest as my vet advised me to keep her moving, she was also put on a course on injections. that was about 12 months ago she came 100% sound very quickly and went back into full work without any other related problems, however i think it depends on how bad they are as it is a form of arthritis, they can cause continous problems. i would have a word with your vet and see what they say. i thought my horse would have to be retired when she first got it as was very lame (she is over dramatic tho), and thought it was the end of the world but she was soon back to her old self i dont even think about it any more.

 

[emerald2006]

yeah it is thanks! i ahd to stop jumping in the summer because of her back however i think that the spavins have been putting her back out. is yours on anything? supplements?

 

[loopylucifer]

i just posted in veterinary. but fogot to say on senequin suplement too!

 

[SouthWestWhippet]

Not at the moment but I am going to start adding a joint supplement to her feed (there is a good and resonably priced one called Joint Right Supreme which I quite like). I'm only adding it for maintenance though because she does work hard for me and she's 11 now so not in the first flush of youth. I'm not going to give her anything specifically *for* the spavin.

Acutally interesting what you said about backs because I noticed that mine simply WOULD NOT track up or reach into a contact when I first got her. I had the back person out and she said her back was in a right old state and the hock injury could well be related to her back being so 'out'. She fixed the problem though and she has been much happier.

ETA - I read one poster's comment about it being a form of athritis (sorry, forgot poster's name) and I went and looked it up cos I didn't know this. The info I read said that a bone spavin is usually a symptom of atheritis but can be just the result of a knock or other injury... I'm fairly sure my horse's spavin is from an injury (this is what my vet said) but I would think if a spavin was due to athertits the long term diagnosis would be different. Anyway, if I am wrong about this, please feel free shout at me!

 

[kerrylou123]

my mare has a spavin in her right hock too, which i assume is from her race days. Im not entirely sure what was done because she was owned by somebody else at this point, and i really only took her on as a hack, but since then we have started to school, hack do local shows frequently and even started doing tiny fences (being a flat racer she had not jumped before), and she's as sound as a pound and hopefully will stay like it!
I don't use supplements as such yet, but will start using a joint supplement fairly soon, but at the moment she's just having apple cider vinegar!
I know she has was given jabs in the hock, and was on bute for a while, but she goes without now, and is still shows no signs of discomfort!

 

[aran]

Bone spavin is degeneration of the cartilage in the hock joints. It is osteoarthritis. It can be caused by trauma, genetics, age. As it is a form of arthritis it is degenerative and so you cannot sure it. If the joint fuses then you get non-symptomatic spavin - this is what you aim for. You can get this through time (hopefully), chemical irritants or surgery. Supplements (omega 3 oil, glucosamine, chondroitin sulphate, hyaluronan) and steriods can help but wont cure the damage already present.
What has you vet advised? Remedial shoes can also help

 

[eventergirl2]

Did your horses have to have x-rays to find out this complaint? as my back lady thinks this could be my lads problem

Was it expencive?

 

[aran]

to diagnose spavin they do a full lameness workup (nerve blocks etc) and xrays. I got it covered by insurance - i think it was £150?!?
most back issues are actually leg ones. not tracking up, not engaging, not crossing over behind, dragging a toe can be a sign of spavin. they have to nerve block to check that it isnt suspensory or check lig problems.
where are you in the country - the rvc, newmarket and AHT are very good at spotting this sort of problem