Perforated capsule in hock

[Green Bean]

Anyone have experience with this? My horse was kicked in the hock which has resulted in a chipped bone and damaged cartilage, and she lost all the fluid in the capsule around the joint.

 

[MidChristmasCrisis]

A friend had a youngster who damaged his hind leg and the synovial fluid was leaking. Horse spent 4 weeks in horspital...could have come home sooner but owner wanted clean conditions in which to heal and professionals to bandage etc. Horse recovered really well and is broken in and riding away now.

 

[Tiddlypom]

Oof, OP, that sounds worrying. Is that the synovial fluid which has drained out?

ETA Adorable Alice had one of hers with leaking synovial fluid from a kick relatively recently, I think that was to the hock too. The mare did recover after a time in horsepital. The treatment will be expensive.

 

[ycbm]

I'm really sorry it's that bad GB, and you've posted elsewhere that your insurance is very minimal. Please press your vets very hard for a % likelihood that she will recover to a position where you would be able to keep her (whether that is ridden or retired) before you let them bankrupt you with the cost of treatment for what is likely to be both a long haul rehab and very expensive.

The only horse I have known with a similar injury took two joint flush operations and months of antibiotics to resolve to a state where she was paddock sound. The total cost approached ten thousand and that was 15 years ago.

I wish I could be more upbeat, sorry ?
.

 

[ihatework]

You need to be guided by your vet in this. These types of injuries are not all equal.

With luck on your side they can tidy the joint up, pump full of antibiotics and likely some joint injections at some point. If the damage isn’t extensive and you don’t succumb to infection then there is the genuine possibility of a positive outcome (but it won’t be cheap).

Unfortunately there is a real risk it could all be for nothing but a big bill and no horse too.

 

[shortstuff99]

I have had horse have a kick to the knee which perforated the joint and had bone fragments. My horse had an operation to clean it all out and then IV antibiotics and a long period of rest (about a year +) but came back to 100% and never had a problem again. It was however, very expensive but my insurance covered it.

I also had a horse jump into my paddock and kick one of mine in the hock, missed perforating but did have to spend a week at Newmarket having it cleaned etc, which cost about 3k. Nearly 8 years on has never (so far) been a problem either.

I now am very picky about who I turn my horses out with and near!

 

[Green Bean]

Just thought I would give an update from my original post on my mare's injury. She has been back in her stable for a week now and seems to be coping okay. I am allowed to take her out for hand grazing so that is helping her sanity a bit and have temporarily changed her feed on advice from a very helpful lady at Keyflow. Changing the bandage every second day is a pain though, but more for her as it is a lot of very sticky tape that needs to be pulled off her fur each time. She will be having her stitches out on Monday so hoping for an update on her care and progress after that.

 

[Errin Paddywack]

Fingers crossed for good news on Monday.

 

[Polos Mum]

I had almost exactly this injury to a gelding of mine. he had an emergency joint flush at midnight - about 5 hours after he'd done it (during which they also removed chips of bone). Speed made a massive difference to infection risk.
It was a long process and I was told 10-25% chance of being ridden - this was 6 years ago. But after 12 months he was back in work, 18 months after doing jumping clinics / winning unaffiliated and is still going. He did a ODE last year and is now only slowing down due to age.

we were really lucky and lack of infection played a big part.

 

[Buster2020]

Just thought I would give an update from my original post on my mare's injury. She has been back in her stable for a week now and seems to be coping okay. I am allowed to take her out for hand grazing so that is helping her sanity a bit and have temporarily changed her feed on advice from a very helpful lady at Keyflow. Changing the bandage every second day is a pain though, but more for her as it is a lot of very sticky tape that needs to be pulled off her fur each time. She will be having her stitches out on Monday so hoping for an update on her care and progress after that.
View attachment 52466

That sounds nasty poor girl I hope she recover well. How did the injury happen.

 

[Marigold4]

I had this situation. Horse became VERY upset by the tacking off of the sticky tape at the top of the bandage. It became very painful for her and dangerous to go near her back legs after a couple of weeks as she was anticipating the pain. White spirits helped - soak the sticky tape with it and then it comes off easier. £10k down and horse didn't make it as infection kept returning.

 

[Green Bean]

Well today the vet came to remove the stitches. I was hoping it would be goodbye to the bandage, but when removing the stitches, there was a little blood because I think the stitches were quite difficult to remove and the hock is still a bit swollen. So, bandage on for 2 more days, but that isn't the end of the world. Although the hock is still swollen, there is no heat coming from it so that is good news, no more yucky antibiotics! (says my mare).
I was hoping for confirmation that box rest could end in 2 weeks and then limited turnout in a small paddock, but that is now unlikely, I suppose I was being over-optimistic. She will still need to be confined to box rest and will need weeks of in hand walking before we can even look at limited turnout. Not what I was hoping for.

Marigold4 I am so sorry your horse didn't make it xx

 

[Marigold4]

Well today the vet came to remove the stitches. I was hoping it would be goodbye to the bandage, but when removing the stitches, there was a little blood because I think the stitches were quite difficult to remove and the hock is still a bit swollen. So, bandage on for 2 more days, but that isn't the end of the world. Although the hock is still swollen, there is no heat coming from it so that is good news, no more yucky antibiotics! (says my mare).
I was hoping for confirmation that box rest could end in 2 weeks and then limited turnout in a small paddock, but that is now unlikely, I suppose I was being over-optimistic. She will still need to be confined to box rest and will need weeks of in hand walking before we can even look at limited turnout. Not what I was hoping for.

Marigold4 I am so sorry your horse didn't make it xx

Thanks - it was a terrible time. Someone let off fireworks at 4.45 pm the day before fireworks night just as I was getting her in. She bolted and ran through 2 sets of electric fencing and then ended up with a leg through a gate. I am absolutely terrified of fireworks now and keep my horses in for weeks from 4 onwards just in case.

A word of advice - take notes of exactly what the vet says about time scales and treatment and take them in front of him/her. Mine said things like you can take her home in 7 days, then when I said can I take her home now after the 7 days, he looked at me as though I was mad and said emphatically No, it would be at least a month. He did this again and again about box rest, flushes, antibiotics etc. I don't know if he genuinely didn't remember what he'd said or if they give you optimistic time scales to encourage you to keep going. I felt so stupid when I referred to the original timing and wish I'd taken notes so I could have shown him what he had said - just for my own sanity as in the end I felt "gaslighted". I just say this cos it sounds like your vet said a different time scale for box rest before and it rang "alarm bells". I'd honestly rather vets said they didn't know how long rather than give false hope.

 

[Buster2020]

That’s a brilliant update