Displaced Hock Tendon

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morrismob

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Our little TB ex-hurdler sustained this injury out hunting. Surgery does not seem to be an option. The displacement is fluid by this I mean he can flip the tendon so attachment is hard. He was seen today by vet after 2months total box rest. The vet was reasonably happy but the tendon is free. 1 more month on box rest.

My question is to anyone that has seen this injury and to what extent was the recovery? His job, which he adores and is a real pocket rocket is eventing and last season he was enjoying novice BE. His 2nd season. Any views or experiences would be appreciated. Thanks
 
I had a horse who slipped the tendon off of his hock. The tendon was never put back on top but instead left down the side where it set again. Whilst he was technically lame due to the tendon being in the wrong place and thus moving wrong he wasn't actually a sore lame. He did this injury racing. He could have carried on racing but to be honest he was naff and there was no point! With me he became a highly strung show horse and then a retired companion. He did get a little stiff in the hock in winter but he lived out, didn't need supplements or bute or anything he just needed to wander around for 10mins. I had him for just shy of 8 years, until he was almost 15yo before he was pts from a completely unrelated injury.

There is no reason why your horse can't go back to the life style he had you will just need to take it slow and see how things progress. Any sign of soreness back off and rebuild again. It will take longer but you should get back to eventing. All horses are different, your's may not become technically lame or he might. Until you get going again you will never know. It's most certainly not the end of the world and to be honest my lad looked like he had string holt more than anything afterwards and it only showed in trot when he was being lazy.
 
Mine did it, good prognosis but never did come sound. As is apparently common with these the other hock did it when he was out in the field (on his own).

He has been retired for nearly 5 years now, not on bute and seemingly very happy. The vets don't think it is painful, just a mechanical lameness but he certainly cannot return to his former career which was grassroots eventing.


He was not on box rest, just small pen turnout after the first week.
 
My mare did this, she was a big girl who lived for her hunting and jumping. I was told that most are technically lame but go on to have an active career. I am sorry to say she was fine in walk and even a fast trot but in canter her leg kept giving way so we had no option but to pts. My advice would be to see how it goes and make decisions as you have to.
 
Thanks for replies. As we thought, he has as long as it takes, just hope he has some sort of use as he gets very bored. I would put him in a stable size pen but he is the sort who is able to explode on the spot !
 
Our mare did this, and the scan showed she had ripped two of the four 'tabs' that hold the sdft on the point of hock, and that it was unlikely she would come sound.

She has now had 2 years off - well she wouldn't probably consider having a foal as time off perhaps! - and she looks remarkably sound, charging round the field after her son, but I haven't liked to test it to see if she would withstand work yet. So very interested to read this thread to see how others have fared.
 
If surgery would be an option for you (willingness, finances etc.) then you could always see about getting a second opinion, because surgery can be done in some of these cases, but without knowing why your vet has said it isn't an option it's hard to judge. The surgery involves putting the tendon back in position and then a sort of 'mesh' is added over the top to hopefully keep it in place. Not quite sure how common it is/who does it, but the large hospitals should be able to.
Box rest is the more common treatment option done, but as others have said, some of them end up being a bit funny moving behind so might not be ideal in your horse.
 
I had a mare that did this 28 years ago, so definitely no surgery. She was 10 when she did it, she was put in foal, so had 18 months off, and came totally sound after- hunting/jumping. No-one really noticed, unless she was stood still long enough and for some reason they stared at her hocks. It just re attached itself down the outside.
 
My mate slipped the tendon off her hock at 6 months old trying to jump a 5 bar gate. My vet advised waiting 6 months and then seeing what happened. Unfortunately it didn't stay on the tendon so she was referred to Ian Wright at Newmarket who put mesh over the tendon and stapled to on to the bone. She then spent 6 weeks in pot followed by 4 months box rest. Unfortunately she was never sound so I would have been better saving the £5k the operation cost! I was talking to one of the young vets at the practice about it today and she had never heard of the operation so don't think it is very common.

Good luck though
 
lottie41 said:
My mate slipped the tendon off her hock at 6 months old trying to jump a 5 bar gate. My vet advised waiting 6 months and then seeing what happened. Unfortunately it didn't stay on the tendon so she was referred to Ian Wright at Newmarket who put mesh over the tendon and stapled to on to the bone. She then spent 6 weeks in pot followed by 4 months box rest. Unfortunately she was never sound so I would have been better saving the £5k the operation cost! I was talking to one of the young vets at the practice about it today and she had never heard of the operation so don't think it is very common.

Good luck though
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I have known a few to have the op and every single one of them the tendon has come off of the hock again with 4 years thus being back to square 1 on box rest. The ligaments that hold it in place are significantly weaker and I would never recommend the op.
 
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