Spavins. :(

[tabithakat64]

My horse is having his hocks medicated again later this week.

After nearly two years of managing it with daily exercise, lateral extensions, Cortaflex and unlimited turnout, he's hopping lame

He originally had the hock medicated with cortisteriods then had a course of Adequan.

I had hoped that the joints would fuse.

I'm pretty down about the whole thing, I hate that he's in pain, I was really hoping to start doing more with him competition wise and really don't want to end up with a third horse that is limited work wise to a plod around the block.

What are the chances of him coming sound enough to compete after being reinjected?

Is there anything else I could do long term to help keep him sound other than using magnetic band and danilon when needed?

 

[Pidgeon]

Hey up you, don't be so down! Pig had his done 2 years after the first lot of injections as it was in the inter tarsal joint, 1st time was in the meta tarsal joint. Pig still does everything we did beforehand, in fact this was him on Saturday, note the perfectly level hind legs on take off -

and this was him the weekend before having won both the novice and intermediate WH -

Keep him fit not fat, on a good joint supplement and fingers crossed no reason you can't go out competing

 

[Birker2020]

why don't you ask the vet about hock fusion using ethanol which is pure alchohol. My horse has had this done. It immediately kills the nerves in the hocks so the horse feels no pain and takes place although this can take 18 months or more. It costs £300 for both hocks (both will need to be done at the same time). The horse stops in over night and is then out the next day, and can be walked for a week and then back to work by the end of the second week.http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.2042-3306.2011.00512.x/full

 

[Mitchyden]

The above worked for me and I'm now back doing endurance a year after having it done. I did only have one hock done though because so far the other has been fine.

I would add that the lateral extensions didn't work for me so I took her barefoot and she grows her own lateral extensions!

 

[tabithakat64]

Having read the article you posted the link to and other information available on this procedure it doesn't mention the joint which is infected in my horse (meta tarsal).

To those of you that have had the joint fused with Ethanol, how has it affected your horses movement? I want to be able to show and do dressage on my boy.

 

[Pidgeon]

Same joint as Pig. What has your vet said about the cortisteroid jabs?

 

[tabithakat64]

After consulting with the vet and Merlin being sound since he had one bute on Sunday, we are going to put him on a low dose of bute/danilon and see how he goes before injecting the hock again.

After what happened with Fudge I tend to panic that every sign of lameness is going to mean a permanently crippled horse or worse.

 

[Pidgeon]

Hugs, you've been through a rough time with the horses.
Fingers crossed it settles down and he doesn't need the injections but if he does he should come back ok.