On going lameness

[teach]

My Trad cob went lame on RH at beginning of Feb, did 2 weeks box rest and bute, with absolutely no improvement. We took him to Hirds for investigation, where some minor arthritic changes were found in his hocks(which do not reflect the grade of lameness-7/10), so he had a dose of steroids in his hocks, and a graduated walking programme started. He improved to around 4/10 lame, so had another steroid dose 4 weeks ago and the walking stepped up.
He is still lame maybe 2/10 now. He has had his stifles checked, and no issues found.

Has anyone got any ideas? He has had the style of shoeing that Hirds recommended, and physio. I am seriously considering turning him away for 6 months to see if time can fix him.

 

[be positive]

You are still early on with the treatment and rehab, I assume he nerve blocked sound to the hocks so even though his lameness is more than expected it may hurt him more than the same degree of arthritis would another horse, pain thresholds vary and although the steroids will reduce the soft tissue inflammation and so reduce the pain they will not cure the cause which is a degenerative condition, regular light exercise is usually recommended as it helps the joints settle down and fuse after treatment.

I would continue with daily exercise, turn him out as much as possible, he should gradually improve, turning away completely will not fix the condition and if he is inclined to gain weight it may be detrimental to his joints to do so, especially at this time of year.