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Discussion on Mystery Hock Injury
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New Member:
kichuk
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Posted on Wednesday, Mar 13, 2013 - 12:22 pm:
I have a 25 year old Quarter horse gelding that has presented with a very swollen and painful hock. We have had him for 10 years and he has never had any problems with his back end before. History of slight arthritis in his front end. Has been semi-retired for the last 5 years with only light riding by kids. 1 week ago he seemed slightly stiff but we did not see any major problem - just thought arthritis. 5 days ago he was found in the morning so painful that he did not want to put his back left foot on the ground. When examined closely I found two small spots, one just above and one just below the cap of the hock that appear to be old scrapes - the hair and old scab were flaking off. He comes in the barn every night for grain and no injury has ever been noticed except the stiffness. It was/is very swollen and hot extending more so from the hock up instead of down into the leg. We gave bute suspecting a slip/twist type injury. There was no improvement the next morning. The lower old injury site looked as if it may want to start weeping. We applied a medicated poultice pad from our vet and kept up the bute. By evening only a tiny bit of clear fluid had drained and he seemed to be dragging his toe when resting or trying to move around. The next morning, Monday, we got him in to our vet. He was not able to do x-ray or ultra sound but from examination feels that an old injury(?) has lead to infection of the joint and tendon. He gave him a shot of long acting Excenel(?), advised us to keep up with the bute and hope for the best. He has not given him good chances at all - 50/50 to be pasture sound. However, he is still very painful. We are to get him another shot of the antibiotic on Thursday but if no improvement has been noted, were told to seriously consider putting him down. Any suggestions?
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Wednesday, Mar 13, 2013 - 7:20 pm:
Welcome Wendy,
If as your vet suspects there is an infected joint or tendon sheath the infected synovial structure must be opened, drained, and flushed. Time is of the essence here. If your vet is uncomfortable with this seek a referral for these procedures. For more on this see HorseAdvice.com » Diseases of Horses » Lameness » Joint, Bone, Ligament Diseases » Joint Infection, Joint Ill, and Septic Arthritis.
DrO
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