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Not-So-Speedy Dressage

From Endurance to Dressage

What Does the Vet Think?

7/15/2016

 
If you've been following along this week, you know that Izzy has seen my entire team:
  • ​Trainer - Chemaine Hurtado: here and here.
  • Saddle Fitter - Tina Hoover.
  • Farrier - Paul Mullins.
  • Chiropractor - CC.
  • Plus, he's been put on Platinum Performance - here.
​The only person he hadn't seen, until Wednesday, was Dr. Tolley, my vet. I fixed that.
Picture
Tracking left - the biggest issue.
I gave Dr. Tolley the run down: trainer doesn't see an obvious lameness, sore back not due to saddle fit, hooves are in fine shape, and chiropractor suspects hocks.

Dr. Tolley started off by having me first walk and then trot Izzy out and back in a straight line - your standard trot out. After that, he lunged Izzy to the left and right. I have to interject here that I was over-the-moon happy with how calm Izzy was during the whole exam. He trotted around light and easy on the line and never pulled or got sassy.
Picture
Tracking right was less of an issue.
The lunge work showed Dr. Tolley exactly what he needed to see. Horses with sore hocks will shove the inside leg as far under their belly as they can. To the left, Izzy's hind leg is crossing over in front of the right hind (see the top photo). To the right, he didn't step as deeply, but Dr. Tolley thought he was a bit short-strided which still indicates hock pain.
Picture
He stood rock solid for the flexion test and never moved a muscle!
The exam continued with a left hind flexion test. Fortunately, this got a (mostly) negative reaction. Yes, he took an initial wonky step or two, but they always do. In the end, he trotted out straight and even. Whew!
Picture
Numbing the injection site.
Before even heading to the vet hospital, Dr. Tolley and I had a lengthy phone discussion about treatment options. I so appreciated that even though he had a busy morning, his staff made sure that I got to speak with him before lunch. In fact, he spent the first 15 minutes of his lunch hour talking to me. We decided to take care of Izzy right then. I hung up, and drove out to the barn to get him.
Picture
He's a really sweet drunk!
Since we had discussed the treatment options before I got there, it was no surprise that injecting Izzy's hocks was Dr. Tolley's choice of therapy. We chose an Adequan/Depo Medrol (steroid) mix. Dr. Tolley felt that Izzy's hocks are sore mostly due to hard work and Izzy's efforts to avoid that hard work. In other words, he was partly making himself sore by avoiding using his body correctly.
Picture
Many syringes!
When I got home later that afternoon, I told my husband about the vet visit (he didn't even know I'd gone). Since I've had horses for so many decades, we both wonder that there is still a procedure left that I haven't needed to do. I've had a horse that needed fetlock injected, but never a hock.
Picture
And now the real injection.
For those of you who are in my boat, here's how it works:
  1. Hopefully your vet has already done some kind of lameness exam (see above) or taken radiographs.
  2. The horse is then pretty heavily tranquilized as injecting the joint requires precision, and any movement makes the procedure quite challenging and potentially dangerous for your vet.
  3.  The injection site is thoroughly cleaned with a surgical scrub and sometimes shaved.
  4. The vet will probably administer a local anesthetic because the needle for the injection is really thick.
  5. When the vet injects the joint, it means that he slides the needle in the gap between the bones that form the joint. In Izzy's case, the needle went in at the inter-tarsal joint (where the three arrows are - see below). Dr. Tolley did two injections per hock, one in the front of the joint, and a second at the back.
Picture
Internet Photo
What's interesting about the injection that Izzy received is that inter-tarsal joints are non-articulating, or immovable. When I asked Dr. Tolley about the physiology of that joint - why have an immovable joint in the first place? - he explained that particular joint is an evolutionary left-over from when horses were creatures that scurried and had limbs with more range of motion, not just front to back like today.
Picture
BVH has an amazing team - not pictured is T who gets Dr. Tolley on the phone when I need him.
In addition to injecting the hock joint, which should relieve Izzy's discomfort for what we hope is forever, Dr. Tolley also prescribed two weeks of Methocarbamol, called Robaxin in the past. Methocarbamol is a muscle relaxant used in humans, dogs, cats, and so on. The plan is to attack Izzy's sore back in two ways: first, we dealt with the root cause of the pain, his sore hocks. But to help give him more immediate relief, Dr. Tolley thought breaking the cycle of the back pain with a muscle relaxant would encourage Izzy to use his body more effectively once it was pain free.

