Chumley has arthritis..

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Chumsmum

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Just got my boy back from the vets where they did joint blocks and x-rays which confirm he has arthritis in his hock
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Vet said we have caught it early so fingers crossed the treatment will work. He is coming next week to give him a steroid injection, has put him on Synequin and I need to get different shoes on his hinds (lateral something - I need to check the name).

I'm trying to remember everything the vet said but it's all a bit of a blur
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I am interested in how other horses have coped with this - pony is 16yo and mainly happer hacker and low level RC - I know all horses will react differently to treatment but wondering what sort of things were you able to do with him after treatment? Is the treatment they have prescribed for him pretty standard? Any other tips for coping with arthritis, any questions I should be asking the vet next week?

Chum is back home happily munching in his field none the worse for his trip to the vets - he was having a lovely snooze in the nice thick bed they had provided for him and seemed a bit put out that he had to come home
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Thanks for any replies
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My OH's horse was diagnosed with bone spavin in one hock a couple of years ago, he didn't have any steroid injectioins or treatment other than remaining in walking work, he also had pads in his hind shoes to change the angle of his feet (I think), anyway after a few months of just hacking he was back in full work and was fine.
Unfortunately a year after that he deteriorated and we think he now has arthritis in his stifle though vet hospital can't be sure despite lots of tests.

My older horse got a bit stiff and arthriticy behind when he was about 17/18, I didn't get the vet in due to his age, but put him on devil's claw and superflex; after a couple of months of hacking he was fine and back to jumping, schooling etc. He is still on the supplements & doesn't seem to have any problems with stiffness behind.

Good luck with your horse, I think a joint supplement would be worth trying.

Ooh one thing we were advised was that walk & canter were the best paces to warm up with in future, they put less stress on the joints than trot.
 
Two of mine went into horsepital on Wednesday (Roxy and Fred) who have both been diagnosed with spavin in both hocks. Roxy's is not as severe as it is in the cartelage, but she moved like a dream after blocks. They come home tomorrow with 3 days box then a week of field rest, then resume normal work. The steroid treatment to the hocks will last around a year, but it doesnt always work. If the treatment is going to have an effect then this will be apparent almost immediately. Synequin and Corsoquin are the only proven joint suppliments on the market and both my horses will be taking it (Synequin bought the licence from Corsoquin who developed the suppliment).

Alternative treatments are Tildren (which my vets dont rate due to poor test results with the AHT). Bute for life, or a radical operation to drill holes into the hock joint causing a great deal of pain and lameness for 6 months in the hope that the joints will fuse and become sound there after.

Shoeing, they probably mean either wedging the heel or extending it, but Im not a farrier and cant comment. We have a farrier on the forum who has changed her name recently, I think she is called 'Nailed' who may be able to offer advice.

We have a 16 year old 14.1hh pony on the yard who had this treatment a few months ago and is back in normal work with no sign of unsoundness, although I believe that a higher percentage of treatment doesnt work.
 
We've had quite a few retire here due to arthritis and my experience is that they need to keep moving not rest.
I would of course follow the vet advice but put him on a good joint supplement and add oil to his diet.
I swear the fact they all improved within a couple of months is due to the fact our fields are rarely flat and without obstacles like banks/slopes/rocks etc, and they have had to bend the joints to get round.
Once it settles down most horses don't deteriorate for years, and can have very useful lives.
We keep our stallion on Science with Nature's Multiplex HA, it keeps him sound and he has some arthritis due to breaking his pelvis as a five year old.
I think a good supplement is absolutely vital.
 
My horse was diagnosed with bone spavin 5 years ago and although I stopped jumping him, he is still going strong.

He had lateral extensions on his shoes which helped, he had these for about 6 months. The shoes flare out at the back on the outside. Its not something they should have permanently as it alters the gait so the vet said when I called him out because Jake's hind legs were moving awkwardly.

He had steroid injections which help for about 6 weeks. The last x-ray a year ago showed that the affected bones were fusing and Jake was sound, but a tiny bit stiff.

The thing to do is to gently exercise allowing extra warm up and cool down time, feed Synequin or cortaflex etc, keep the weight off and try not to trot etc on hard ground/roads. Once the bones fuse, the horse will be more comfortable. Danilon can also help on the bad days - particularly cold wet days in winter.

