Ethanol injections for Bone Spavin

[PHTMAGC]

Hi, I have a 6 yo mare who was diagnosed with Bilateral Bone Spavin. She went to the vet 4 weeks ago and had steroid injections both hocks. After the injections she was to be field rested for 10 days then start Danilon (1 a day) and start riding again. When I started riding her again she felt tense and anxious and was taking uneven steps behind. After a week of walking she seemed to relax a bit so I introduced short bursts of trot about the 50 metres. For the first week of trot everything was going fine but this week she isn't happy and now seems to have gone back to the way she was before she was diagnosed. I am going to phone to vet tomorrow to ask if I can increase the dose of Danilon because I hate the thought of hurting her. The vet said if the steroid injections didn't work then he could inject Ethanol into her hocks to fuse them. I am a bit worried about the procedure but I feel that because she is so young I should give it a go. I believe there is a 60 - 70 % success rate but if it doesn't work can the horse still be used as a companion or will it be in too much pain? Look forward to hearing any experiences and advice.

 

[be positive]

When they have spavins, or any similar condition, they will have been compensating for some time which will cause muscles in the whole body to become tight, I think it is a shame that more vets do not routinely recommend physio when treating the problem, they target the root cause but do not deal with the whole issue, I would ask for a referral to a good physio, it should be paid for by insurance and should be really beneficial.

 

[PHTMAGC]

Hi, I phoned my vet today but he is not in until Friday so I spoke to another vet. She wasn't keen on me increasing the Danilon incase it masked another problem. She told me not to trot her at the moment. She mentioned trying Tildren I have heard of it but don't know much about it. She is phoning back tomorrow. Does any one have experiences of Tildren?

 

[claracanter]

My horse had bone spavins diagnosed at 5. I got lucky as the steroid injections worked first time . However he did need a lot of physio as his back was very sore from compensating, he was reluctant to trot and I think I stopped the rehab for about 6 weeks to get his back sorted first as he was so tight from compensating. I was so worried he would never come right but he recovered brilliantly and we are 3 years down the line now. He showjumps, does XC and dressage now.