I went on vacation for a week in late May and came home to a call from the barn saying rear leg was swollen, horse being cold hosed and vet coming out. She x-rayed and found nothing chipped or broken, declared a strain, sweated, wrapped and gave a dose of Exceed for possible cellulitis. He improved and then got worse. This has gone up and down since then. Twice he was sound enough to go back into work but it the lameness would mysteriously reappear. So Aug 6th I brought him home on stall rest. He got steadily worse on stall rest to the point of being 3 legged lame and refusing to put any weight on leg at all.
So we went to the vet hospital and did a full work up. The injury is too high for a standing MRI, Sonogram inconclusive due to him being non weight bearing even under sedation although possible lesions noted on short medial collateral ligament. X rays show the joint is thickened and a shadow is present that was not there in the previous 2 sets taken since May. Joint tap showed no infection so they injected steroids. Diagnosed “soft tissue injury” Sent home 10 days ago on bute (which tears his ulcer prone stomach up) for 3 days and then back on the equioxx.
Ten days today and I have a horse barely eating, hobbling on three legs and on small paddock/stall rest. He is getting small feedings 5 times a day, has access to grass hay, alfalfa, TC safe starch and Hifiber forage (all free choice) he is getting down 5lbs ultium gastric care per day. He is offered more but that is all he will eat. He eats the alfalfa the best and will take about 2 flakes of that a day. Water intake is fine. Still eats apples and peppermints ( he gets his meds in apple slices). I have tried both TC and Purina Senior but will touch neither. He is on 1x equioxx and omeprazanol. Laying down seems to aggrevate the hock the most. The nights he has been down, he is extremely uncomfortable the next day. His stall is bedded in 8" fine shavings over mats and banked in corners.
He is standing wrapped in no bows both sides and has his hock wrapped with a padded Back on Track hock boot at night. Polo wrapped hock over a compression bandage during the day. I am also using Voltaren 2x daily on bandage reset after ice wrap.
Not to mention that this is exhausting, what is next? This guy is finally not getting worse but there is no improvement. I keep waiting for him to founder or blow out the hock on the other side. No one has mentioned exploratory arthroscopic surgery, but I am about to bring it up.
I know his career is over, but I still want him here as a pasture pet. I think I am mostly frustrated and worried. He is still fighting and trying. Am I holding on for no reason?
