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Discussion on 4 Year Old Diagnosed with OCD in both Hocks
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Member:
kab3
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Posted on Saturday, Nov 8, 2008 - 5:32 pm:
I have a 4 year old quarter horse gelding that has just been diagnosed with OCD in both Hocks. He had first been diagnosed with an OCD lesion in the left Hock after another injury, but had no lameness, etc. He started showing signs of lameness (shortness on the canter) and slight swelling on his right leg so I had him x-rayed and he has another one (on the hock). I am going to have the surgery done to remove the lesions from both hocks, because the right hock's lesion is causing him pain. We did not x-ray the front legs. Should I? Is this something that could be everywhere? My $1000 rescue horse is having $3000 surgery (Yikes)...but I am very fond of him and he is so young, I don't want him to be in pain for life. This is my first horse, and I want to do the best for him. He is a sweet boy, but can be a little cranky when in pain (understandably).
Any advise would be great.
Thanks.
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Member:
paardex
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Posted on Saturday, Nov 8, 2008 - 5:55 pm:
I would have him completely vetted and x rayed before surgery because OCD can be in sesamoid bones fi to, apart from that I think I would want to know if there were more problems before spending the operation money.
Jos
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Member:
ekaufman
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Posted on Saturday, Nov 8, 2008 - 11:08 pm:
Hi Kim,
Did you do a full lameness exam on prior to x-rays? Did he show positive results on any other joint?
Many horses live with lesions that never cause lameness. I would think hard before spending money to look for abnormalities that are asymptomatic. If he showed positive results to other parts of the lameness exam, I would be inclined to look into those specifically.
This may be superstition, but I would worry more about his stifles than his front legs, having found lesions in the hocks. Hocks and stifles can be partners in trouble, in my experience with DJD. But if he was not positive on exam, I guess I'd follow my vet's advice.
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Sunday, Nov 9, 2008 - 9:22 am:
Hello KimB,
As they advise above a thorough physical exam including lameness exam should be done to rule out other problems and the next step decided from there. If we assume that the front legs show no problems what so ever and considering the age of the horse it is a bit of a toss up from a pure cost / benefit standpoint. There are some who would want the reassurance of clean fetlocks and navicular bone shots before spending the money but the chance it will turn up something significant is low though likely someone can find something in the radiographs.
DrO
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