This will by the first of my horses needing hocks “done” and I’m not familiar with the procedure. I want to know step by step what your vets do.
We have a young vet in the area who I use for regular care and would like to give him a chance at the injections but would like to ask a few questions before I book the appointment. I know he has done them for others but I always worry about invasive treatments no matter who the vet is.
Had my boy done for the first time a year and a half ago. Best thing I ever did!
The procedure was really simple. Vet came in, they tranq’d and started to sterilize the hock with a scrub, they scrub for about 15 mins I believe. I only had 2 joints done in each hock.
Once sterilized, they removed any liquid from the joint by draining it. Once it has been drained, they then inject the joint with whatever what chosen between you and your vet, as there are a few options out there.
My guy had no fluid in his right hind! I felt terrible for him.
Once the procedure was done, he was in his stall for the rest of the day. Hand walked the following day. The next day he was on light turn out. Back to light work the following day after that. Was super awesome!
I’m gonna just give the standard advice here. Ask him how many times he has done it, and ask him for references. Then contact those references and ask their opinion. I mean any vet can give an IM injection. Most horse owners can do it themselves if they are not squeamish about injecting their own horses. But when it comes to things like hock injections, the risk of screwing it up gets much higher. So yeah, I’d ask for references.
Hocks are relatively straightforward, although I still use a very experienced vet. First is a lameness exam and x-rays. Then you need to decide what to inject with - steroid and HA is most common (although different steroids have different pros/cons). There are other options like PRP, IRAP, ProStride, IA Adequan, and Noltrex.
The actual procedure will take 20 minutes - sedate horse, sterile scrub, and then inject. My vet does two days of stall rest with hand walking, then two days of turnout, then one day light work, then return to normal.
Do they really drain out the fluid that is already in the joint? I thought they just added and did not remove. That is super scary to me!
That’s what mine did, very reputable vet practice in my area, was not hesitant about the procedure.
Vet is suggesting Celestone/Amiglyde. Any idea what these medications are?
Never seen that. A drop or two may come out when the needle goes in though.
When I last did HA/Steroid hock injections, we used Betamethasone, Gentamicin, and Hyvisc. Celestone is a steroid, and I believe just a brand of betamethasone. Amiglyde is an antibiotic. Is your vet not planning to use any HA? I understand some people do steroids only, but I’ve never chosen that option.
That doesn’t make sense, but that is what he put on the estimate. I need to ask more questions.
Sometimes, you start with just doing the lower joints of the hocks, and that’s where you can get away with just steroid and antibiotic. If you include the upper joints, those are high motion and hyaluronic acid (Hyvisc) is called for.
I would for sure get flexions and x-rays if this is the first time you are injecting this horse so you have a baseline. The x-rays will tell you if you need to look at doing the upper joints as well.
My vet doesn’t do stall rest (or rather, doesn’t necessarily recommend it for my herd-bound horse). He recommends 72 hours off work, and a gradual return to full work over 10 days. The injections reach peak effect at 14 days.
I would also make sure the vet is very experienced.
I have never seen them drain the fluid out. Yes… a tiny bit may come out - the Vet may want to see what the fluid looks like.
Try and keep hocks bandaged for at least a day to prevent contamination of injection site.
Stall rest for 1-2 days. Maybe a bit of handwalking. Then quiet turnout - no galloping around - for another couple of days. Then light work. Back to full work by the end of a week.
As mentioned it could take up to 2 weeks to see the full effect.
I would also give some Bute. These injections can be painful…
I just had a corticosteroid injection (Kenalog) into the MCP joint of my big toe (nasty arthritis/bone spurs) last week. The injection itself was pretty painless and easy…but once the freezing came out it HURT.
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