Bone spurs on hocks

Bum. That's rotten to hear, I know how much you think of him. Just throwing this out there because it could be worth a thought with you mentioning bucking - saddle fit been checked and double checked?
 
Some will dismiss it as "fashionable" but nerve impingements seem to be at the bottom of a lot more issues than we think, and could include both shivers and bucking. Have a chat with Yasmin Stuart, vet physio.
 
sbloom said:
Some will dismiss it as "fashionable" but nerve impingements seem to be at the bottom of a lot more issues than we think, and could include both shivers and bucking. Have a chat with Yasmin Stuart, vet physio.
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Thanks SB, I'll look her up.
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Roxylola said:
And I know you're clued up enough not to miss something like that normally just thought it worth mentioning as sometimes it's easy to look so hard at the obvious thing we can miss things - especially with knowing his hocks are impaired.
Best wishes for him and you
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It's a good suggestion. I widened his gullet plate last week as I wasn't sure the technically "correct" width was wide enough. Apart from busting my pump, it made no difference that I can tell to his behaviour, but it has stopped the saddle slipping back. New pump kit arriving for my next birthday!
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Sorry to hear this it, but I recommend Angela Holland very highly for this sort of issue. She is a former senior equine vet at Leahurst who has additionally trained as a chiropractor.

https://www.equineveterinarywellnessclinic.co.uk/

Well worth getting her on it. You'll get an appointment earlier if you take him to her clinic at Whitegate Farm, Hope, N.Wales which has excellent facilities inc an indoor school.

They also do multi disciplinary clinics which are attended by Angela plus another experienced regular equine vet, a farrier, and a saddle fitter. ETA There's one on today, they are held monthly.
 
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Tiddlypom said:
Sorry to hear this it, but I recommend Angela Holland very highly for this sort of issue. She a former senior equine vet at Leahurst who has additionally trained as a chiropractor.

https://www.equineveterinarywellnessclinic.co.uk/

Well worth getting her on it. You'll get an appointment earlier if you take him to her clinic at Whitegate Farm, Hope, N.Wales which has excellent facilities inc an indoor school.

They also do multi disciplinary clinics which are attended by Angela plus another experienced regular equine vet, a farrier, and a saddle fitter.
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Thanks TP.
 
I'm sorry he is having an issue but glad he has you, who has spotted it before he is actually lame.

Fingers crossed a solution can be found. My Jay Man was similar in presentation and I didn't think he was lame enough to block, but when we did block, it was immediately obvious as his whole domeanour changed. Then we found a small suspensory issue which was still small enough to treat.

I hope yours is something simple and easily remedied.
 
This is helpful, thanks guys. I think I need to ask for him to be blocked at the hocks and try cantering with that block active. And then if that is effective, as I suspect it will be, then hopefully we can find a treatment that will also be effective.

I am beginning to feel very angry about the people who used him as a little weak two year old on big mares because he was cheap, pretty, moved well and still had his balls 😠
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Definitely give Angela Holland a call. Between her and my own vets they found the issue with my mare. At first the senior vet said theres nothing wrong, shes sound as a pound. But like you i just felt something wasnt stacking up. It was good news with my mare as she had just strained herself pratting about in the field. You will get to the bottom of it. Best of luck
 
I think we already know what's wrong. It doesn't seem likely to be anything but the bone spurs causing issues. I knew he wasn't progressing when he turned 6, so I back right off dressage training. I pretty much forced them to xray and scan his hind legs last autumn at 7, and it was no surprise to me they found something. They, and another vet, have refused to treat him while they couldn't see lameness, but all the time I knew he wasn't the horse he used to be. Now i have a shiver in the left hind, being noisy when travelling, and this week, refusal to canter circles and I'm not taking no for an answer, I want to at least TRY to treat his hocks if he blocks to them.
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I find it very helpful to get Angela to see a not-quite-right horse before I take the horse for a lameness workup at my regular vets. Wonky horses often hold a lot of overall tension, and this can make lameness much harder to see at the work up as the horse is not moving freely.

Angela can treat what is in her domain plus offer suggestions as to what is the primary problem. She always refers on if she feels it necessary. The horse often shows the primary issue much more clearly after a treatment as it is no longer holding itself rigid.
 
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ycbm said:
I've just had some x rays and scans taken of Ludo's hind legs because I had a niggling doubt there was an issue, in spite of him being as sound as a pound (maybe not such a good meme these days ?).

He has clean stifles and no sign of PSD but there is a small bone spur on each hock that the vet thinks he was probably born with. The right one catches occasionally causing a misstep.

The vet says it is possible they will become arthritic as he ages and there are good treatment options if/when he goes lame. I asked if we could do anything preventative to head this off and was told no, quite definitively.

On the basis only that 500 heads are better than one, and I desperately want to keep him going 20 years until I'm done riding, I'd be very interested if anyone has a different view of this. If you're a vet and need anonymity, PM me and no-one will ever know.

