My Horse has Osteoarthritis in front Fetlocks

[marley and danni]

hi All,

my horse has recently been diagnosed with moderate osteoarthritis in both front fetlocks mild in left and moderate in the right. They have been medicated last week and hes sound on them for now. We are looking into his back leg next week as that now is not sound and could be arthritis in hock or fetlock too.

He is only 10yrs old!!

im just wondering if there are any success storys or bad storys to help me realize how bad this is.... Will he continue in work will i have to retire him. i cant afford to pay £100.00 a month on bute once the injections ware off.... i have heard story's of horses becoming crippled within a few years of being diagnosed with it in fetlocks.

im just worried about him

can anyone help?

thanks

 

[eahotson]

I think we should start a support group for things like this.Mine has hock spavin.Mild the vet says.Worried like you.

 

[shergar]

Have a look at the TURMERIC USER GROUP on face book , lots of success stories on there.

 

[ew1801]

I'm in the same position, arthritis in both hocks, left stifle, fetlock, ring bone in both fronts and mild kissing spines. Mines only 11

 

[BDyasmine]

I guess it depends what sort of work you are hoping him to do. Mine has recently been diagnosed with OCD in stifles and slight changes in hocks. She was unresponsive to steroid treatment so has just had a bilateral arthroscopy, and now months of box rest.
My vet said that I need to be realistic with my expectations of her, though I knew that as soon as it was diagnosed. If i wanted to be a happy hacker or just light schooling the vet says that would be fine, but we were doing advanced medium dressage and jumping around a meter, and she will probably never get back to that. However in your case it is very good that he responded to the medication so the outlook is perhaps a little more bright when looking at that.
So really what I'm saying is it depends what your expectations of what you want to be able to do with him, and how well he responds to the treatment

 

[Michen]

I think we should start a support group for things like this.Mine has hock spavin.Mild the vet says.Worried like you.

If it's any consolation I had a horse on loan that had hock spavin. It was mild but enough to make him noticeably stiff in the winter and disunite if he hadn't been in regular work. Well I used to take that horse on 5 hour hacks (when he was fit!) in the summer and he never had a single stiff moment My friend also has a horse with hock spavin and he events and at 17 feels like a 5 year old to ride!!