Competing horses with arthritic changes in both hocks. Is it feasable????

[charlimouse]

Colin is currently in horsepital . He has been on and off slightly lame ever since I got him 2 and a half years ago (although he did pass a 2 stage vetting at the time I bought him). I bought him as an 'unhandled' 3 year old (since found out somebody had already tried and failed to back him ). I have had my normal vet out to look at him several times and he said he was sound , but after him still feeling 'not right' I got a second opinion. Second vet agreed he was lame behind, and today he went in to horsepital for a full lameness investigation.

Just had a call to say he has arthritic changes in both hocks, but the right one is worse . He also has bone spavins in both hocks, and again the right one is worse . There is also inflamation of the suspensory ligament, but vet thinks this is due to the way he moves, so is not too worried about it . He is staying in horsepital tonight and tommorrow is going to have steroid injections in both hocks, before coming home. He is then to have 3 weeks in the field, then 3 weeks hacking in walk (will be fun as he isn't good to hack out !) Then we will assess how he is getting on. He is also going to be shod with much shorter toes, as apparently this will help .

The vet is being fairly positive that he should be able to be an event horse (eventually!), he says there is a 70% success rate that horses like Colin can return to full work, and compete to the limit of their capabilities. At the moment it just seems like there is so much wrong with him, I can't see him coming out the other side .

So any thoughts or experiances would be appreciated. Colin is a 6 year old, 15.3hh, warmblood. This is the only pic I have of him actually working which is from his first outing as a 4 year old, so schooling wise he is now much more advanced, and also stronger.

 

[tallyho!]

Do you know why he has changes in both hocks? Sounds like it could be genetic as so young. Hope not! So sorry to hear that. I'm sure he will be ok too. He looks like he doesn't track up in your pic of him which points to back stiffness. I am a firm believer that hock stiffness comes from somewhere else not the hock itself e.g. postural or balance issues like in us.

My vet told me mine had spavin 2008. I've had allsorts of issues. However, just lately he said he declared him sound. I don't know if it had anything to do with it but we took his shoes off last summer to correct a "boxfoot" and incredibly all his stiffnesses (he was also short on one shoulder) have improved quite considerably. At the time, we were just focusing on the poorly hoof and were going to look at his hocks later. Incidentally, his back feet were very crooked. Anyway, just my experience so far. I used to spend hundreds on supplements too!

He's a lovely boy in pic.

 

[Achinghips]

Difficult to answer this one. It depends on the hocks but remember lameness equals pain. Hock problems lead to back problems which also equals pain. It's a bugger. I wouldn't compete a horse unless no pain existed.

My girl has early osteo in hocks and is mildly lame. She is managed on danillon and corrective farriery at the moment. The steroid injections were unfortunately short lived in helping her (about 4 months). It is vital to keep them in regular but light work to keep them as strong as possible through the back - which inevitabley is always the secondary associated problem.

Mine is having her hocks fused with ethyl alcohol in 3 weeks time - competition will never be on the cards, she just can't move like she used to and I can't ask it of her, she's 13 btw, not 6. Incidentally juvenille arthritis responds well to this treatment from what I have read