Spavin

smokeybabes

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My horse has been in very light work for a couple of years due to me studying. I have recently been bringing him back into work and doing more schooling with him. He has felt not quite right, espcially in the school so i decided to get him checked over by a physio. She says he has a low grade lameness that is in his left hock and is likely to be spavin.
Just wondering if anyone has dealt with spavin in their horse as i've not dealt with it before. Just want to get an idea of treatment and prognosis.
Also how much does an lameness exam, nerve blocks and x rays cost nowadays??!
Thanks!
 

cellie

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I have had surgery done on my horses spavin because he was very lame and also the prognosis is good for recovery with surgery.There are lots of ways you can deal with the problem.Tildren is a new drug that you can look into and injections into the area for fusing the bone are another option.
Surgery is around £3000 injections are alot less but they dont always work and sometimes need to be redone.Alot depends on your insurance and vets opinion.If you need any info on surgery my horse had it done in jan and i will be happy to discuss.pm me if interested and Ill give you my email or tel no.
 

summertoots

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Treatment and prognosis all depends on how far advanced the arthritis is and where exactly in the hock it is. For this you will have to get your vet out for nerve blocks and x-rays.
I have known horses to be operated on to fuse the joint, some will fuse on their own and some get cortisone (sp!!) injections, each case is as individual as the horse.
Is your horse insured as this treatment can get costly?
It is true to say most hind limb lameness is in the hock, but till you get the vet to look your horse over and a diagnosis you wont realy know what you are dealing with.
I know how you are feeling though, my lad is getting his right hind looked at , I found some heat and swelling at the top of his extensor tendon this morning, and he is dropping his hip so something is not right there, all this a week after he fell through the ground where a rabit hole was underneath and ended up with a fat knee and twelve staples in his face!!
 

fredthoroughbred

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Hi Smokeybabes,

I had Fred x-rayed, nerved blocked etc for bone spavin and it cost a little under £500. The worst part of it was, it turns out he doesn't even have bone buggering spavin!!! I wish he did because at least I would know what was up with him and could treat it
confused.gif


Sorry, I went off on a rant there but it gets you down.

Goodluck with your beasty though
smile.gif
 

Apalacia01

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Hi,

Well really, it depends on the age of your beastie! If it is a youngish one, you can take immediate action with the aforementioned injections or surgery, however, for an older horse, it can be treated as arthritis - basically, the bone will eventually fuse itself and with bute/supplements they will be comfortable enough.

My mare was 6 when she had bi-lateral hock arthordesis (basically, drilling the bone out of the bad bit of the lower hock joint so that it fused into one - its a low movement joint and therefore it doesn't really affect in most cases general activities). My mare gets still once in a while, and can get a bit sore through her back...she was initially only 2/10 lame - but was uncomfortable.

She is now back to full work. I won't breed from her as it could be hereditary, but she is back to jumping 1.25 and she is 14.2hh! So, good prognosis!

If you want anymore info, PM me - I really have tried every different method, and although surgery was for me, there are so many different routes.

Good luck!
 

smokeybabes

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Thanks for all your responses.
He's 14. Like i said for over 2yrs he's had an easy life as i was doing a MSc and was very busy so he was a happy hacker and often only occaisional light hacking. He always seemed ok doing this, though my trimmer (he's barefoot) had noticed some uneven wear on the left hind.
Since doing more with him over the last few weeks i've noticed signs of him not being happy and a low grade lameness.
I got a physio out as i thought it might be pelvis related, but pelvis and everything else is all ok. She said it was a good sign nothing else was affected as means he can't be in too much discomfort and he's not compensating elsewhere.
Only problem is he is (was!) for sale, which was reason i was working him more. I go to US in 3weeks. I did have a back up plan of a friend who wanted him on loan with view to buy if i didn't sell him in time but not sure if she'll be happy with having to organise examinations and treatment and insurance claims. Don't suppose anyones going to want to buy him now, and even if they did i'd worry about them not getting it treated and sorted and using him whilst he's in pain.
Arrggghh!!!
 

Apalacia01

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Oh dear - you are in a dilemma. Are you going to live/study in the States? I have a similar problem - I am going in August to do an MA and pony even though now sound is unsellable. If you are coming back, turn him away - find a field and get someone to check that he isn't bad. If it is only low level lameless, he will be much better out and about, and as I said, with time it will heal itself. I don't think your friend would be willing to take him on (unless insured) but it is a lot of heartache.

Not a chance he is going to sell with it though realistically - mine is unsellable, and she has had the surgery.

Good good luck.
 
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