Recurring problems - WWYD

xrays have been done today of the withers, fetlocks and neck - no abnormalities have shown, he did say the scintigraphy is very sensitive and picks up things that are not visible on radiographs and after the xrays and palpation believes these areas are currently not significant to the symptoms.

So I had a good discussion with him about the way forward and he thinks it is of benefit to the horse for many reasons to continue light work.

He is going to medicate the hocks and sacroiliac with steroid injections and then the horse can come home - really looking forward to seeing him tomorrow when I collect him.

If these only work for a short time then I will reassess

in the mean time I'm driving myself mad searching for supplements in the hope they will help to slow down the process
 
has he had any investigation re soft tissue? Just thinking as per my first response to your post, SI and hocks often come hand in hand with hind suspensory issues. Really not wanting to put a downer on things, but it would be horrible to medicate etc and find there's something else further down the line.
Sorry you've had some rubbish news, though I guess it's at least helping to know what you are dealing with.
 
oh god don't say that milliepops - no I don't think he had any soft tissue investigations, only lameness checks and the like

I actually can't take any more bad news - if these injections don't help then he'll be retired anyway. If he is found to have hind suspensory problems he will be retired as with all of the issues combined there is little hope!
 
Wheels said:
oh god don't say that milliepops - no I don't think he had any soft tissue investigations, only lameness checks and the like

I actually can't take any more bad news - if these injections don't help then he'll be retired anyway. If he is found to have hind suspensory problems he will be retired as with all of the issues combined there is little hope!
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Ohhhh sorry I really didn't mean to be the voice of doom :( :( :(
It seems very common that the 3 go together, that's all, and personally I'd be heartbroken to discover it down the line. Bleedin horses are such a worry sometimes.
 
You prompted me to call the vet about hind suspensories

He is not ruling them out but thinks the issues he's found can explain the symptoms we currently have - if we don't see vast improvement from the steroid injections in 3-4 weeks then it's worth investigating but my own vet can do that as he has scanners and the like here, the horse is currently 180 miles away so once I get him home and carefully watch him and look for improvements and if there aren't any I'll have to have another think

But honestly with a potential 6 arthritic sites + hind suspensory problems in a 7 year old then retirement is going to be the outcome
 
Fwiw I think you are being very sensible, I would want to see a significant improvement with the initial steroids before I continued trying to treat anything else.

I know how difficult it is to say no to another diagnostic or treatment when all we want is our horses to be happy and comfortable. Great news that he is coming home :)
 
LJR said:
Fwiw I think you are being very sensible, I would want to see a significant improvement with the initial steroids before I continued trying to treat anything else.

I know how difficult it is to say no to another diagnostic or treatment when all we want is our horses to be happy and comfortable. Great news that he is coming home :)
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Thank you

It's been a very difficult and upsetting few months but especially the last couple of days. I just can't wait to bury my face in his mane and give his lovely soft nose a kiss!! Soft I know lol
 
I wanted to update this and ask some more advice if anyone wants to chip in.

Poor horse never came fully sound after steroid injections in hocks and SI joints both sides. I tried to do some light work on vets advice but he just wasn't happy.

I think he's now getting worse, apart from the odd time where he might have a bit of a canter in the field, he is not very active and I'm increasingly finding he has some indicators from the pain face guide and generally he just looks a bit down and unhappy.

He is still very kind and sweet, no grumpiness but I am very worried about him and not sure what to do next.

I will be speaking to the vets later but looking for experiences / thoughts

He is retired to the field now but worried he's in pain and I can't tell how much.
 
If I thought a horse was in pain that I can't fix, I'd be booking the day. Sorry you are in this situation, but it's the kindest thing you can do for him.
 
What happens if you give him a a good big dose of Danilon for two days and then keep him on a decent dose for pain relief when he's on field rest .
 
These are the two options going through my mind - he isn't currently on pain relief as I wanted to see if he would come sound and it is clear now that he won't and over the last couple of weeks he has got worse.

As he is only 8 I wasn't sure about the effects of long term pain relief but will chat to my vet about it
 
Oh, I'm so sorry to hear this. Unfortunately there are some things (a lot...) that just aren't fixable. I have not had good results with steroid injections and probably now would not bother going down that route. If the horse is in pain and it's not possible to relieve that, then I would be thinking about quality of life rather than quantity.....sorry.
 
I would say that if you are planning to keep the horse in retirement then the only fair thing to do is keep him reasonably pain free with bute/Danilon and in a situation with adequate field space and company t be a horse. Otherwise PTS. Life sucks sometimes.
 
I wouldn't worry about the long term effects of pain relief if the horse isn't comfortable the here and now needs to come first.
 
On discussion with the vet she thinks that the steroid injections have possibly worn off which is why he has deteriorated over the last couple of weeks

We're going to try him on danilon to see if we can improve things - I will try that for a short time but if no improvement or not enough improvement I will have to let him go.

He lives out with his two buddies so if I can keep him pain free for a little while longer that is what I'll do. If I can't then I will make that decision shortly

Thank you for your support, it means a lot
 
Wheels said:
On discussion with the vet she thinks that the steroid injections have possibly worn off which is why he has deteriorated over the last couple of weeks

We're going to try him on danilon to see if we can improve things - I will try that for a short time but if no improvement or not enough improvement I will have to let him go.

He lives out with his two buddies so if I can keep him pain free for a little while longer that is what I'll do. If I can't then I will make that decision shortly

Thank you for your support, it means a lot
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Is he shod ATM ?
 
Stomach problems ruled out? I have resistance to going forward, bucking and napping when my horse's sensitive tummy kicks off. A couple of weeks of ulcer meds gets her right.
 
He was scoped yes and succeed test came back negative for hind gut issues - doesn't have runny poos and not stressy in any way
 
If they were november then yes, you are doing well if you get 6 months out of them. If he had come fully sound then I would suggest it would be a choice to do them again, but they didn't and you also need to be aware that the time you get from them reduces with each jab too - lets put it this way mine is 24 and when I suggested a second hock injection because he cannot have bute the vet say no, lets save them for when he really needs them. I guess it is still a choice you could make but there might be a why question if he they didn't resolve totally, perhaps in part due to his other issues, and therefore he might be better with something more systemic like bute anyway.

If you bute him for a bit at least you will know whether that is a solution for now or not, if it isn't you tried and can make decisions about him knowing that.
 
The sluggishness, not wanting to step under, finding shoulder in difficult are all symptoms of gastric ulcers. It's surprising how vets still do lots of lameness work ups and treatments without even considering gastric ulcers. Horses can have shiny coats and look well but still have them. However dull coats and scurfy manes can be a tell tale sign.
 
Thanks vanrim

I have worked out over the last year or so that the signs he exhibits could possibly be put down to an awful lot of different things.

What I have learnt is that horses displaying these kinds of behaviours are almost certainly in pain but that really could be anywhere and anything.

So many people on here and in the general horsie world think that if a horse exhibits these types of symptoms then you should reach straight for the ulcer meds without thinking of the consequences and the costs involved but there are plenty of other things to take into consideration
 
He does seem to be happier now on the danilon, no pain face and moving a bit more, he actually cantered after the other two yesterday. Waiting with anxiety for a wet, cold and windy day or two to see how he copes then
 
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