Osteoarthritis in hocks, experiences please...

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MaxboleyBlack

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Hi all,

I have an 8 year old TB who never raced but did go into training as a 2 year old.

I noticed about 4 weeks ago he had started to slow down out hacking and especially when walking down hills. Vet came out and X-rayed both hocks and said he has arthritis in both.
She said the bone movement had gone too far to inject the hocks so the best thing to do would be to put him on 1 Danilon a day.

I then had a phone call from the vet later on that day to say that shes looked at the X-rays again and we could try the injection? She is coming back on 27th Aug to assess and possibly inject.

I just wondered if anyone else had been in this situation, and what did you do, Did you inject? How long were you able to ride them for after diagnosis, i realise each horse is different but some other experiences would be good to hear.

It's obviously quite a shock as hes only 8 and will only ever be a light hack at best now, but he will live out the rest of his days with me for as long as he is comfortable.
 
My ex-racer was 7 when I got him checked out due to issues being spooky and I'd also noticed him being slower to walk down hill.

My experience was that the injections definitely helped the hocks, but highlighted other issues (Kissing Spines & PSD) which were actually the causes of the arthritis in the hocks.

Sometimes arthritis is just arthritis, but it is good to keep in mind that there may be other things going on as well.

I hope your next vet visit goes well!
 
Thank you for sharing @timbobs, the vet did say he was tight in his back but could just be due to not carrying himself properly due to the hocks. I will get the hocks medicated and carry out further investigations as necessary.
 
Lots of horses have arthritic hocks (as well as other places) and compete.. its no reason he can't do more work than hack. I am sure many horses have arthritis yet owners aren't even aware. I believe the hock can fuse? Therefore no longer causing pain, I assume this is what the vet was referring to by 'gone to far' but feel free to correct me anyone if I am wrong.

I have a good friend with a gelding who was diagnosed at a similar age, hes in his 20's now and still does funrides, occasional jumping for fun. Hes injected yearly, on joint supplements and herbal pain killers and looks fantastic!
 
IMHO it’s definitely worth getting the hock joints injected if the vet agrees that it’s possible. He may well also be sore in his back if he’s been moving wonkily to avoid the discomfort in his hocks, so enlist the help of a good physio or other body worker to treat this. A course of cartrophen injections is another thing to consider, and could help with other niggly arthritic areas.

Many horses with hock arthritis can carry on in light or medium work if you can keep on top of it, and there are not too many other associated problems, though some have to be retired.

Good luck.
 
I assume the injection vet was talking about is steroids and not ethanol fusion? I'd go the steroids, they work for lots of Horses and the injections are relatively cheap.
 
Thank you TP and FB.

FB thank you that gives me a bit more hope, in response to the bones fusing this is what i was told on Saturday but apparently if you have the injection this doesn't allow the bones to fuse, The lady i spoke to her horse was 25 had never had injections just 3 x bute a week she said it took about 3 years for the bones to fuse and has kept her working ever since, she is still doing fun rides etc.

I will obviously be asking the vet about my comments above as this is something i have never dealt with before.
 
Bones do fuse over time. There is no set time of this though, for such a young Horse it could be years. You can have injections to help speed the fusion process along. So when you said injection I wasn't sure if you meant Steroids (which would be my first port of call) or the fusion injection. Steroids are pretty cheap but you may need to re inject as they do not last forever.
 
This is far from official advice, but hocks are often in a pattern of issues with SI and kissing spines, perhaps much milder than the hocks. May be worth looking at some of the amazing in hand rehab techniques such as arr.de, they have definitely turned horses around that have these issues by addressing the RSI type issues that trigger these sorts of issues.
 
Steroids in mine helped the hocks but highlighted the problem was higher up. I think its worth a go - the injections aren't particularly expensive and if that is the main problem area then you have a period of time to help him build up his muscles correctly. If they fuse then I believe the pain goes away anyway??
 
Then I would 100% go for the steriods and see what happens. They are pretty low risk, the Horse will be out of action for 24-48 hours and then you ride as normal. Everyone is different but some Horses can feel the effects for a year or so, others only a few months. So you won't know how often you would have to inject until you give it a go. Your vet may tell you to boxrest for 2 days following the injections, that is due to keeping the Horse off the grass as steroids have a lami risk (mine was always fine and I haven't known a Horse to have Lami as a side effect, but it can happen)

SEL - Yes once the bones fuse the pain goes away.
 
Thanks @SEL and @LaurenBay, from what i was told on Saturday i came to the conclusion that the injections stopped the bones from fusing but i obviously misunderstood. Ok, seems like its definitely worth giving the injections a shot, he will be covered by insurance for a year too.
 
The 48 hrs box rest post hock injections is to minimise the risk of the steroid being diffused out of the required area. Then a week of quiet work in straight lines.

As he’s insured, if your vet recommends that he needs a physio or other body worker, you should also be able to claim that back, though that could depend on the coverage offered by your policy. Ditto any extra trimming/farriery costs over and above what is normal.
 
steroid injection are often thought to delay fusion, that has certainly always been my understanding and is a concern with a younger horse when you know you will also get diminishing returns with each injection. The trouble is that not all hocks will naturally fuse anyway either. I presume yours are lacking joint space already if they thought they wouldn't be able to inject.

I would probably inject and see what difference it made and for how long and take it from there, while considering the insurance period. There are other medical non-joint injections that might also be suggested like cartrophen/arthrimid.
 
