Hock arthritis + suspensory ligament damage

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Dancing_Diva

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Finally have a diagnosis on our cob.

He has osteoarthritis of the middle and distal hock joints and there's evidence of sclerosis over the origin of the proximal suspensory ligament in the right leg. All in all for a 6yr old who's never jumped or done very much work wise at all it's not good!

Has anyone dealt with the above problems and what happened to your horse long term in terms of soundness and what work load was they able to do if any? How long did they stay field sound/able to be ridden for before they got progressively worse? What did you do to manage the arthritis etc..
 
Glad you have an answer, but what a shame for you both.

Can't help you really with treatment, I have had hocks injected with steroids in the past. I have found they either work really well or pretty much wear off after a few weeks. There are lots of options for arthritis tbh, haven't had to deal with suspensory damage though.

What has your Vet suggested as a starting point? What are your options and set up to deal with it?
 
We medicated the hocks yesterday. His on 48 hours box rest then restricted turnout and daily in hand walking for 10 mins a day and then being reviewed by the vet in two weeks.

Am waiting to hear from my vet to ask a few questions, by time we finished yesterday it was getting quiet late into the evening, was going to hit rush hour traffic and needed to get horse home before sedation wore off (can't travel him without IV sedation ATM) so didn't get to ask a lot of the things I wanted last night.
 
Don't be afraid to ask and explore all the options.

Also try not to drive yourself mad with outcomes etc, hard I know, give your boy a hug from me x
 
Mine was diagnosed 18 months ago after looking off at a competition (nobody could see it but me). Vet did a flexion test and she was 2/10 lame - he was convinced enough to X-ray and treat there and then rather than go for nerve blocks etc.

Treatment was steroids in to the hock, cartrophen and a good joint supp. She had the round of treatment again while the insurance would pay and that was in March.

Since the treatment she has schooled, hacked, been on fun rides and not had a lame step since; although I know she will deteriorate over time. I have given her a bute after a long ride (12 miles or more) but only because it made me feel better - I know, I know.

She hoons around and still rodeos around the field rearing up to full height so I don't think she is struggling. I won't trot on the road (unless to escape a treacherous corner) and will pick jumping ground carefully but other than that she is good to go.
 
So sorry you have this to deal with. I am currently going thru hock arthritis with my 10 year old gelding at the moment. We medicated them but unfortunately the effect wore off within 4 months and my vet advised a hock fusion procedure using ethanol. I have just started a thread about it in vet so I won't hijack yours. Can't help with the suspensory sorry....but I know there are some really knowledgeable folk on here who will be able to advise. Best of luck with it. I know it's a rollercoaster!
 
Mongoose, sounds like we've just done done the exact same treatment with our boy.

Was your girl ever lame in the field before you had a diagnosis? He became lame on both hinds in the field on 2x bute a day last week.
 
This is very similar to the diagnosis I got for my sports horse (tb type) the outcome was not good, but he was not a horse who could really cope with living out all year or light work.

He was also a young horse and while treating the problems did give him some relief I regret not investigating higher up to maybe look at possible back issues/pelvis/epssm/kissing spines etc etc as I think maybe the hocks were a symptom.

Looking back, I wish I had challenged more to why such a young horse with a known history had developed arthritis as early as he did. I regret not doing this as possibly not looking in to causes meant the treatment we did was just a sticking plaster.

This was all a long time ago and treatment may well have moved on but in your position now I would be looking very hard for what has caused the issues and not really by satisfied with woolly vet answers like um well some horses are more prone to it etc. Arthritis happens from wear and tear on the joint - why is there so much wear and tear so early - is something else faulty. I always thought the suspensory was caused by faulty action due to the arthritis so I can accept that failing but I wish I had asked more questions.
 
Dancing_Diva said:
Mongoose, sounds like we've just done done the exact same treatment with our boy.

Was your girl ever lame in the field before you had a diagnosis? He became lame on both hinds in the field on 2x bute a day last week.
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She has always had what I call a 'sticky walk' in the field (right leg which is slightly worse for the arthritis) and again nobody else can see it at all. She was lame in the field (barely) and I have her two weeks rest before getting the vet.

