Hocks not underneath pony properly

[bananaboots10]

I had my hairy cob out to the vets today for xrays as we have noticed he hasnt been wanting to go forward on the left rein but seems fine on the right. The vet xrayed and has found that the gaps in his hocks are not as wide as they should be and the way his legs are means his hocks dont go underneath him properly. He has never showed any signs of lameness and i dont know how he seems to stuffle on his left but not his right.
Now the plan going forward from the vet is to look into back shoes as he is currently barefoot and work with the physio to build his core and the area surrounding his pelvis so there is less pressure on his legs. The question is has anyone ever experienced, is there livht at the end of tunnel where he could be a ridden pony (he is only 5) if yes is there anything else we can do to help him? Vet is thinking either just poor confirmation has caused this or his feet being in a very bad way before I got him. Any help suggestions would be great please

 

[Highmileagecob]

At five years old he is a baby in cob terms - full maturity often doesn't come in until around ten years old. My personal view is that I would slowly build up his hill and road work to build up topline, and not overdo any fast paces. Cobs do not lunge well, due to the short leg to heavy body ratio, and until you get the basic muscle structure in place, you risk injury as he will lean into the lunge instead of carrying himself. Ask your farrier to check his feet, and don't be afraid to keep him barefoot if his feet are doing their job. I am not quite sure what is meant by 'the gaps in his hocks' is your vet referring to the joint spaces?

 

[bananaboots10]

Thank you for your rely, background on him, he is younger than I was told he was so I have always took it easy, only light hacks or a bit of light schooling once or twice at most. He was off all last summer to mature and he has been off 15weeks weeks this year as we thought he had back issues from an incorrect fitted saddle (saddle fitter had only been out two weeks before)
I am not keen on shoes to be honest as his feet are in very good condition now compared to the state of them when we got them, they were so out of shape.
This is not his xray but found one online to just highlight where she means, she said its like they are compacted

 

[Highmileagecob]

A second opinion might not go amiss in a few month's time. He sounds very young to be diagnosed with joint defects, unless there is an injury you are not aware of. Good luck with him, I hope he comes right.

 

[Sossigpoker]

Thank you for your rely, background on him, he is younger than I was told he was so I have always took it easy, only light hacks or a bit of light schooling once or twice at most. He was off all last summer to mature and he has been off 15weeks weeks this year as we thought he had back issues from an incorrect fitted saddle (saddle fitter had only been out two weeks before)
I am not keen on shoes to be honest as his feet are in very good condition now compared to the state of them when we got them, they were so out of shape.
This is not his xray but found one online to just highlight where she means, she said its like they are compacted View attachment 100329

This is the tarso-metatarsal joint space fusing due to arthritis. The average age for horses to be treated for arthritis , particularly in hocks , is now about 6! It's certainly not unusual for a 5 year old to have hock changes and as cobs tend to be fairly straight through the hocks , this isn't uncommon.
A typical treatment would start with a steroid injection into the joints. Did your vet not mention this ?

 

[Highmileagecob]

Without seeing the actual x-ray, it is entirely possible that this is a growth plate defect, which is a whole different ball game.

 

[bananaboots10]

Its on both sides and the vet thought the tight was worse than the left. We have issues wuth him wanting to go foward on the left but no problems on the right (ridden and unridden)

 

[bananaboots10]

I had said about that but the vet had said there is no arthritis there yet ?

 

[Sossigpoker]

I had said about that but the vet had said there is no arthritis there yet ?

Then it's probably a growth plate issue - what does the vet suggest for treatment?

 

[bananaboots10]

The vet has suggested putting back shoes on him to lift his heel and to work with the physio to build up his muscle round his pelvis (as there is a lot of movement) and build up his core. She has said that we need to make him the best we can get him to see if he can be a ridden pony or at most a driving pony. I actually have a chiropractor coming out to him tomorrow as the physio thinks his left side pelvis sits higher than his right.

 

[sbloom]

Have a listen to https://www.equitopiacenter.com/podcast/podcast-in-conversation-with-clinician-celeste-lazaris/, I don't think you have to be a member, of any of her other podcasts. Her approach goes way deeper than most physio type rehab and has given me a completely new understanding of how a horse should move and, as a result, should look.

 

[bananaboots10]

Have a listen to https://www.equitopiacenter.com/podcast/podcast-in-conversation-with-clinician-celeste-lazaris/, I don't think you have to be a member, of any of her other podcasts. Her approach goes way deeper than most physio type rehab and has given me a completely new understanding of how a horse should move and, as a result, should look.

Thank you, I will have a lesson, happy to look into anything to help him.