Can you ride a horse with bone spavin?
It is best for a horse with bone spavin to be exercised daily. Preferably, this should be ridden or driven work, as lunging exercise places uneven stress on the joint. Pasture turnout may not be beneficial if the horse does not move much.
How is bone spavin diagnosed?
In cases where both hocks are equally affected the horse may present with a loss of performance or suspected back problems. Bone spavin may be suspected on the basis of clinical signs, but a definite diagnosis can only be made after a nerve block and x-ray of the affected area.
What causes bone spavin?
Bone spavin is a bony growth within the lower hock joint of horse or cattle. It is caused by osteoarthritis, and the degree of lameness that results can be serious enough to end a horse’s competitive career.
What is the difference between bog spavin and bone spavin?
Bone spavin involves the joints and the bone, and it’s usually osteoarthritis. Bog spavin is extra fluid in the upper joints of the hock. And that can be also associated with osteoarthritis or inflammation for another cause in that joint.
How do you treat bog spavin in horses?
If your horse is young, bog spavin will often resolve itself with rest and compression bandaging. However, surgical drainage of the joint may be necessary followed by anti-inflammatory injections directly into the joint.
How long do hock injections last?
Hock injections can be effective anywhere from 6-12 months. If your hock injections are only lasting 8-10 weeks, your horse may be a candidate for laser arthrodesis (surgical fusion).
How is bone spavin treated?
Can bone spavin be treated? Treatment for bone spavin, being a form of arthritis, aims to reduce pain either by reducing inflammation or reducing movement in the joint(s). In some cases there is a good response with anti-inflammatory medication such as phenylbutazone, while continuing exercise.
Is bone spavin hereditary?
Like osteoarthritis in people, the cause of spavin is not very well understood. There is a very high incidence of it in Icelandic ponies, suggesting that in this breed there is a genetic predisposition. Other factors, including trauma and conformation, may play a role.
Is Bone spavin hereditary?
Is Bone spavin a blemish?
A bog spavin is considered a blemish, but should be taken as a warning sign. Bog spavins are often seen on horses with straight hocks, or when horses with weak hock conformation do work that is hard for their hocks. Bone spavin is arthritis in the small bones of the hock, caused by too much stress or concussion.
How do horses get bog spavin?
What causes bog spavin? There are a number of causes, but most commonly bog spavin is caused by osteochondrosis in young horses. Other causes include biomechanical stresses, for example conformational faults such as straight hocks, sickle hocked or cow hocked; lameness in another limb; intense training.
How do you prevent bone spavin in horses?
Recovery of Bone Spavin in Horses Steps that you can take that can help to avoid bone spavin from developing in your horse include: Allow an appropriate amount of time for joints to heal between vigorous workouts. Don’t overwork growing horses.
What kind of bone spavin does a horse have?
A bone spavin is an overgrowth of bone that develops in the lower hock joint. Several types of bone spavin can affect your horse. High spavin – A spavin that is found higher in the joint than most. Jack spavin – This is an unusually large bone spavin that is found on the inside of the hock.
What causes spavin on the inside of horse’s Hock?
Jack spavin – This is an unusually large bone spavin that is found on the inside of the hock. Juvenile spavin – These are spavins in horses that are under three years old; unlike adult forms of spavin, this is usually caused by diseases and congenital disorders, such as osteochondrosis or cuboidal bone distortion.
Why is bone spavin more than a disease?
Bone spavin is a syndrome more than a disease because of the numerous causes and treatments. The hock has four joints. The lower three hock joints do not have much motion and act as shock absorbers when the horse is running or working.
How to treat arthritis in the hock joint in horses?
Treatments for arthritis in the hock joint are designed to provide pain relief and/or encourage bone fusion. Pain medications are used to reduce pain. Phenylbutazone or ‘Bute’ is the most common drug of choice. The horse may be ridden either normally or at reduced exercise as recommended by your vet.