Forgot to say, she is barefoot and they were adamant she should stay that way. Also, she is ridden 5/6 days a week and I've had no issues.
 
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Ah now his been obviously lame to strangers in both hinds in the field just walking 😞

His bare foot but it's been suggested we corrective shoe behind to help. One thing I'm waiting to speak to vet about.
 
So sorry to hear this. BUT, hock arthritis can be successfully managed. As someone said above, medicating with steroids can be extremely effective (although some horses don't seem to respond so well, or last as long) and it is a treatment that can be repeated without adverse effects, as the joints most commonly affected are the tarsometatarsal (lowest) and the distal intertarsal. These joints are load bearing rather than motion joints. If this treatment doesn't work sufficiently, there are other options with regard to fusing the affected joints, either surgically or through injection, or allowing it to happen naturally through time. Ensuring that there is sufficient heel support through shoeing is also important - and for proximal suspensory injuries.

I believe that the prognosis for proximal suspensory injuries is better than for other areas of the ligament - again medicating with steroids, rest and then gradual progressive work can be very effective.

I gather there is very little understanding of why some horses develop arthritis at such an early age. I asked the question during my last visit to Rossdales with my 8 year old (severe bone spavin in DIT and extremely severe and unusual arthritis in both TMJs). There was no evidence of previous trauma in his jaw, so they were pretty baffled.

Good luck - keeping everything crossed for you x
 
My horse was diagnosed with hock spavins and suspensory strain aged 7. He was to be a competition horse. That was 6 yrs ago now.
I will be honest and say he has only been sound enough to lightly hack since. tho since he went bf nearly 2 years ago he is doing better than ever and is probably now a 'full' hack. I could probably get away with the odd fun ride maybe.
Our diagnosis and treatment ended up at well over 5k. Had all the injections etc. They never really worked. He has been retired twice and booked in to be pts but he is still here.
I know some continue on after treatment like they were before but in such a young horse it's not always the case. Wasn't for us anyway.
I am sooooo pleased that he is where he is now but it's been no fun, we have a very careful regime going on to keep him hacking sound, and he is never going to be more than a hack bless him. Thank god I took his shoes off!
I hope it works out better for you x
 
Dancing_Diva said:
We medicated the hocks yesterday. His on 48 hours box rest then restricted turnout and daily in hand walking for 10 mins a day and then being reviewed by the vet in two weeks.

Am waiting to hear from my vet to ask a few questions, by time we finished yesterday it was getting quiet late into the evening, was going to hit rush hour traffic and needed to get horse home before sedation wore off (can't travel him without IV sedation ATM) so didn't get to ask a lot of the things I wanted last night.
Click to expand...
It took longer than that (2 weeks) after our pony had the injections. At 1st I felt they hadn't worked. I started her on supplement (Riaflex) and built her up slowly. Kept her out of the mud which pulled her legs and so made her sore. After 4 months she was great and a year down the line we haven't repeated the injections yet.
She lets us know if she's sore (and the farrier!) she does games and Polocrosse, we don't really jump her much.
Suspensory ligament issues we've had separately with another pony and had no luck sorting it 100%, though the rehab is similar you may find you get good results.
I'm sorry she's so young for this x
 
My homebred was diagnosed with arthritis at 7, but this had started at 5 when on loan (overweight and jumping on the hard). She has bone spurs on the front of both hocks, lower to middle joint. She didn't respond at all to steroid injections, so I manage her very carefully, and she is eventing very successfully up to Intermediate. I tend to get the same comments in the dressage (tight through back, and on forehand), but that is to be expected, and her jumping is amazing. they are all different in their ability to keep working. I found putting plastic shoes on in front, helped her a lot, as she was overloading the front end to save her hocks. In her case. as she is a fatty, she is turned out 24/7, with restricted grazing, and this had worked very well. I tried turmeric, but it didn't seem to have any noticable effect.
 
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