Best wishes! I hope everything works out as well as it possibly can.
[QUOTE=teh_Kibbster;8308249]
I think I upset Vet #2 by doing my research and getting a second opinion on the xrays by Vet #1 but whatever. I sent my course of action to Vet #2 and I just got a very short āI donāt do those kinds of injectionsā via text and then was referred to Vet #1 for them. Maybe I stepped on some toes, but meh.[/QUOTE]
Been there! My horse has neck arthritis and I also had to seek multiple opinions to get it figured out. Sometimes you have to step on toes to do right by your horse ā hopefully vet #2 wonāt hold it against you.
Neuro stuff is awful enough when youāre not also trying to move long-distance. Iām wishing you and your horse all the best.
FWIW, my horse was diagnosed with neck arthritis ~4 years ago. She showed arthritic changes in several of the facet joints (dx with rads and ultrasound), with borderline narrowing c5-6. Her neuro deficit was <2/5 at the time, and mostly showed up in hind end weakness, wonky hind end movement, weakness/knuckling on hills, and deficits on the tail pull and hill walking parts of the neuro test. She never fell under saddle, but when I realized we had neuro problems she was losing her balance when turning in one direction and would start staggering ā very scary. My (second) vet injected bilaterally I think it was c2-3 through c5-6 and prescribed a hind end strengthening regimen. It worked wonders. Iāve reinjected once more in the intervening time, and sheās been on Previcox for much of that time. Sheās rideable and now has a very mild neuro deficit that only shows up in slightly weird hind end movement. She is a difficult horse to manage ā e.g. gets cast a lot and I do suspect the neuro issues play into that ā but is safe and sound. Considering that euthanasia was on the table a few years back, Iām thrilled to have a management challenge on my hands.
I moved coast to coast with her a few years ago, and got her a box stall on an air ride van. She did not do well in it. Not sure how much was struggling to balance and how much was garden variety long haul nerves, but the shippers said she was thrashing around pretty much the entire way, and she came off the trailer very skinny and tired. She hauls well in my trainerās roomy straight-load, so if we move long-distance again she will be going in a stall and a half on an air ride van.
I think youāre making the best choices one could make in your circumstances and I hope that your horse also has the best possible outcome. Good luck!
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Not the best bedside manner from Vet 2 but these are not routine injections. My regular vet does a lot of joint injections in the limbs no problem but was very upfront with me that he felt he didnāt have enough experience yet to do the neck. Heād already referred me to the vets at CSU to complete the diagnostics once we saw that there were some issues on field images and said that one of those vets was one of the only ones around here he would have do the injections. Because itās a teaching hospital, I observed the 2 vets (vet doing the injection and another vet very skilled in the ultrasound part) walk the observing students through what was happening. It was not easy for sure, especially the lower ones because the horseās muscles would flinch when they got to a certain depth and it would tend to pull the needle off track. Having had 3 MRIs with arthrogram myself and witnessing the chief of radiology have difficulty finding the joint on one of those (my hip), which had to go through a lot of tight muscle tissue, I fully understand how tricky it can be to do these injections versus finding a joint space in say a hock which doesnāt have a lot covering it.
I wouldnāt read too much into a āterseā e-mail from the one vet - for some, that is just how they do e-mail if they do it at all and, hey, at least they responded (some donāt!).
But sounds like you have a good plan and I really hope things go well for you and your horse.
Trust me. If a vet doesnāt feel comfortable doing a type of injections you probably donāt want them doing it on your horse. Before my dad had heart valve replacement surgery he asked possible surgeons how many of these procedures they had done in their lifetime, how many in the last year, and when they did their last few.
Iāve watched/helped with a few neck injections and I wouldnāt call it routine.
Sounds like youāve got a good plan. Fingers crossed for a good outcome.
Sorry for a delayed update. Moving thousands of kilometers does that 
Hal got his injections on September 11th. Did bi-lateral facet injections. No ultrasound was used for needle guidance. Vet was very optimistic that this would be very beneficial to him. Felt he was a good candidate. He also said his neck was swollen and hard around the compromised vertebrae. Another land mark to look for when/if he needs injections again.
I left September 12th.
