From: Peggy
Hello Jessica,
2 months ago my 4 year old gelding was diagnosed with bone spavin in both hocks (worse in the left) and an ocd lesion in the right hock. My vet has told me that the ocd lesion was so old (probably there when he was born) that I don't need to worry about it. He gave a 2 shot series of Adequan and we injected both hocks with Legend IV a month later. He is not sure if he "got into" the left joint or not. There was a little difficulty. Anyway, my horse still has minor swelling in the front of the hocks and the wonderful bog spavins that come with all of this. They look better in the AM than the PM. I have told him all of this, but he still tells me to move forward and start riding him to fuse his hocks. I bought the horse because he has a wonderful disposition and would like to start to trail ride and ride him in the mountains. My question to you is, do I have to start him out on flat rides only, or can I start on some trails with ups and downs in them? How long should I start him out at? My vet just says- ride him- and seems a little annoyed that I would want more info on how to start him back up. Also, I have been giving him MSM and Glucosamine and Condroitin with Ester C. Anyway, I am worried about making the ocd worse even though I was told it is fine and just wanting to know a good place to start out at to get these joints fusing.
Thank you for your time.
Peggy and Redmond
Joint fusion is a painful process, and your vet's advice is the standard: Go out and ride. Just go from place to place, walking and trotting. Don't canter, don't do circles or small figures, don't drill or even try to teach the horse anything until his joints have fused. Just put in a lot of time walking and trotting on straight lines and wide turns. Be prepared - the horse will NOT be comfortable. It's sad, but that's the point - the joints can't fuse until all of the cartilage between them has been destroyed.
It sounds to me as if your vet did his best to salvage and repair the cartilage until it was clear that it just wasn't going to be possible. When repair isn't possible, the next phase is a painful one: What is left of the cartilage has to be worn away by the bones, so that they eventually rub against each other. At that point, they will usually fuse. Once they have fused, the horse should be comfortable again. The small bones in the hock don't do much moving, so the process of cartilage destruction and bone fusion can take a very long time if the horse is left without regular exercise. Exercise increases the movement and speeds up the cartilage destruction - which, at this point, is exactly what you want.
For the next few months, you'll be walking a line between feeling sorry for your horse and not wanting to hurt him, and realizing that the exercise will help the process and eventually allow him to be comfortable again. It's not easy - there will be days when you'll get off and want to give the horse Bute or some other anti-inflammatory drug. DON'T DO IT unless the horse just about can't move on his own - and unless your vet agrees. The inflammation is causing the pain, but the inflammation is also causing the cartilage destruction that will clear the way for eventual bone fusion. People who feel sorry for their horses during this time and treat them with anti-inflammatory drugs are getting in the way of the healing process. Sometimes there can be a day-to-day balancing act, so I wouldn't rule out the possiblity of using anti-inflammatories at some point, but "some point" would probably be the point at which the horse can't be ridden without them. The horse does need to be kept moving under saddle, and the rider's challenge is always to enable this to happen by managing the horse's level of pain - without resorting to the use of anti-inflammatories. Your vet will be able to monitor the horse's progress and advise you on this. If you feel the need to "do something", as many owners do, you can massage the horse's hocks with a Capsaicin-based ointment - it won't reduce the internal inflammation, but it can ease the pain in the surrounding area.
During the next few months at least, I would suggest that you stay away from hill work until the joints have fused and the horse is out of pain. In the meantime, it will be quite enough for the horse to walk and trot over flat terrain. He shouldn't have to worry about pain versus balance, as he would if he were going up and down hills. When he's no longer in pain, you'll be able to ride him on hills and build up his muscles. In the meantime, think of the riding you're doing as necessary physical therapy for the horse, and don't try to combine it with a training or muscle-building program.
For riding time: Start with fifteen minutes a day, add five minutes every other day until you're riding for forty-five minutes a day. That much walking and trotting under saddle, plus the time he spends just walking around (if he isn't already on 24/7 turnout, that would be a very good idea) in the field, should help those hocks fuse as soon as they can. An occasional day off from riding won't harm him, but do try to keep him on the move whenever you can.
Keep in mind that your horse is very young and very sore, and that he is unlikely to be a happy or pleasant ride whilst all of this is going on. Be very, very patient with him. Always remember that your riding for the next few months (at least) is NOT for training or preparing for competition - you're just doing your job as his personal physical therapist. If you keep that thought uppermost in your mind, you are much less likely to become angry or frustrated with your horse or yourself.
Good luck!
Jessica
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