Confused.. Steriod Injections

Maui+Bec

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My Hafi mare has been moderatley lame for 6 months, after beaut etc nerve blocks, xrays, box rest and a big hole in my uninsured pocket she has steroid injections a week ago in her stifle. The vet said she may need more but we'll see how she goes then he proceeded to tell me I can start riding her a week after, now I am aware that it would be a five minute walk gradually building up but Im a bit dubious about getting on her so soon when a week ago she was still lame, she looks sound now but the steroids should be wearing off soon. Does anyone have any experience of this?? Im a bit iffy about following the vets advice after the first vet I used was rubbish and this vet was a different one who started by saying "so is she lame?" when he came to do the injections, you would have thought that he would know that when she spent 24hrs in their equine hospital for investigation a few days before .

sorry quite long :confused:
 

ALO

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Hi there,my horse had his stifle injected in June last year following lameness where he was approx 4 tenths lame,x-rays and nerve blocks confirmed it was stifle,decided to try injections first,think he was rested for 3 days straight after,in a stable for 2weeks just walking then gradually back to work after that.he was sound afterwards and remained so until couple of weeks ago,we are re-injecting next week.so u may find the steroid injection may last longer then u think!do u know what the problem was with your horses stifle?
 

Maui+Bec

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Hiya, not sure on which part, the stifle block was most effective so they injected there and thats had a positive result, xrays showed nothing and the vet said an ultrasound wouldnt because of the complexity of the joint and different tissues there (most likely cruciate ligament or minisci), he said the next step after steroids is key hole surgery to have a look and remove damaged tissues, trying to avoid it coming to that, thats why I wanna make sure Im doing the right thing, Im confused though as the steroids just seem like a series of quick fixes.Will she keep needing them? Which part of the stifle was your horses injury? how did he/she do it?
 

K27

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I'm no vet but i do have one horse that has routine cortisone injections once per year, and one of my others has had various joint injections in the past too.

I know you can get different types of cortisone i.e short acting and long acting- with the long acting i've always been advised it can take up to 14 days to 'kick in' and until then light easy work like a short hack out walking is fine, and then we gradually build them back up- if the horse was recently lame though i would probably be even more cautious, but i always think that short light exercise is good in that it gets the medication moving around the joint so that it can start to work. If you are unsure though go by your own vets advice and ask their opinion.

Good luck with your horse though- hope she makes good progress.
 

Maui+Bec

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Thanks for your advice, its the short acting one I think, looks like its more an individual thing which is probs why Im confused what to do for the best.

Ill start building her up and keep a close eye.. fingers crossed! XX
 

ALO

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Sounds similar to what went throughout with mine,I was also given the arthroscopy option but wanted to try injecting first,not sure how/what he did but had also had treatment for spavin on same leg so don't whether that was an influencing factor or just coincidence.mine was back in full work,I was warned that he may need a repeat injection so this will be the second one he's had,hopefully the response will be as good as last time.good luck with your horse,let me know how she gets on,will be interesting to compare stories.
 

Maui+Bec

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bad times for me im afraid not 100% sure but looks like lameness is returning :( very fed up now :( ive had her approx 10 months now and shes been lame for 6. Starting to think she may have had an underlying problem all along, when i first got her she'd had some time out and didnt like upward transitions into canter. :S Yer definately keep me informed how yours go.. glad im not the only one with these problems. x
 

0310Star

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I had a lame horse at the beginning of the year, luckily we had a diagnosis after nerve blocks and x-rays. She has high Ringbone of the short pastern, side bones and DJD so she had cortisone injections in her joint.
I was to start work 1 week after injection, which I did and she is fine! I know it is a slightly different problem but even though mine is still slightly lame I am to work her through it very lightly with the aid of bute every time I ride due to it being a condition that is going to get worse over time with no real cure.
Maybe get a second opinion as your not 100% on the vets advice? I trust my vet totally to give me the correct advice so didn't even question it, but if I had a vet I wasn't so convinced by I would want a second opinion for my own peace of mind! ;)
 
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