Yesterday P headed back to the vet. As you may remember, he was super body sore and after 2 weeks of being on Robaxin and no jumping, the vet had said if he was still showing soreness, then she wanted to possibly inject the SI.
P’s basically had the past 3 weeks completely off and after sending Trainer B some videos, he recommended asking the vet about doing hock injections as well. So I was mentally steeling myself to shell out some moola.
But first…on Sunday I got a text from BO saying P had lost a shoe….his RIGHT HIND, coincidentally the same leg the vet was most concerned about. Since I knew the vet would want to flex/jog him, I pleaded begged bribed stalked asked P’s former farrier if she could get him in that day. Thankfully she agreed to do him that evening, so I went out to stick a diaper on him to hold him for the afternoon and this is what greeted me:
Uhhhh, yikes. I had no idea if she’d even be able to get a shoe on that. It was clear he needed to be done all around and the regular barn farrier wasn’t scheduled to come out until Wednesday. So she worked her majik:
Which brings us to yesterday morning. With his new kicks on, the vet spun him around on the lunge and noted something ever so slightly in his RIGHT FRONT. Holy crap. But it was so intermittent, and so slight that she decided against blocking him, and moved onto the hind. He still palpated sore over his SI, but when she went to flex his hocks, it was clear what the issue was.
Unfortunately I didn’t video the flexions, but trust me when I say he was definitely not a fan of the hock flexion. He hadn’t been a fan of the farrier Sunday night either, when she was shoeing the right hind, and was definitely uncomfortable. Trotting off, he would swing the flexed leg in a circle, rather than bend at the hock. Which is something Trainer B saw in the lunging videos and something the vet saw in some of the riding videos I could pull up for her. It was worse in the right than in the left, but there was still some uncomfortable-ness in the left side as well.
So she recommended injecting the hocks for now. She didn’t want to inject more than one joint at a time, so that in case this wasn’t the golden ticket, it would at least eliminate that as the cause. But her hunch is that the hocks are the root cause of the pain and soreness, based on how he was compensating with his body to avoid bending them.
So homeboy got some drugs, got scrubbed down with antiseptic and she started with the left. Needle slid right in, and right out. Easy peasy.
Then she went to the right and….it wouldn’t go in. It took a few tries, but she finally got it in. The cause of the difficulty? Arthritis. Mild, but still…it’s there.
Ugh.
So we’re hoping that this is a good place to start. He’s currently in his stall, and will be there until tonight, which he’s just thrilled about.
Then I can clamber back on on Friday.
And take it easy through the weekend. He’s been ridden 3 times since August 2nd, I believe.
And he can jump next week. I’m thinking I may let Trainer B do the honors.
And give it two weeks to let the injections take full effect and see how he is. If this is it, great. If not, she said the SI will be next. As far as other maintenance, she doesn’t think he needs to go the full joint supplements (Legends, Adequan, etc) just yet. Just keep up with the injections as needed. Assuming this is the issue, of course.
And maaaaannnnn, I hope it is!
just pick a track any track, take ya chances 🙂 I am glad you have something you are trying though and who knows let’s hope this IS the golden ticket!! P’s face when he was left in was hilarious. Remus would be like. HAY no problem i can stay in for days. HA.
And yes I would let Trainer B jump him first. Why?? because not only do you NOT get killed but you can see from the ground how his hocks are doing.
FINGERS EYES TOES AND SO ON CROSSED FOR YA!
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Oh B will definitely get to. We’ve already discussed it 😂 Of course the real test is will he jump when I’m on him, but the first couple times I’d rather B be the one.
One thing I love about P is his easy-goingness. He was a little concerned when everyone else was out and he wasn’t, then sort did the horse version of a shrug and went back to his hay. He’s sooo disgusting in his stall, though, BO definitely can’t wait to throw him outside.
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Fingers crossed!!!!
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Thanks!
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Omg I really really hope that’s it! Poor buddy! It would certainly make sense that he’s compensating so much and that he’s so sore. Crossing all my crossables that you finally found out what it is!!
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Here’s hoping!
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Fingers crossed for both of you! At least you were able to confidently identify a joint that was bothering him, rather than injecting on a whim.
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Yeah, the rest and muscle relaxers did a good job in helping the vet pinpoint the main problem- worth the 2 week wait for sure
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hopefully you see a big difference! a lot of horses compensate through their whole bodies, especially in their backs, when their hocks are so sore. honestly i’m pretty sure that was a big piece of the puzzle with isabel when she started quitting on me, but i was never able to secure permission to proceed with a lameness eval + flexions.
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That’s crazy that the owner didn’t want you to get her checked out. I’m glad I decided to go with this vet and not just give P away to a random stranger (which was definitely a possibility last month). The diagnosis definitely explains the behavior and I can’t tell you how much I hope this will “cure” it, even though it’s hard to admit that.
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He and Henry have a lot in common, physically lol. It’s about time to do Henry’s yearly pokes and I’m just like bye money.
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Right, who needs money anyway? Food and electricity are so overrated
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Fingers crossed it is the ticket to get you both back out and competing in style again
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Here’s hoping!
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hm that is INTERESTING… and he didn’t flex on the hocks at all before? or maybe his whole hind end was so botched he was equally lame everywhere lol. will wonders never cease.
i def rode a horse that had arthritis in the hocks and would put the brakes on with absolutely no warning until we injected them. i think it’s smart that you just did the hocks for now and waited on the SIs…. maybe he’ll just need one!
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I asked about that- the vet said that’s why she wanted to give him the 2 weeks off and the meds. He was so wonky and body sore everywhere she had no idea where to even start before.
He was definitely still sore in the SI area. But he was more sore in the hocks. And since hock soreness can cause SI pain, she thinks that by treating the hocks, the SI pain should lessen. And if it doesn’t then he’ll get the SI injected.
My wallet seriously hopes the hock injections take care of all of it! 😂
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ill hold a vigil for your wallet. by setting money on fire (kidding!)
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Bahahahaha thank you 😂😂
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I feel like hocks dictate so much for jumping! Fingers crossed this makes him feel good as new!
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They definitely do considering how much they have to sit back on them to get over the fences! I hope this works sooo bad!
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I hope he improves with just the hocks and you can get back at it!
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My wallet agrees with you!
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Injections would be an “easy” fix. So yes, lets hope this is the CURE!!
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Most definitely!
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Fingers crossed!
All this stuff is super interesting, especially how the body compensates. We went to a lecture recently on subtle lameness in sports horses and the vet said that so often back soreness is related to hind end lameness. That’s why I took Coolie to the vet. Since he had his hocks done I have noticed a HUGE improvement. It has taken a while for the rest of his body soreness to work it’s way out though. Here’s hoping you have as much success as I did.
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I hope so! I’m glad it worked for C and good to hear there’s some hope that it really could be the fix.
It all makes sense, though. I’m always riding him and not watching from the ground, so I didn’t realize how strangely he was traveling. But watching him jog off, you could see him circling his legs out and around instead of bending them. I could totally see how that would cause soreness elsewhere
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Fingers crossed!
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Thanks!
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