Bog Spavins???! Conffused???
Hi there,
My pony was diagnosed with a bog Spavin June 1st 2008 and it is immediately November 5th... and he still isnt better... we are hesitating getting the vet out. We are also worried.
ARe there any lasting affects on the horse due to bog spavins? Because ive heard that they can close up with VERY bad arthritis and i really dont want this for him and he is only 6 years out-of-date and an A circuit show pony :(:S
Also... what can we do to help him heal faster and better?
Also right now when we start to lunge ( i dont ride him ) he is VERY sore, but after 10 ish minutes he works out of it?
WHat should I do?! Thanks
Answers: If he's still lame after 6 months, you entail to get the vet out again - he should be improving by now. A bog spavin is normally an accumulation of synovial fluid in the hock joint, and hence generally results from a trauma to the joint (ie a severe twist which has torn the membrane containing the fluid) or wear and hole (the membrane deteriorates). The spavin itself shouldn't cause lameness though the movement of the joint may be (and in your baggage, is) inhibited by the swelling. Another cause of a bog spavin is degenetive joint disease (arthritis etc.) which can lead to synovitis (the pool liner of the joint capsule inflames). The fact that your pony is severely lame at first propose an underlying problem (such as DGD) and so I really suggest you get the vet out to do X-rays and ultrasounds. Also, as your horse is very lame at first I propose you walk him out in hand for 10 minutes to loosen him up, and lunge him on a big circle (20m+). Lunging is harder work than riding, so shift easy on him.
Bog spavins can be drained, but unless the underlying cause is adressed they will just replenish.
Bog spavin typically doesn't go away, although it can. Some horses can have it and never become lame, and sometimes they never definitively diagnose the create, but it is usually assumed to be related to some type of trauma to the hock joint tissues. Horses with straighter hocks are more prone to injuries that could raison d`¨ētre bog spavin. The typical causes other than trauma are either OCD, osteochondritis dessicans, or bone cyst beneath the cartilage. Osteochondritis refers to an inflammatory condition that affects communal cartilage.
The swelling you see is actually an out pouching of the bursae of the hock joint. Bursae are sacs of synovial fluid that downsize friction near joints, where tendons and ligaments call for cushioning for smooth function. If you push on the swelling in front of the joint, it enlarges the swelling at the upper side of the united, since they are interconnected. This does not indicate that there is necessarily inflammation or synovial damage within the cohesive capsule.
Unless the pony has already been diagnosed next to OCD or a bone cyst, you really have no basis for predicting whether this will result in durable lameness. If there are no bone changes, there is smaller amount likelihood that this will progress to anything debilitating, so you need the vet to xray the common and determine that. Hopefully the pain he is in at present is related only to soft tissue inflammation and not already unbreakable changes in the cartilage and bone. Since this is not currently diagnosed as a bone spavin as opposed to a bog spavin, afterwards there is no reason to believe that the bone and cartilage are involved unless xray shows otherwise.