He shipped in a 6 horse trailer all to himself. Legs were wrapped with mineral ice, padded halter, and his head-bumper. I was told he was eating hay well and drinking lots. Minimal interest in grain (2-3 mouthfuls) but still managed his Previcox each day on the road. He was also given Ace for mild sedation to just take the edge off (he ooes NOT haul well). Shipper is also a vet tech, so she monitored him closely.
I saw him for the first time since then yesterday (September 28th). Unloaded him. Minimal āsea-legsā considering he had been on a trailer for almost 3 days.
Holy left hock improvement! Full range of motion.
He trotted around with no lameness, no toe-dragging at the walk either. I will do a mini-neuro test of him on Saturday but this really, really seems to have helped. I will try to get updated video.
I donāt want to get my hopes up, but YAY.
1 Like
That is great news! I hope it continues!
Update
Iām writing a bit of an update for my own records, as well as for anyone dealing with similar issues.
Horse has been back in Ontario since September 28th. A little over 2 months.
Nicely integrated back into the herd. Horse DID fall once 2-3 weeks ago when galloping like a moron through mud. His sliding stop was less than graceful. It was more bum-skid than face-plant. This has been the only fall since our last girth-up episode and my gut chalks it up to very poor footing and shoes that were 1 week overdue for a reset.
Horse did lose a touch of weight, but he has always been a hard keeper so I have expected that. He is blanketed accordingly and his weight has stabilized. His feeding regime we figured out. He is now out 24/7 with a run in and he seems to love it. The barn owner says he looks much stronger than when he arrived, and I believe it is due to the slight rolling hills in the pastures, paired with how much MORE he gets to move on a daily basis.
FWIW, in Manitoba his turnout was a bit less than 70x90; he now has 10 acres (albeit sub-divided pastures with sacrifice area) to spend his days in. He is also no longer stalled.
He threw his fancy shoe 2-3 weeks ago, so we pulled shoes. However, his ābobbleā on the right front has returned without the shoes. I noticed it last weekend (but that was my first time seeing him since shoes pulled), so I thought tender. It is still there as of yesterday so I know it is pain related (RF navicular changes), so he needs shoes with his neat riser system. They will be going back on ASAP (e-mailed the farrier last night). We tried. Itās not worth the risk if a bobble can be avoided by keeping shoes on him.
Rear end neuro has improved. He no longer pivots and you cannot pull him over with the tail pull. He is slow to replace his feet when you cross them - but at least now he does!
He seems very healthy and happy. He is very affectionate when I am out (weekends only due to where I work - 2 hours away) with lots of mutual grooming. He heads to the gate when my car rolls up the drive. He looks forward to our weekend hang out and treat-fest. I am teaching him some tricks to keep him busy.
I did discover two lumps, one in his right arm-pit (I actually donāt know the correct term for that location on a horse) and one near where the rear of a saddle would sit on the right side. Gut says tumor, but they are both less than penny sized and round. The one on his back I discovered yesterday. The arm-pit one was back in early November. Suspicious patch under his tail has had no change, lump on lip has had no change.
I am going to have the vet out again soon. I need a new Ontario script for Previcox and Iād like another opinion on the grade of neuro symptoms post-injections. I feel he could do simple flatwork come the spring, with maybe trails if he keeps improving. I also want the lumps looked at and measured.
However, I will not re-inject. Euthanasia will depend on how well he winters this year.
I can afford his retirement very comfortably now that he is home as it is just at cost. So we take it day by day, but I donāt regret the path we have taken thus far, or the money spent.
So glad to hear you are back in Ontario and your boy travelled well!!
Unfortunately, my boy was put down on Nov. 10. A very sad dayā¦
We took him to OVC for xrays in October and they confirmed arthritis at C3-4 (weird angulation there) and then arthritis at C-5-6-7ā¦ OVC vets rated him at a 3/5, but closing in on 4ā¦ They said winter would be hard with snow and ice.
My own vet said to watch and decide if there is a deteriorationā¦ well, between the Saturday and the Monday, there wasā¦ more tripping, swaying, worried look on his face!
So, we made the decision when I realized I was uncomfortable getting in his stall on the Monday. My BOs were great and never pushed for euthanasia, saying they could handle him, but I worried for their safety and my horseās.
He was on double Previcox (OVC recommendation), but it did not make any difference.
I am wishing the best to you and your boy! OVC was very reasonable for the exam.
So I skipped reading most of page 1 and 2 and saw that you had updated here, and wanted to chime in.
