How long do Sarapin injections last?

[IPEsq]

Based on bone scan diagnostics, my horse got his back injected with a combination of depo medrol and sarapin between the dorsal spinous processes from T14 to T18. We also shockwaved the area and injected hocks.

He was starting back to work and doing SO WELL. Until he put a hole in his face this week on Monday in turnout and needed staples, Tucoprim (which he’s still on), and a couple days of Banamine. He already was having Monday off. Due to swelling was also off Tues and Wed.

I get on today to do a light flat (without a noseband), and he’s just awful. Lots of his old tricks but kept stopping to park out and put his nose on the ground. I could trot ok eventually, and he was very willing to pick up the canter but not willing to hold the canter. Just would slam on the brakes after a 5-6 strides. Seemed at first to be worse if I was in 2 point (which is how I’ve been cantering since injections), so I sit back, and that goes better for a few strides then back to the same. This behavior is typically physical, but he was also getting “stuck” going away from the gate, so could have been a bit of temper tantrum thrown in as well. That part I believe I worked through fine by the time I quit.

LOTS of gut noises on both sides but a little more on rear left side, which I have noticed after the first day of antibiotics. Very gassy. Softer poop.

On the one hand, I think maybe he just has belly upset from the antibiotics. On the other, this is a lot of what he was doing before back injections. Vet wants to repeat shockwave soon. But I can’t keep doing shockwave once a month for $800 a pop while I try to get his back in shape.

Can’t longe because he needs some control of his nose, which is where his staples are. I could try long lining in the bridle without noseband.

Should I push for more sarapin rather than only shockwave? Wait till he’s off antibiotics? Maybe it’s just that his face hurts? He is a giant baby. We are getting a cold front tonight, so I really just wanted to exercise him today to keep him from getting the stupids from that too badly.

After riding, I hose him off and the flies are out already and bugging him, so I go back out to his paddock to put on a new fly mask. It’s a different color than the last one. So, this is exciting, and he has to trot and canter some circles around me for a little bit, moving just fine! Which brought me back to thinking his back is what’s NQR…

Talk me off the ledge!!

[candico]

I found that Sarapin worked much better and results lasted a lot longer than shockwave for my gelding’s SI area which coincidentally when inflamed caused having to poop issues during riding.

How long has it been since he got the injections? I never had to do them more often than once every six months so can’t really advise on if this might be too soon to try again.

[IPEsq]

It’s been only a month since doing both Sarapin and shockwave (done on the same day). I couldn’t really find any good information about it. I know the steroid should still be doing its thing, though it was a very small amount of steroid. Vet didn’t recommend mesotherapy which would address more superficial muscle soreness.

I’m really just hoping he’s pissed off about his face injury and being on antibiotics. But, he had poop issues when his back was hurting pre-treatment. I chased around the theory of a gut problem for a long time before finding the back problem, which made the gut problem go away. But, now we have the added complication of antibiotics.

I am disheartened that we had a couple of weeks getting improvement every day and now what seems like a big setback because he just can’t help but hurt himself.

[TwoSweetPeas]

Does your horse have kissing spines? One of mine does and it’s always a bit up and down to manage, it can be very frustrating!

I put mine on Robaxin for a bit when we start to go in the wrong direction to avoid getting into a self-reinforcing cycle of tightness/pain. I think that helps her.

I do get more mileage out of my horse’s steroid back injections when my vet does mesotherapy at the same time-- it may be more superficial but for my horse it seems to helps the whole area relax / reset.

Did you start your horse on a prebiotic when you started the antibiotics?

[beowulf]

I know when I had my old gelding’s back injected ever so long ago, it was sarapin – the vet told me to expect 6 months to a year before I needed reinjections.

If I remember correctly, he was 7 or 8 when he got the injections and he never needed his back injected again. I was surprised as I remember being so worried about the financial aspect (I was in college) but he never showed any other physical symptom of back pain up until the day we lost him, and he was schooling doing Training/Prelim … so not light work.

[IPEsq]

He doesn’t have kissing spines. thankfully. It’s one thing he doesn’t have going on.

He was already on probiotics and I upped it to the max dose but he is still having some issues. Poor guy.

I got him to do a little bit more today, but the first several times he went to pick up a trot, he went to strike off then quit. Working did allow him to pass gas, and we mostly walked, but I felt terrible. Kept stopping to park out and was dull. We walked around the property, which he found more interesting.

He has over a week to go before the staples come out of his nose so will not be asked to do much this week either. I think he only has a couple days left of the antibiotics. I think robaxin wouldn’t be a bad idea I just worry about him being on too many things right now.

[IPEsq]

Antibiotics were done yesterday morning. And we had a really good day Sunday. Lots of walking. Trotted 10 mins in Equicore and that was it. He was good and so that’s all I asked him to do. I think, ok, maybe he is feeling better. He had yesterday off, and today he started out ok, had a major attack of baby brain followed by an absolutely brilliant trot…followed by more baby brain then temper tantrum then some nice canter then more attitude.

And a friend commented to me after the ride, “I was watching you ride today…does he have back problems? It looks like he’s uncomfortable the way he wants to stop and stretch out sometimes.” So I explained what was going on and that now we are trying to build muscle to support the problem area. And, I felt that his parking out today was just being a 6yo trying out that new trick. Versus last week when I thought he really didn’t feel good.

I just don’t know.

He’s had a few times of that stepped in a hole feeling behind. It’s happened a couple of times when he’s gone to strike off from walk to trot and then decided not to. It’s also happened a couple of times at the walk when he’s being pissy. There’s no one side to it, and my reaction is usually to kick him forward. I think he is just balking and tangling himself up a little bit because he hollows his back to balk. But now I worry he’s going to blow a stifle behaving like this. He never did this pre-injections. It’s puzzling. Never does it when he’s going along forward like a normal horse.

I feel like we hit the inflammation with some pretty big guns already. Maybe I just need to do something else to address the muscles now?