Ugh. I’m so sorry. So did he suggest anything to treat SI and other stifle, or just continued rest?
My horse had a whole host of hind end issues a couple of years ago - took a while and changing vets to resolve. I think it was originally a mild stifle issue, complicated by a fall in the barn, but ended up having to treat stifle, SI, and back since they are all so interconnected.
What did you end up doing for all that, if you don’t mind my asking?
I have a “hind end horse” and the interconnected nature of it all has me wondering what to do. He’s been kicked out to pasture for the time being, but I’d like to get him comfortable if at all possible. It’s been one thing after another with this one, so frustrating, but I’m a bit too poor to have 2 horses right now so I’m trying everything to see if I can get him sound (even just for hacking).
Since it’s very new issues (<5 weeks) we’re starting with rest and muscle relaxer. I am going to see if he’s willing to do some stretches, work some massage, and continue with the Bemer and hand walks.
First vet injected hocks first (no improvement) and then stifle. Significant improvement but still not 100%. He said probably that was as good as it would get.
Second vet injected SI, did 3 rounds of shockwave, x-rayed her hind feet (which had slightly negative angles) and recommended shoeing changes. He also recommended carrot stretches and starting to work with Equibands and raised walk poles to build strength. I also started monthly bodywork somewhere in the process. She was still being very girthy - this had previously been attributed to ulcers because she never showed much back sensitivity, but she had rescoped clear at this point. So we injected her back. We then injected her stifles again as at that point it had been a year since they were injected by first vet. That seemed to be the last piece in getting her feeling 100% again.
Since then, have put her on Legend and have done SI and stifle injections again (each at ~1 year point). Plus continuing monthly bodywork. Have not reinjected the back. I have not been as good as I should be about the Equiband and pole work lately. When she’s cleared to start riding after this injury, I’ll probably add those in again as I bring her back to work. My body worker feels that the biggest benefit of the Equiband for her is the hind band, more for the proprioception, because it helps her keep her hind legs more correctly under her (rather than trailing behind).
ETA: We also did a lot of backing up in hand, including backing up slight hills to help strengthen her hind end. The Jec Ballou book - 55 Corrective Exercises has a lot of interesting ideas.
And now mine ripped off a huge chunk of an upper eyelid trying to scratch his bug bites on the wall…seems he caught a little sliver of loose wood somewhere at some point between breakfast and I got there this morning. He won’t have any eyelashes on that side anymore. No flap to stitch back on at all. I feel just sick about it. Third vet visit this week and a lovely Friday emergency.
Ack!
3 vet visits in week? You have my sympathies!
I’ll join! My horse has been lame off and on up front since March due to some farrier issues. We finally got those sorted out and his feet happy and he is NQR behind, diagonal from the foot that had the terrible frog bruise. He flexes and jogs sound but cannot canter left without flinging his haunches to the inside. So we injected stifles. Not it. Even though the right one had some extra joint fluid that was thin and gross. He had his hocks done about seven months ago so my vet doesn’t think they’re the problem. Plus when he needs those done he gets just generally sticky, not crooked like he is now.
We’re doing under saddle blocks Tuesday. In my head I’m preparing for it to be proximal suspensory. He’s had chiro adjustments consistently and hasn’t changed much in his SI and pelvis through all this so I don’t think SI is going to be the answer, which basically just leaves suspensory.
This is the horse I got to replace an OTTB who was about to move up to novice when he developed a mystery lameness that turned out to be a chronic front suspensory. So he found a LL dressage home. He was my replacement for a sweet sweet mare who I had to euthanize due to awful cervical facet OA.
I bought this current horse after leasing him. He was sound the whole time I leased him and then went lame with a two month abscess literally the day after I sent money to his owner. That was only a year ago. He’s spent about as much time lame as sound over the past year.
So close to being done with horses all together after all this. There are so many things I would rather be spending oodles of money on.
This July will be my 25th anniversary with my first horse. The second horse came a couple years later and they’re both still going strong. I was just telling my husband that if someone had sat me down when I was 16 and explained to me how horse ownership would affect my entire life, and the life of my future partner, for the next 25 years, I’m not sure I would have signed up for it. I love my horses and wish them long happy lives, but it is financially and emotionally exhausting to give these animals your best for so long. My husband is an absolute saint for making so many life and financial sacrifices to support my commitment to these animals. The occasional pity party is well deserved!
Oh no! How do they even do these things?
Ugh, that was awful to read, I’m sorry. What a string of bad luck. I hope you get some positive news from the vet when they come out to do the blocks, and that it doesn’t turn out to be what you fear!
Sounds awful. So sorry you’re both dealing with this. Hang in there. 
I’ll bite.
February 2021, I worked a trade with a friend of mine and acquired a large, beautiful 4 year old hunter prospect. My friend that I got him from had bred him, sold him, then bought him back to get him out of a neglect situation. He was malnourished during his most critical growing years. When she received him as a 3 year old, he looked like an emaciated yearling. He grew 3 inches in the span of about 6 weeks once on appropriate feed.
He was hitchy behind but seemed to work out of it. I thought maybe needed chiro or SI injection. I knew he was going to be a project and may not stay sound to jump, but all he cost me was trading my half of a 2 year old.
