Hock drilling Op. for Spavin

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Llwyncwn

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I have gifted one of my horses to a close friend and she has now been diagnosed with spavin (horse, not friend). Roxy went for hock medication a couple of months ago which entailed steroid injections into the hock. She came home, had 3 days box rest and ...

First day turn out ... decided it was too far to free walk around my car, so she jumped the bonnet, bucked and f'ted all the way to the field. We thought - sorted.

Now she is even more lame and vets want to operate. This is an invasive op which involves a GA and drilling into the hocks to enable fusion.

My friend has her insured for £3k vets bills. My clinic has loaded her mediation claim for £1800, so there is only £1200 left. Therefore, vets are suggesting that they operate on both hocks at the same time to save on fee's. We cant seem to get answers from the vets, so my question is ...

Have any of you had this op done on both hocks at the same time. What was the success rate. Did you question vets about statistics?

The ginger one is 17.2hh, doesnt take any cr@p and will demolish a wooden stable in no time. She can identify any foreign bodies in her feed, i.e. bute, anti's etc. How can a horse this size possibly stand weight bearing on both hocks after this op?

Here is a pic ...
montybonnyandfoals020-1.jpg


All suggestions would be most welcome.
 
So sorry to hear of your girl's woes. No idea how she will cope with both hocks - I don't know the process involved. My girl has bad hindlegs (suspensory ligaments), and given the amount of pain she is in she seems to manage at the moment by shifting all her weight onto her forehand. The times I've noticed most problems are tight turns, and when stalling - getting back to being square is difficult. She also rests alternate hind legs all the time now. The vets must think it is a feasible option to suggest doing both at the same time: what does your 'normal' vet say?
 
Thanks for your reply and sorry to hear of your girls suspensory ligaments
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** what does your 'normal' vet say? **

These are my normal vets and have an equine clinic about 25 miles away. They normally use an excellent surgeon who visits from Willersley each week to do the more difficult operations. He is the one who we cant get hold of atm to answer our queries, hence the post.
 
No hun, you are not being thick at all. I really appreciate your good wishes and find it interesting to hear that other people have broken horses too and its not just me!
 
I was told that they only do this operation as a last resort. My horse has bilateral bone spavins and had his hocks medicated twice and I was advised to gently ride him to encourage fusion.

After 18 months his hocks fused themselves.

Its a tough call and I cant advise you one way or another, but know you will make the right decision for the horse.

I hope everything works out well for your both.
 
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