Focus on Hock Arthritis

This condition comes under many names that different people will use either to impress or confuse, I will list as many as I can think of to help you know what they are talking about. Spavin, Bone Spavin, Degenerative Joint Disease or Osteoarthritis of Distal Tarsal Joints these are often shortened to DJD or OA. We will stick with bone spavin for now.

This condition is the most common cause of hind limb lameness in the horses we treat at the Rowe Veterinary Group. But it will present in many different ways depending on the horse and their use. We may see: The showjumper that loses its flair to jump having always been keen. The dressage horse that will not strike off correctly at canter. A lameness in one hindleg. A horse with a painful back which is actually a case of bone spavin. The horse that is “stiff” behind coming out in the morning. Worn hind toes or dragging of their feet.

The reasons for this varied presentation I will explain, but first what is Bone spavin?

Bone spavin is osteoarthritis of the lower 1 or 2 hock joints. These joints are high impact low motion i.e. They take the concussion but don't do much of the moving. The top 2 of the 4 joints do the moving and osteoarthritis in these would be very serious for future career. So osteoarthritis in these joints is usually from wear and tear and hence the condition is seen in mature horses although we've seen it from 6-22 normally 10+yrs. The wear means that the very smooth articular (joint) cartilage is worn away and the bone underneath is inflamed. Therefore you get new unwanted bone laid down at the edges of the joint and narrowing of the joint space due to the loss of cartilage. As a result of this inflammatory process the joint fluid becomes thinner and less effective. These changes are painful and hence give lameness. But they are often slow in onset and effect both legs hence why they may not be lame but will stop jumping and can get back pain from transferring weight forward.

Diagnosis will often involve a little trip to the hospital for a work up including flexion tests, nerve block in the joint and then some X-rays. This is the best course of treatment as you get a definite diagnosis, and can monitor progress and treatment can start. However we can get a good idea of what to expect at the yard beforehand.

Treatment usually involves medicating directly in the joint with cortico-steroid just like you or I may have in a knee or elbow etc. Alongside this may be some non steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID's) such as Danilon. There is also a product that we use to try and reduce the boney changes and hence reduce pain called Tildren. This is given over an hour in an IV drip and they must be monitored during this time. The response to treatment is variable some will need it repeated at 6 wks and some will go a lot longer but we hope to get them back to performing for you.

EQUINE HEALTH PLAN

A cheaper way to pay for all your equine needs, including your annual vaccination, health check, dental check and wormers for the year only 49p a day. Full details on how to sign up are available from the Equine Clinic.

Worming

As supplied on our Equine Health Plan, Spring is the time of year for Equest Pramox to treat encysted cyathostomes and tapeworms. Both can cause disastrous side effects such as intestinal damage or colic. Be aware if you have a new horse with unknown worming history, Please ring for advice.

Date for your diary

Equine Talk – Chipping Sodbury town hall

Tuesday Evening 24 th March.

How horses eyes work and why they are different to ours, and other items of interest. More information coming soon.

Avoiding Laminitis this year

Laminitis is a common and debilitating disease which affects horses, and more commonly ponies. The disease is very painful and can lead to euthanasia of the affected animal due to pain on welfare grounds.

The tissues that bond the hoof to the pedal bone are called the laminae. When these become inflamed damage occurs inside the hoof, initially with the separation of the laminae which can progress to tissue death and subsequent movement of the pedal bone. Rotation or sinking of the pedal bone (and sometimes both) are life threatening conditions and hence treatment is always necessary and may be prolonged and complex.

The disease process is very complex and not fully understood but there are many things you as horse owners can do to reduce the risks to your horses.

• Overweight or the dreaded Obesity word. It's hit us, the kids, and now our animals are just as badly affected. But this is a huge risk factor in developing laminitis. The type that are good doers were designed to live on hill scrub and rubbish grazing so putting them on a diet of roast beef and mars bars (i.e. lovely paddocks) means that they get FAT. Please try to keep them trim and definitely no fat pads behind the shoulder as this is BAD.

• Fresh grass. We all know about watching out in the spring for the flush of grass, but also watch out when it rains after a dry spell in August. We often hear the phrase “There's nothing out there!” but when you have an area grazed just because they eat it all so it always looks like a lawn doesn't mean that all that extra growth isn't going into their tums….So on mentioning lawns Watch your LAWN. When you start mowing your lawn think about your pastures. If you’re mowing every week and it's still growing then the grass in the field is doing the same whether it's getting longer or being eaten. We will try to keep a page updated on the website of cases we're seeing and high risk times for those of you without lawns to monitor. For high risk cases that have already had an attack then the sugars in the grass are safer in the afternoon, so evening turnout can be a better regime.

• Frosted grass. This again changes the sugars in the grass to more soluble mars bar type instead of starchy potato type sugars. So later turnout on frosty mornings can help for high risk cases.

• Out of work. The horse that is off for whatever reason may suddenly become at risk because they are likely to have put on a little weight, be out more and not using the calories. Body scoring these horses is an ideal way to monitor their weight. We can show you how to do this, or see the stand at the equine talk.

• Colic. After a bad bout of colic the gut flora may be upset which can lead to laminitis. This can also be true of other serious systemic illness.

• Cushing's Disease. This is an overproduction of the body’s natural steroid Cortisol. Classic symptoms are the very long curly coat that has to be clipped in summer. It is easily tested for now and treatment is ¼ the price it used to be. Cushings not only increases risk but makes treatment long and difficult.

So take note of the risks and watch the web at www.rowevetgroup.com for updates. But if you think your horse is at risk or showing symptoms then please ring us as it's a painful condition, somewhere near having a throbbing headache in every foot and having to stand on it as well so they need to receive treatment.