Kept him at home for a couple months, then sent to my trainer. She said he was a train wreck to ride. Did some body work but it didn’t improve much. Chalked it up to him being gangly and lacking fitness. After a few months, trainer decides we need to explore his NQR-ness under saddle. First vet found a chip in one fetlock, and a spur in another. Injected both, and carried on.
Injections did little. Said vet then jumped straight to “he has EPM”, and prescribed treatment. It did seem to help some, but then the positive changes wore off. Horse still tight on his right side and gimpy to start off work.
Call a different vet for a complete work up; not just a “stop when we find a single issue” type work up that the first vet did. Found that he has mild kissing spines and his hocks are TRASHED. Vet questioned my desire to keep trying on this horse, but it’s not like I paid a large chunk of money for him. I just figured the cost of getting him fixed is essentially the purchase price of this horse.
Vet said his lower hock joints were bone on bone and needed to fuse. We had 3 options; let them fuse naturally, inject with steroids to expedite remaining cartilage degradation and let them fuse naturally, or do it surgically. I opted for 2, since it would provide some relief and we could continue working him to help the remaining cartilage further break down.
This was late summer 2021. He looked beautiful after injections. Then ten days later, he had some type of incident on turn out and tried to rip a front foot off. Had a 4 inch long gash along his cornet band, and obviously lame. That thing was a peach to try to keep clean. So horse goes in to lay up again. Even as the wound closed and started growing out, it was evident that he would need several months for it to grow out completely as his hoof wall was unstable.
My trainer guessed he needed a year. I was unenthused about this, so put him on a plethora of supplements that I knew would help (biotin, amino acids, etc). And did see an accelerated growth rate. To the point where around 5 months, we could put him on a longe line to assess his other issues. Dead. Ass. Lame. He was so crippled behind. I couldn’t take it any more and started consulting about surgery. February 2022, he had tarsal arthrodesis on both hocks.
After 6 weeks of recovery, he was able to return to work. Looked wonderful behind. One of the best decisions I’ve ever made. But other compensatory issues started cropping up. His knees and fetlocks have needed frequent injections to keep them going. We tried putting him over fences again starting last fall, but every time his work load increased, he just started to back slide. This spring it was finally decided that he simply isn’t going to jump. His knees are too bad.
So now I have brought him home and have a gorgeous flat equation horse to show locally. Even though I have no desire to have just a flat equitation horse, nor do I want to show locally. But I know no one else will maintain this giant beast the way that I do. And I refuse to let him fall in to a bad situation like was before. So we will play around with local shows and throw all the money I can at his knees to keep him comfortably going, until the day he can no longer, then he will be the most beautiful pasture ornament to walk this earth.
I think at this point, I have adequately dropped a purchase price-worth of vet bills, diagnostics, and treatments on his guy. I have no idea why I am such a glutton for punishment…
Ugh I feel this.
Every time I begin to gear up for show season, the last 3 years have been something to stop us. Covid, 19 year old getting a splint, this year abscess. I lost my whole season last year due to Farrier high nails after dealing with a splint which I also assume is from my farrier leaving longer than usual toes. UGH.
This year… abscess from schooling in murky water because who knew you needed to rinse out old abscess holes that you didn’t see that are growing down. Add wildfire smoke to the air, and we’ve been sidelined some more.
Adulting sucks, horses make life hard, and you just want to move forward and can’t. Add on the ticking clock of time with an older horse when you just want to get out one more time for fun.
We all deserve pity cupcakes to whine in our problems.
I was cleaning my horses’ paddock yesterday and watching my horses move around. Stifle horse was uncomfortable and occasionally having what looked like electric shocks of pain around his SI (as in he acted the way I did when I was having that sort of SI pain). 
I didn’t see anything like that today. Chiropractor comes on Thursday.
Hope he feels better today after the chiropractor visit!
My horse got shod today. I was really worried about it because she has been very over reactive when I try to pick out the hoof on the leg with the injury. She lifts it really high, then loses her balance and starts hopping around and almost falling over. I couldn’t be there so left all sorts of warnings for the farrier and instructions about sedating her and just pulling her back shoes if he didn’t think he could reset them, etc. Apparently she was absolutely fine with the farrier. They didn’t even have to sedate her. Sigh.
I’m going on vacation (planned almost a year ago) next week and have been super worried about leaving her for a week, but maybe she actually just needs a break from me worrying about her. 
Thanks! He was quite stuck left SI and does seem more comfortable.
I am going through this as well. We have been POUNDED with rain and my horse’s stifle rehab has rapidly regressed. I am really struggling with it and trying not to spiral until the weather dries up, but this is the second of his two potentially career-ending injuries and he’s already cheated death once so it’s hard not to feel like we’re running out of luck. I’m glad he’s still here but I’m starting to worry that this really is the end of his career and what that might look like going forward.
I am glad the chiro came out! I’ve been able to get regular massage work done on mine and the massage therapist has been noticing compensation moving through his body. I wonder if your horse will be similar: first compensating in several areas, then fewer as time goes on. It’s interesting and informative to track the tension in his body. It feels like progress, in a twisted sort of way 
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