My gelding was diagnosed with cervical arthritis as the cause of his neurologic issues in fall 2012. He was fairly severe clinically, but safe to handle on the ground, but on radiographs didnāt have any narrowing of the spinal canal. I injected him that fall, and the turnaround was practically miraculous. He went back to work, albeit much lower level than previously, and I managed him for 3 years with injections every 6-9 months. This spring and summer things started to go downhill, and he stopped responding to injections. Repeat radiographs, adding more joints, etc. didnāt help. He also got a bone scan to look for other sources of his signs and none were found. I eventually let him go at the end of August. It turns out that as a result of the arthritis, just like in other areas, he had developed a bone spur. It was growing into the spinal canal at C7-T1. Nothing else that could have been done about that, but we got an extra 3 years together and I wouldnāt do it differently if I had to go back.
Hopefully your boy continues to do well. It sounds like he has a lot going on, and you are trying to do the best thing for him. Injections can buy you a fair amount of good quality time that you might otherwise not have, and as long as heās safe and happy I would keep doing them.
Update??
[QUOTE=Showbizz;8609869]
Update??[/QUOTE]
OP hasnāt been on here since may 2015.
[QUOTE=sassy45;8609904]
OP hasnāt been on here since may 2015.[/QUOTE]
Last posted on this thread 12/15.
Signed on COTH just a couple of days ago.
OP, Iād also be interested in an update.
While weāre updating, I have a final, sad update on the horse I posted about upthread in post #15.
http://www.chronofhorse.com/forum/showthread.php?488990-A-Final-Update-on-My-Horse-with-Pedal-Osteitis-and-Neck-Issues
Would like an update too. My horse went from schooling Grand Prix to refusing to trot or turn right in 3 days. After ruling out the obvious, hocks, lameness, kissing spines, a bone scan showed uptake on the c4 to c6 vertebrae, worse on the right. No obvious arthritis on X-ray, but narrowing of the spinal column was found in that area. Vet thinks if there are even minor arthritic changes, because the spine is narrower it will affect him more. Iām one week post neck injections, 6 weeks into the whole nightmare, no improvement seen yet. Vet is optimistic, but reading all the stories has me fearing Iāll never get him back to where he was, if I can even get him to trot! 
[QUOTE=Sancudo;8610263]
Would like an update too. My horse went from schooling Grand Prix to refusing to trot or turn right in 3 days. After ruling out the obvious, hocks, lameness, kissing spines, a bone scan showed uptake on the c4 to c6 vertebrae, worse on the right. No obvious arthritis on X-ray, but narrowing of the spinal column was found in that area. Vet thinks if there are even minor arthritic changes, because the spine is narrower it will affect him more. Iām one week post neck injections, 6 weeks into the whole nightmare, no improvement seen yet. Vet is optimistic, but reading all the stories has me fearing Iāll never get him back to where he was, if I can even get him to trot! :([/QUOTE]
Iāve been there with the refusal to move. Give the injections another week before you panic.
[QUOTE=IPEsq;8610459]
Iāve been there with the refusal to move. Give the injections another week before you panic.[/QUOTE]
Thank you, that eases my mind! When did you start to see a big difference?
My vets say it can take 2-6 weeks for improvement to show up.
[QUOTE=Sancudo;8610585]
Thank you, that eases my mind! When did you start to see a big difference?[/QUOTE]
We gave my horse a full 2 weeks before resuming work. Motivation to go forward (and turn left in our case) was back as soon as we started back up. We had several other behaviors to work through still, which took a few more weeks to really turn the corner on making training progress, but my guy is a very green bean and it took us longer than 6 weeks from first onset of evasive behaviors till we injected. The refusal to trot under saddle thing was pretty much the last straw symptom, not the first. He is not stoic.
My horse has cervical abnormalities including a sizable spur on C1. Thankfully not neuro at all. Have injected the poll twice. Last was this week. I doubt I will inject it again. Doubt I will inject his lower neck ever. He is mostly just stiff in his neck. Manages just fine at lower level eventing. I am super careful with his neck. No more dressage lessons after one trainer had him just too flexed and he was very uncomfortable. The minute he no longer enjoys the horse trials I will stop and we shall trail ride. He is a lovely horse but this thread was a good reminder that not everything can be fixed. Enjoying him as long as I can.