Thanks in advance.
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I've just had my horse's hocks injected with Articell Forte. It is a treatment for arthritic hocks but my boy's hocks and the very mild arthritic changes were actually found by chance as he too is as sound as a pound. However, being the paranoid horseowner that I am, once found, I felt I wanted to prevent any worsening so my vet suggested the Articell Forte - which is stem cell replacement. My vet says it's good as a treatment but very good as a preventative measure. In layman's terms, I believe it builds on the cartilage forming a 'cushion'. Might be worth looking into?? There is a bit of a regime afterwards, 3 days box rest, then one week's walk work, then one week's light trotting, then you can introduce 'light' cantering, then, after vet assessment, you can go back to normal work. The regime is to allow the stem cells to 'stick' to the cartilages. Hope that helps - good luck!
 
Zaralady said:
I've just had my horse's hocks injected with Articell Forte. It is a treatment for arthritic hocks but my boy's hocks and the very mild arthritic changes were actually found by chance as he too is as sound as a pound. However, being the paranoid horseowner that I am, once found, I felt I wanted to prevent any worsening so my vet suggested the Articell Forte - which is stem cell replacement. My vet says it's good as a treatment but very good as a preventative measure. In layman's terms, I believe it builds on the cartilage forming a 'cushion'. Might be worth looking into?? There is a bit of a regime afterwards, 3 days box rest, then one week's walk work, then one week's light trotting, then you can introduce 'light' cantering, then, after vet assessment, you can go back to normal work. The regime is to allow the stem cells to 'stick' to the cartilages. Hope that helps - good luck!
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That's the sort of thing I was asking for and two vet practices refused to do anything. I am feeling pretty mad that he's deteriorated now when we might just about have been able to head it off.
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I've had a good talk with the senior orthopedic vet and he's going tomorrow to have nerve blocks, if we can make him lame or buck enough to show up a difference 🤞 🤞 🤞 .

If the block is positive then we will probably go straight for stem cell as his best chance of long term soundness. She says that starting steroids in a horse of his young age is unlikely to produce a good long term result and stem cell is our best chance right now. Either that or a very new treatment e-something, I didn't catch the full name, which would be made from his own cells. It's only been available in this country for a few months, apparently. I have told her I won't do chemical arthrodesis, I've seen too many failures.

Fingers crossed pleased that he blocks to the hocks, because those are most likely to be treatable long term and because I have zero idea where we would go from here if it's not his hocks.
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ycbm said:
I've had a good talk with the senior orthopedic vet and he's going tomorrow to have nerve blocks, if we can make him lame or buck enough to show up a difference 🤞 🤞 🤞 .

If the block is positive then we will probably go straight for stem cell as his best chance of long term soundness. She says that starting steroids in a horse of his young age is unlikely to produce a good long term result and stem cell is our best chance right now. Either that or a very new treatment e-something, I didn't catch the full name, which would be made from his own cells. It's only been available in this country for a few months, apparently. I have told her I won't do chemical arthrodesis, I've seen too many failures.

Fingers crossed pleased that he blocks to the hocks, because those are most likely to be treatable long term and because I have zero idea where we would go from here if it's not his hocks.
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Fingers and toes all crossed.
 
ycbm said:
I've had a good talk with the senior orthopedic vet and he's going tomorrow to have nerve blocks, if we can make him lame or buck enough to show up a difference 🤞 🤞 🤞 .

If the block is positive then we will probably go straight for stem cell as his best chance of long term soundness. She says that starting steroids in a horse of his young age is unlikely to produce a good long term result and stem cell is our best chance right now. Either that or a very new treatment e-something, I didn't catch the full name, which would be made from his own cells. It's only been available in this country for a few months, apparently. I have told her I won't do chemical arthrodesis, I've seen too many failures.

Fingers crossed pleased that he blocks to the hocks, because those are most likely to be treatable long term and because I have zero idea where we would go from here if it's not his hocks.
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Was the new treatment PRP (platelet rich plasma)? Few horses on my yard have had it with brilliant results. Friends dog is potentially going to have it too.

Sorry you're going through this. I can echo Scats suggestion of flexijoint, I've been using it with Rosie and she's looking the best she's ever looked (almost too well!).

Hope you have caught whatever it is early enough to get a hold on it.
 
ownedbyaconnie said:
Was the new treatment PRP (platelet rich plasma)? Few horses on my yard have had it with brilliant results. Friends dog is potentially going to have it too.

Sorry you're going through this. I can echo Scats suggestion of flexijoint, I've been using it with Rosie and she's looking the best she's ever looked (almost too well!).

Hope you have caught whatever it is early enough to get a hold on it.
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No, it was much newer than PRP, only in the country for a few months. I'll ask her what the name is tomorrow, she said it is extremely anti inflammatory and cost about £700 to make enough to inject for a year.

I'm glad Rosie is doing well, you've both been through the mill a bit this year past.
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Glad that you have a plan.

Wonky mare, who at 17 definitely doesn't count as young, is booked on Thurs to have her hocks remedicated. She was last done 2.5 years ago with arthramid gel and that has lasted really well on such a wonky mare.

She's just a little sore in her hocks again and is going to have both steroid and gel injected at the same time. That's what my vets do routinely now (owner finances permitting) and are having great results with it.

Then a chiro vet visit a few weeks after to work on any left over compensatory issues.
 
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