All of us, including my vet, trainer, and chiropractor, suspect that at least some of Izzy's resistance to softening and relaxing might have been due to discomfort. If so, the hope is that I get a much happier pony in the next week or so.

​I'll let you know how it goes!
Leah link
7/15/2016 06:52:16 am

Hopefully Izzy is a much happier, more comfortable pony once you get back on!

Bakersfield Dressage link
7/15/2016 11:02:45 am

That's the plan. :0)

Deborah Kuo link
7/15/2016 07:32:05 am

Good luck on everything!! I hope it's as you hope it'll turn out :)

Bakersfield Dressage link
7/15/2016 11:03:12 am

Thanks!!!! :0)

Micaylah link
7/15/2016 08:42:48 am

Poor Izzy! Hope this helps

Bakersfield Dressage link
7/15/2016 11:03:55 am

Don't be fooled! He's as sassy as ever. :0)

Sandy
7/15/2016 11:24:15 am

Good luck! And thanks for sharing. Your blog is always informative! Feel better soon Izzy!

Bakersfield Dressage link
7/15/2016 02:30:13 pm

Thanks, Sandy. And don't worry, he's just fine. :0)

lytha
7/15/2016 02:04:52 pm

I'm fascinated by the fetal development of the leg/hoof. Now I need to look into the inter tarsal joint.

Today my vet confirmed with me that horses walk on their middle fingers, their others had morphed into splint bones and chestnuts.

I'd love it if you continued this discussion further. Cuz you know now.

Bakersfield Dressage link
7/15/2016 02:37:02 pm

I've heard/read the same thing that your vet told you. From what I've read, the hoof is the last remaining "digit" - the other toes have long receded into other structures like the splint bones and some scientists feel even chestnuts and ergots might have been toes. Here is in interesting explanation of the missing toes of the horse: http://www.thehorse.com/articles/34382/where-did-horses-extra-toes-go

Elinor link
7/15/2016 10:43:27 pm

Want to know - how long off of work after the injection?
Stall rest or just light?
Re injection?
Vet concerned with his age, or fairly normal due to his size etc?

Good for Izzy to have such a great team around him!!

Bakersfield Dressage link
7/16/2016 06:08:31 am

My vet said that in the past, he liked them to have a few days off, but anymore he said I could ride right away. I didn't, so far he's had two days off because I wanted the muscle relaxant to have time to work. Hopefully we don't ever have to do another injection. :0)

My vet doesn't feel as though this is due to arthritic changes (which would mean future injections). It's just general soreness that many young horses go through as they learn their jobs. Injecting the joint was more precautionary. And, if something is sore, it is better to figure out why and try to help the body's natural response.

No concerns about age, this is typical of a horse as big and hard working as Izzy. Unlike Speedy, who is very light on his feet, Izzy is fairly massive. My vet isn't at all concerned about his future as a dressage horse. He did suggest trying to squeeze in more trail rides though. I love that as a prescription - free and easy to do. :0)

And yes, I do have an AWESOME team!

Lisa link
7/16/2016 03:26:38 am

Hopefully this is exactly what Izzy needed!

Bakersfield Dressage link
7/16/2016 06:09:25 am

I suspect brain surgery might also be needed! LOL


Comments are closed.

    About the Writer and Rider

    ​I am a lifelong rider. 
    I began endurance riding in 1996 where I ultimately completed five, one-day 100 mile races, the 200-mile Death Valley Encounter, and numerous other 50, 65, and 75 mile races. I began showing dressage in 2010.
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    About Speedy G

    ​Speedy went from endurance horse to dressage horse. After helping me earn a USDF Bronze medal in the summer of 2020, he is now semi-retired. Speedy is a 2004, 15'1 hand, purebred Arabian gelding. His Arabian Horse Registry name is G Ima Starr FA.
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    Izzy was started as a four-year old and then spent the next 18 months in pasture growing up. I bought him as a six-year old, and together, we are showing at the lower levels. He is a 2008, 16'3 hand warmblood gelding. His Rheinland Pfalz-saar International (RPSI) name is Imperioso.
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Among other things, Karen is a Wife, Friend, Reader, Writer, Rider, Traveler, and Dog Lover
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