Hock changes, Kissing spines and ulcers - advise please!

asommerville

asommerville

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Hi folks, to cut a long story short my 8 year old was diagnosed with ulcer 2 months ago, KS 2 weeks ago with 4 processes touching and had his back medicated. The vet advised 1 weeks box rest, 1 weeks in hand walking with turnout and 1 weeks lunging twice a day with one of those occasions in a pessoa type thing. I was sure he still wasnt quite right so he had his hocks x rayed on monday showing bony changes to both hocks, in 2 joints. The vet rated this at a 6/10 for severity, medicated his hocks with a medium acting medication and sent us home again. He has advised me to start lunging after the horse had a couple of days off.

i have a few questions - bony changes - is arthritis isnt it? So the hocks are just going to get worse?
Lunging - apparantly the worst thing to do with a horse with hock issues?

I have bought him a decent joint supplement but have decided to wait to see whether the medication work before starting him on it - does that sound about right?

i asked the vet what his chances of being brought back into normal work would and at present he can't answer, does anyone have experience? He is not a happy hacker, doesn't like going out on his own and i am feeling fairly rubbish about it. I was all set to get him operated on for his back until we found his hocks and think there is no point operating on the back if his hocks are gubbed.

Any good/bad experiences much appreciated!
 
i have one with 4 touching as well, and he needs injections a lot. i don't think the last set worked, so im looking at retiring him, as he seems like an endless money pit of vets and physios. if i had one with your issues i'd probably cut my losses now before i ended up spending a fortune. Unless its your dream competition horse of a lifetime i'd be tempted top retire or pts. its a horrible situation to be in, but all i'd see ahead is a future of restricted use, expensive supplements and vets bills!
 
Sounds just like my horse! The hocks are likely a secondary symptom of KS and due to the horses incorrect way of holding himself. Do you know how to long rein - if you do you can long rein in a pessoa outline and get him working his back long and low and this will also avoid tight circles which will be hard for him. You need to strengthen the back and work him to encourage fusion of the hocks so in a way correct long and low work on the long reins would be a good way of schooling for both issues. Just a warning that the palliative route of injections in the back may not resolve the problem long term. The best thing you can do is get muscle on him to support the back and if you can find a really good quality groundwork instructor to help and a good physio that will really help. Hope I'm not teaching you to suck eggs but long reining properly is utterly different from lunging with 2 lines.

Fingers crossed for you, it is solvable but needs dedication. The ulcers if he has them are likely to have been caused by stress due to constant niggling pain from his back & hocks. Contrary to popular belief, KS horses are not happy just to potter in the field, the cause of the pain has to be addressed & they must to worked constantly but sympathetically to be able to successfully live in comfort.

Just for info, my horse has KS operation at the age of 6 nearly 10yrs ago and is still a happy healthy horse, however you need to understand how he will cope with the hocks going forward, if the vet thinks they can successfully fuse and he will become sound, the back op might be worth thinking about.
 
The vet never mentioned anything about fusing, I can long rein I wondered if that would be better than lunging....pffffft if it was only one or the other it would be a lot easier to see the other side! Re the injections I can't see me getting both his backs and hocks injected at least once a year, it's such a shame he's only 8 and the nicest wee horse ever.

How long is a pice of string? How long do hocks take to fuse and what kind of work can be done after they do?

Thank you for your honesty paddi I don't want to give up on him I love him to bits but I just can't see a happy outcome
 
Is your vet an equine specialist? Hocks can settle, they can take up to 2 years, once they are medicated you usually have to work them to concuss the joint so their body works to mend them. It depends on where the spavins are located. It also depends what you want to do with him, if you love the horse and just are happy to do low level stuff he can probably do the job. I know some that have gone back to their previous level of work but I do some dressage and small jumps with mine but he is 16 now and has just has hock issues (non KS related) so I would hesitate to do loads of jumping but that's fine because he is much better at jumping than me as I'm a scaredy cat.

Why don't you spend a few weeks long reining and see how he goes, you may be lucky that the palliative works. If you put the long reins through the bit and attach them to a d ring on a roller between his front legs and you are light with your pressure & release with your hands, you can make a very flexible type of pessoa action without forcing him into an outline. It works brilliantly for my horse, give it a go and ask your vet a load more questions, I think he hasn't been very clear with you. Good luck.
 
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The vets actually really good, I just didn't know enough about it to ask proper questions I should probably give him a phone. The wee horse was supposed to be my showing horse, I've had him since he was three and backed him myself. He is not a happy hacking horse and I would need to take that into account I suppose
 
I'd have another chat with the vet. It sounds like you know your horse really well & sounds like you've been really unlucky, mine had genetic KS & I knew he wasn't right within a couple of weeks of buying him as a 4yr old but I couldn't bear to send him back and here we are 12years later. Saying that, I never thought I'd ever be able to ride him again, but he rehabbed really well and is fully capable of an elementary dressage test and can easily pop 3ft with quite some clearance, it's just me that lets the team down, he has just come back into work as his spavin has settled & he is sound and looks really well so we are starting our dressage lessons again next week - he has definitely been the comeback kid!

I don't know enough about showing to understand the impact, but my friend has a small horse with similar issues plus cushings & ulcers and has started driving him and he has turned out to be fantastic and is competing all over the place so never say never, so you might find another role for him, carriage driving was the last thing she thought she'd ever do and it has kept his back really strong.

I wish you good luck and I hope you can make some progress, if you want any ideas on the groundwork to strengthen just send me a pm, but I suspect you already know what you are doing!

(oh and my friends vet told her Arthriaid is a great & good value supplement so I've just bought some to see if it makes any difference, she feeds it with pernamax which is green lipped mussels!)
 
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The hocks are probably a secondary injury from the KS from carrying himself incorrectly. Sort the KS and get the spavin to fuse and you may at least get something rideable. Competitive sport - very individual which is why the vet won't commit.
I have a 20yo who is fine in her back but has had a spavin on both sides. Currently back working at GP level at home and going better than ever. Unfortunately not able to compete in dressage due to bitting issues from her melanoma.
 
From a "holistic" pov I'd look at fixing the ulcers primarily - until he's comfortable in his gut/torso, he's never going to be able to lift and stretch his back so the KS won't be relieved - and a stronger back will in turn support hocks.

I would not lunge... I'd turn him out on a steep hill if poss to allow his back to heal... and ask him to step over cavaletti and long-line after a couple of weeks. I don't think this is a rush job. If time is on your side I'd probably be looking at a winter of building strength rather than indoor competition.
 
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