Hi all,

 I was just wondering if anyone here had ever had their horse's hocks injected.  I'm looking for anyone specifically that might be jumping their horse, or were jumping their horses.  When their hocks were injected, did it help?  Were you still able to jump?  How old when your horse's hocks were injected?

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A fluttering heart fed by the thundering lullaby of horsebeats.

It really helped my horse! I would try it if your vet thinks it will help your guy!

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I love my gimpy boys!

Did you have x-rays done for it?  Or did you get it done "on the feild"?

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A fluttering heart fed by the thundering lullaby of horsebeats.

One of our Race Horse's used to have to have this done. Not sure if there is a different name for it now, but we called it "Dry Hock". He had the injections every 2 weeks and raced several years this way.

There's a pleasure horse at the farm who gets this done. It seems to work nicely for him, but you have to follow your vet's instructions to work it into the joints or the efficacy grows shorter and shorter.

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Never Give Up.. Never Surrender!

If we are talking Corticosteroid injections.... NO DONT DO IT!  You will only mask what problem is there, require more injections getting more frequent and then they stop working and your problem is 1000 times worse.  If by giving a horse any form of injection to aid in the animal being able to jump...then dont jump the horse as it is clearly unable to do it in any way what so ever, medicine is preventative and used to cure illness and enable a more comfortable life, its not there to improve performance nor to aid in the animal to be able to do something that with out it it cant do, performance enhancing.

If you want to jump and your horse cannot then it is clear that you need a different horse honey, dont give him anything that could further cause you problems, they dont last for ever, nor will your horses legs, you may also cause more problems due to side effects and if the horse is jumping with the thought it is able to due to the medication effects, you could cause sooo much more damage.

Think very carefully.

Sharon

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A horse belongs in a stable..not on a table!

Well, the way I understand it is Temporary hind leg lameness is a typical equine athlete happening that takes place between the ages of 8-12, sometimes earlier or later in rare cases.  This isn't something I found in a book or from one vet.  It's something I've been told about through several sources.  Through research I've come to learn that in the hock there are two moving parts, and you WANT the lower part to fuse.  However, for it to fuse the two bones must rub together enough to become irritated.  In an area of irritation, arthritis will occur, and finally, deposits will cause it to fuse.  It occurs in athletes mostly because they are showing more activity.

 If I choose NOT to inject my horses hocks, she will not properly irritate this area, the arthitis will grow, and the area will NOT fuse flat.  Plus, the way I understand it, she wont bring her hind end underneath her more properly, and thus cause a lameness in the fore.

Hock fusion, or temporary hind limb lameness, will not affect her long term as long as she fuses flat.  The only way she will fuse flat is through use.  If I use her, I have to take the pain away so that she doesn't put unnecessary pain on her front.  Because then instead of one problem, I'll have two.

I could be wrong, but this is what I've gained over the course of time between when I first asked my question and now.  This horse still have a lot in her, and that's clear to see when we go to competitions and when we practice over fences.  I just need to figure out what to do to get her past this and get her past this well enough to continue on happily.

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A fluttering heart fed by the thundering lullaby of horsebeats.

Do you have a good physiotherapist for her, they can also work wonders to help he use her leg correctly and aid in correct fusion of the soft matter, its not corts then, sooo many people use them to mask a problem and i have found it too many times when out on call, and because I diddnt know what was wrong with your mare its usually a conclussion i get to when injections are mentioned especially with comp horses.  Ive had showjumpers all my life and so far not had to come across your problem myself and hopefully never will, I hope she improves and you manage to resolve her problem.

Sharon

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A horse belongs in a stable..not on a table!

Wow, see, I've seen this ALOT everywhere.  In ALOT of competition horses, so I can't imagine a gaggle of jumpers with not one getting it.  I watch over her like a hawk for any sign of impediment, so I'm noticing any bit of "offness" really.  She knows how to use her hind end very well, and she's only come around to this problem flaring up like this recently, so we're thinking it's the temporary hindleg lameness.  Well... not thinking, we know it is.  And to address it we have injected her hocks to help break up the arthritis.  Like someone mentioned earlier in this thread, the injections will only do good if you follow your vet's instructions to help break up the adhesions.  We haven't injected recently, but she has been on a regular dosage of hylaronic acid joint supplement.

 

As of recent, what I need to do is take her in to see the vet.  She's been sore and it's causing a lameness in her fore because she's moving harder and stiffer.  But she has to stay in working so she doesn't fuse wrong.  She is arthritic in one hock, which is causing an uneven line.  If it weren't for that, she could probably just sit for a few months to a year and fuse on her own... yunno, let nature take it's course.  But because it's looking like it needs therapy, I need to do something to take the pain away when I work her.  Otherwise, it's pointless because if I work her while she's in pain... not only am I hurting her, but she's going to do more damage to herself with the way she's moving than good.

 

She's not jumping a lot at all.  There's no need for us to do much more jumping than we've done.  Before a competition I might school her over a few fences, but for the most part I just school of a ground pole course if I think I need some practice with lines and strides and blah blah blah, etc.  But she's not in a lot of jumping.  For her to be sore like she is says something about needing to do a check up with the vet that took her x-rays.

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A fluttering heart fed by the thundering lullaby of horsebeats.