Caramac71
Well-Known Member
I've just come across this thread and I can really sympathise with everything you are going through. I wanted to share an abbreviated version of our story with you, in case any of it is of benefit.
We had a 5 year old (very low mileage) mare who was diagnosed with facet joint arthritis and strain to her supraspinous ligament, following a complete reluctance to go forward and nappy behaviour. We were very inexperienced (my daughter was 16 and this was the first horse we had purchased) and everyone told us it was behavioural, she should ride through it, etc. But gut instinct told us something was wrong and we sought vet advice. She eventually got her diagnosis after a bone scan (the facet joints didn't show on back x-ray). She had Tildren, shockwave and extensive rehab - she improved to a degree but was written off by the vets as "a hack at best" - which wasn't ideal as not what we'd bought her for and she was awful to hack.
We tried everything we could over the next couple of years, without any permanent improvement. Sometimes she'd improve temporarily after a treatment but then revert back. It just always felt like we were treating the latest symptoms but had never got to the root of the cause of her problems, and it always seemed odd that a young mare who'd done very little previously would have arthritis.
I eventually contacted Tom Beech (The osteopathic vet) and asked him if he would see her and tell me if she was worth continuing with. I just needed an honest opinion to tell me it was time to stop. We agreed he would assess and treat, and then see her a short time after treatment to see if any improvement. If she'd reverted back, then that was our sign to stop trying. At his first assessment, he found her to have an enlarged right ovary (she'd previously had scan of ovaries that hadn't shown up anything unusual) and he suspected she had hind gut issues. He gave the first osteo treatment, and we started her on a dietary regime and supplements to support both issues, along with inhand rehab exercises.
He returned for a follow up a month or so later, and felt she had maintained the effects of the previous treatment. So we agreed to continue. It took time but she did get back to full work; competing dressage up to elementary and jumping at around 80cm. Most of that was limited by her work ethic and temperament
rather than any physical problems. She still sees Tom twice a year for maintenance checks but we know her well enough now to recognise when her issues are flaring up and how to adjust her supplements and lifestyle accordingly.She's 15 now, we've semi retired her as she didn't enjoy the competing side of things, and my daughter has bought another horse with the aim of competing. But she's still sound and happy, and enjoys being ridden a couple of times a week.