Mine had the steroid injection which helped for years. He was, iirc, about 10 at the time. He can't have more because the injection wouldn't get through the spur which has grown over the area. He's a h/w cob, lots of bone, currently 18. The farrier tells me it's very typical of heavyweights to have hock issues. He and my vet have liaised over treatment. There's another painkiller we can access if needed, not licensed for horses, can't remember the name.

I discounted ethanol fusion way back because it doesn't necessarily just affect the area you want. The joint has not fused naturally. The vet has mentioned Tildren, but the studies seen to contra-indicate it as the correct treatment for my horse. He's on up to 3 Danilon daily and it's a waiting game to see how he goes. He looks comfortable currently, I'm keeping a close eye on him. I will pts if I can't keep him comfortable. He's very quick to let me know if he's unhappy.

Dunno if my experience is helpful, feel free to contact me if you want details.
 
@Cinnamontoast thank you very much, so sorry to hear about your boy i hope you can continue to keep him comfortable as long as possible. Can i ask, when he was on the hock injections was he able to do more than "just a light hack" i.e schooling or fun rides etc?
 
Mine hunted, schooled to medium and went on a week riding hol after injection of his which pretty much resolved it completely. In hindsight I wish I'd had him done a bit earlier as he went on to have annular ligament issues.... but he was also 24 by that point.
 
He carried on as normal, it certainly didn't stop him hooning round the field and cantering when out. I never let him jump after he injured himself jumping a stream in the field, which I'm sure was the start of the issues, he was lame as heck coming in that day. 😢
 
Thank you @ester i was looking forward to starting hound exercise with him next month until i got this news, oh well fingers crossed maybe for next year :-) hoping i get the same positive results as you did.
 
We've done steroid hock injections on 2 of our hwt hunters. They both had arthritic hocks due to old age. One was starting to be uncomfortable downhill which made us investigate (down hill is worse for hocks than uphill.)

They had 2/3 days box rest to allow the drug to diffuse through the Joint, a week turned out in the field then came back into normal work. Both hunted successfully afterwards.
 
Cinnamontoast said:
Mine had the steroid injection which helped for years. He was, iirc, about 10 at the time. He can't have more because the injection wouldn't get through the spur which has grown over the area. He's a h/w cob, lots of bone, currently 18. The farrier tells me it's very typical of heavyweights to have hock issues. He and my vet have liaised over treatment. There's another painkiller we can access if needed, not licensed for horses, can't remember the name.

I discounted ethanol fusion way back because it doesn't necessarily just affect the area you want. The joint has not fused naturally. The vet has mentioned Tildren, but the studies seen to contra-indicate it as the correct treatment for my horse. He's on up to 3 Danilon daily and it's a waiting game to see how he goes. He looks comfortable currently, I'm keeping a close eye on him. I will pts if I can't keep him comfortable. He's very quick to let me know if he's unhappy.

Dunno if my experience is helpful, feel free to contact me if you want details.
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CT, it was probably Athramid. When the vet discussed this with me around a year and half ago, he put the idea forward, said it was unlicensed in the UK. After the X-rays he gave one hock a 70% chance with it and the other he told me not to waste my money. So I didn't go ahead with it as even if the one hock was treated, the other would not be. Insurance had run out and he quoted around £800. My parents actually offered to pay but I didn't want them to waste their money. I retired her and then later she was PTS.
 
Mine is 19 now and was diagnosed with shock arthritis when he was 8, too. We initially had hock injections. I couldn't tell you whether they made a difference because, bless him, I hadn't even noticed he was lame behind; I'd sent him for a lameness investigation for front leg lameness, which turned out to be a sprained ligament in the knee that needed box rest. I initially treated him with kid gloves - we just did small, flat walks. He had other ideas though and has been a great hacking horse since then. He's not had more injections and not been given bute routinely. He is on turmeric, which does make a huge difference to him. We did a 25km mountain ride yesterday, with no issues at all. Try not to be doom and gloom. Take each day as it comes and listen to your horse.
 
Mine was diagnosed with bone spavin both hocks last autumn and he is now 10. The injections only worked briefly but luckily he is now comfortable on 2 x danilon a day. He'd had a full body scan which didn't show any hot spots in his spine or SI - only the hocks - which were then xrayed. His back has always been very stiff & sensitive (and slightly humped if that makes sense!) but now after treating the hocks/doing physio he has started to move a lot better with the result he's changed shape, his back is much more relaxed/mobile and he is even starting to learn (and manage!!) lateral movements. So he's gone from bumbling along at the lowest levels of Prelim to being able to do a really nice Novice test. I'm cautiously optimistic! The worse thing was I could sense there was something wrong with him for a few years prior to the diagnosis but I just wasn't able to put my finger on it. I really had to wait until the symptoms became more obvious before consulting a vet. Whereas when I had a horse previous to him with bone spavin the symptoms were 'in your face'.
 
LaurenBay said:
CT, it was probably Athramid. When the vet discussed this with me around a year and half ago, he put the idea forward, said it was unlicensed in the UK. After the X-rays he gave one hock a 70% chance with it and the other he told me not to waste my money. So I didn't go ahead with it as even if the one hock was treated, the other would not be. Insurance had run out and he quoted around £800. My parents actually offered to pay but I didn't want them to waste their money. I retired her and then later she was PTS.
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Maybe, I don't remember, I was convinced I'd have to PTS at that point, so rather an emotional discussion! He's looking good currently, I'm just taking it one day at a time.
 
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