I found magnotherapy helps a lot with stiffness.

Jake was 10 when I first noticed very slight hock stiffness. Another horse I know had bone spavin aged 2.

I know its a shock, but its not as bad as it first seems and the horse can still lead a good quality of life.
 
Thanks for replies everyone, much appreciated.

First dumb question - are hock arthritis and bone spavin the same thing? Vet just said that he had arthritis in the hock and never mentioned anything about fusing etc??

Second dumb question - on average how much do you pay for the injections and how long do they last - I'm thinking of when the insurance runs out..
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Vet has put him on Synequin so hopefully it will be all it's cracked up to be and work.

I haven't spoken to farrier yet but I guess it's the lateral extensions that the vet mentioned - will ask farrier more about them, how long they are on for etc.

Will watch out for the trotting too - looks like our hunting attempts have been knocked on the head, maybe that's for the better
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Chum has lived out 24hrs since April and it was something I wanted to do permanently so this has made up my mind that he will be out this winter with free access to a field shelter or stable - my shetties already live out so he should be fine.

Thanks again for replies everyone - I will be bothering you again no doubt
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It was a shock even though I was expecting it but I'm feeling quite optimistic (today lol) I'm glad that the problem has been spotted early and the diagnosis was straightforward. I've cancelled our trip to the beach we had planned for August but vet says if everything goes to plan we would be alright to go in 2/3 months. Please keep your fingers crossed for my little man - he is a star
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hi, yes hock arthritis and spavin are the same thing. My boy has them and is definitely happier being ridden, albeit it just hacking and pootling around......
He is on cortavet and codliver oil........

Good luck with Chum and the beach is fab as it has some give even on the firm bits!

xx
 
There are 4 joints comprising of the hock joint if that makes sense. J had OA in his tarsometatarsal joint, the bottom one on the outside of the hock.

This is the easiest one to manage as they tend to fuse in a year or two.

I am not sure how much the injections were, it was 5 years ago, at a guess around £60-70. The injections help with the inflammation and can also aid fusion if appropriate, but mostly they are for pain.

There are alternative therapies such as Tildren and IRAP which can be very helpful but are expensive and are not without some risks.

Also, turning in circles and schooling can put extra pressure on the joints. So bear this in mind.

24 hr turnout will stop him getting stiff and is a good idea if you can do it. Also when he is more comfortable a nice trip to the beach going in the sea will be very good for his joints.

I appreciate its not the best of news and is a shock, but with careful management there is no reason why you cant have a happy ridable horse for many many years to come. The key is early detection which you have done.

Bone spavin and hock OA are the same thing.
 
Merlin has been treated with Tildren for his hocks along with steroid jabs into the joint and also with Irap for his fetlock (he was only 8 when diagnosed)
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I dont school him anymore as this only became apparent when we moved to a yard with little turnout and an indoor school!!!

So now he lives out 24/7 on the side of a hill!!! and is on a joint suppliment called Easy Joint.... combination of these and steady work have kept him sound for the last 2 years!!!

He was on the Synequine stuff, but it didnt seem to make a lot of difference to him, and as it was horrifically expensive I didnt carry on after the first tub
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Once again, thanks for replies, you lot are great
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I've got lots of things to ask the vet on Friday so I can understand it all a bit better, I'll ask what joint it is etc.

Interesting about the circles and schooling thing - mine became apparent on flatwork lessons, I couldn't tell out hacking until this last week when he was uncomfortable in trot but fine in canter.

Thanks again for all your info and stories - big hugs to all arthritic horses out there.
 
Good luck with your horse and managing his arthirtis.. when my guy got diagnoised with arthiritis i was gutted.. hes had IRAP treatment and hes got Eggbar shoes on now, New market Joint Supplement, no trotting on hard surfaces and careful management but hes sound and loving life. We are planning on keeping him out with access to a field shelter this year to see if it keeps him sound if not then he will be back in at night in the winter in his stable. I dont do any schooling anymore as the circle arent good for him but hacking is great. He loves it..
 
Mine had it in both hocks - at 6. Had the surgery and is now out regularly competing etc etc, sometimes a tiny bit stiff in winter for 5 mins. Very good decision to have gone for surgery, as hers was quite bad (She was actually only 2/10 lame in first place, but clearly uncomfortable!)
 
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