xrays bone spavin ... anyone with good at understanding them

[Daisy2]

http://www.myvetsxl.com/en/ImageVie...-de50-4610-bc99-97ef7d334bdf&indexRecherche=0

I recently posted about my boy and his spavin, I have read lots of good things on its prognosis. The vet took the above xrays and sent us away with a prescription of bute and exercise because the low tarsal joints were/had doing a good fusing by themselves.

Marley is really short in his LH and trots with a real hitch and kind of lands toe first almost. I feel bad exercising him but I can see that he will only get worse doing nothing, very lazy cob and late teens early twenties, sweet horse and very lovable.

He is barefoot and I regularly roll and rasp the toe back to ease breakover, he has really great feet, shame about his bones.

So if interested please click and paste into your browser and his rays will come up. They dont look pretty but then I have no idea.

At the time I was in shock at the vets and kind of went in to a silent I know nothing mode so did not really quiz the vet. just took the advise and left with my box of 100 bute

Any thoughts from you knowledgeable folk?

Thanks a lot.

 

[OLDGREYMARE]

Thanks for posting,if you look at your chaps xrays alongside pictured of a normal hock I think you will be able to see the lower joints fusing as you described along with a certain loss of definition of the bone edges which are arthritic changes.Am I right in thinking they are supposed to come sound when the hock fuses completely?

 

[Daisy2]

Yes apparently they are meant to fuse but me being no expert I can see as you say there is no or hardly any space between the bones left but I just think the whole joint looks a mess and even if they were to fuse those bones look like they could just crumble into a million pieces. I think I will go and pester the vet some more and try to get a better understanding. All he said was they were the worst he had ever seen, which was not helpful, what does that mean to me? How can I measure that? Anyhow I just want him to be comfortable. He is on 1 -2 bute a day sometimes with a break on DC and tumeric and I hack him out 3 days a week round the block about an hour just in walk, a bit of trot, sometimes a cheeky canter if he goes for it and I have started long reining in straight lines, bit boring for me but his comfort spurs me on to do it before work. Anyway rambing now, thanks for the reply.