Bony lump on hock

harvgj19

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I know this is a pretty long shot, but I was hoping you experts could give me some advice! Anyone who gets to the end of this can have a cookie!

My horse Harvey is on loan to a girl in Devon, as we have moved over to America. At the beginning of January she emailed me to say the vet had been to look at a small bony lump just below his hock. She said he was not lame, but the vet was going to scan it just in case.

A week later she emailed to say it was just fluid under the skin and it had been drained and he was given a steroid injection. He had a weeks box rest and then was allowed to wander around the yard, and had an hour's turnout.

Another week on, I got an email to say he was being turned out, but the lump was still there. She still said he wasn't lame and was fine in himself.

Yesterday (a month from the first vet visit) she emailed to say the lump was still there and a bit "strange" so the vet wants to investigate further. The vet bill currently stands at £300 and the vet had advised her to contact the insurance company for a claim form. I pay his insurance, but they know he is on loan, and that the loaner is able to contact them, but I have to give signed permission for any changes or claims to his insurance.

I have had real trouble getting any kind of detail from her, and have been given no diagnosis as such. I have tried to phone the vet, but can't catch him in the surgery, and as I am across the pond, they won't have him call me back. I am getting a) worried and b) frustrated about this!

What do you think this sounds like? And do you think all this investigation is necessary? Not at all in the month of correspondence has she said he is lame. Would you be having scans etc on a horse that isn't lame?

Any advice or thoughts are welcome.

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coedcae

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Can you ask for the email address of the vet who has been treating it, so that you can correspond by email? The girl loaning your horse probably wants to verge on the side of caution as its not her horse. I know I'm like this.
Also, could you ask her to email you some pictures of the lump?
I would be suspicious of the vet doing endless tests/treatments too. I know someone who spent a lot of money investigating their horses hind leg because it wasn't travelling well in the trailer. It was never lame. Vet was quite happy to do the full works in terms of trying to diagnose the "problem" and it cost them hundreds. They never did find a problem. My approach would have been to remove the partition in the trailer
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harvgj19

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I may have to see if I can get an email address for the vet. I have tried asking her for pictures, but she's not too computer savvy, nor is my friend who's yard it is, but I may have to get my parents to make a trip over there to see him.
 
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