The Not-So Weirdness

The Not-So Weirdness

When you think your horse has a broken back, it’s bound to be not much of anything.

So I had the vet out yesterday afternoon and was prepared to do hock injections and hoped my horse didn’t have a rare degenerative spinal disease. You know, the normal fears.

When the vet called, he said that he lunged Simon on the hard ground and the ring.  He was ouchy on the hard ground, and responded positively to hoof testers in his front feet.  No digital pulse.  Diagnosis:  hoof soreness.

Hoof soreness?

I asked about the hind/back, and he said he thought his hocks looked pretty good.  I had sent over the x-rays my previous vet took last April (when we injected), and his response was “That right hock is ugly.  Not really another good word for it.”  This lines up with my previous vet’s diagnosis of “nasty” hock.

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When I asked about injecting, he said he didn’t think it was necessary now.  My bank account says yay, although I was so sure that it was his hocks that my brain is a little confused.  But hey – what’s the point in having the vet out if you aren’t going to listen to their advice?

So the plan is to do 5 days of bute, and paint his feet with Durasole.  Easy peasy.  I am also going to keep an eye on his hocks, and if we need to do them closer to April (the exact 1 year mark) then we’ll do them then.  Additionally, I am going to get the Chiro out to have Simon adjusted.  It can only help, and after so many months with a progressively more ill fitting saddle… he could probably use it.

Hopefully this ends the weirdness!

22 thoughts on “The Not-So Weirdness

  1. It’s nice when these issues turn out to be something really simple for a change! Durasole works great. I hope his feeties are feeling better soon.

  2. Thats good news! With all the frozen ground the hoof soreness isn’t surprising. The winter has been brutal here and im assuming the grounds been different where you are this year then previous years as well. Oh and i love Durasole! Its done wonders for my ouchy footed mare who ive been getting barefoot. Seriously good stuff.

  3. Yay! Hoof soreness can be totally managed (trust me!). With all the weird weather and stuff, I wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t get as much action on those feet as he was used to.

    Contrary to popular belief, I’ve found that more turnout/movement/riding usually contributes to stronger and thicker soles in horses prone to thin and delicate feet. Just a little tidbit.

  4. Yay that he doesn’t need injections (yet). Willow has an “ugly” hock too and I’m trying to hold off injecting for as long as possible!

  5. oh durasole! love it! but so expensive… anything with turpentine is cheaper and works well for maintenance when you get him through this. Wizard’s feet are TOUGH AS NAILS and I paint them with it all the time. highly recommend it. haven’t used durasole in a while because of my slim pocketbook T_T. poor simon and his ugly hock :'(

  6. If you are interested, I have most of a bottle of keratex that you can have if I can find it.

    That’s a big If though, now that I think about it.

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