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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 342
 
Location: Alabama | My gelding has been turned out for 2 month to let his hocks finish fusing, this is honestly my first experience with this. He's 13, vet said it was common & this was about the age he saw it performance horses, along with arthritis. I've heard that once they're fused Hess be good to go, how many have experience with this and what kinda maintained and care went into them, during and after? |
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  Warmblood with Wings
Posts: 27846
  
Location: Florida.. | Hocks can start to fuse about 6 or 7 and some never fuse.. best bet is to xray and then proceed with treatment.. if it is causing soreness then you may consider injecting.. There is no time limit for a horse to completely fuse.. people on here can help and also o research and google to help you better understand the process.. |
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Expert
Posts: 3514
| I have never heard of turning one out to fuse. Vets have always told .everyone to keep riding them. Bute will help.with the pain. I would inject him if he was mine. Give Bute for pain and use either Polyglycan or Adequan twice a month. |
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 Shelter Dog Lover
Posts: 10277
| readytorodeo - 2016-03-22 5:59 AM I have never heard of turning one out to fuse. Vets have always told .everyone to keep riding them. Bute will help.with the pain. I would inject him if he was mine. Give Bute for pain and use either Polyglycan or Adequan twice a month.
Ditto, riding/activity will help them fuse faster. |
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Warmblood with Wings
Posts: 27846
Location: Florida.. | readytorodeo - 2016-03-22 6:59 AM I have never heard of turning one out to fuse. Vets have always told .everyone to keep riding them. Bute will help.with the pain. I would inject him if he was mine. Give Bute for pain and use either Polyglycan or Adequan twice a month.
It Actually is a Option but it can take years.lol.. I do not think many choose that path though.. I will say if she continues to work horse she needs to get injected or some pain relief.. or she will end up with more problems elsewhere.. |
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Shelter Dog Lover
Posts: 10277
| Bibliafarm - 2016-03-22 7:29 AM readytorodeo - 2016-03-22 6:59 AM I have never heard of turning one out to fuse. Vets have always told .everyone to keep riding them. Bute will help.with the pain. I would inject him if he was mine. Give Bute for pain and use either Polyglycan or Adequan twice a month. It Actually is a Option but it can take years.lol.. I do not think many choose that path though.. I will say if she continues to work horse she needs to get injected or some pain relief.. or she will end up with more problems elsewhere..
Agree, I had mine injected, I don't run mine if hurting. It took him several years to fuse |
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Expert
Posts: 3514
| rodeomom3 - 2016-03-22 7:31 AM
Bibliafarm - 2016-03-22 7:29 AM readytorodeo - 2016-03-22 6:59 AM I have never heard of turning one out to fuse. Vets have always told .everyone to keep riding them. Bute will help.with the pain. I would inject him if he was mine. Give Bute for pain and use either Polyglycan or Adequan twice a month. It Actually is a Option but it can take years.lol.. I do not think many choose that path though.. I will say if she continues to work horse she needs to get injected or some pain relief.. or she will end up with more problems elsewhere..
I agree with not running them in pain. That's why my vet always says inject and give Bute 3 days out from run ,during run and 1 day after. |
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 Curly and Wavy
Posts: 1648
Location: Down South | Mine was fusing at 8 and it was very painful for her. Had gotten too tight to inject the middle but was still not completely fused and was told that last little bit could take a very long time or never completely fuse and it was extremely painful. I took her to Rood & Riddle for an evaluation and they were in agreement and had her hock drilled. She built bone quickly and fused amazingly. Took her about 9 months total but she is totally fused and sound as can be. Best decision I ever made for her. Rode her before the 9 months, but it was about that till she was solid and working nice. |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 937
| Chilly - 2016-03-22 9:18 AM Mine was fusing at 8 and it was very painful for her. Had gotten too tight to inject the middle but was still not completely fused and was told that last little bit could take a very long time or never completely fuse and it was extremely painful. I took her to Rood & Riddle for an evaluation and they were in agreement and had her hock drilled. She built bone quickly and fused amazingly. Took her about 9 months total but she is totally fused and sound as can be. Best decision I ever made for her. Rode her before the 9 months, but it was about that till she was solid and working nice.
Do you mine me asking what the cost of the drilling was with Rood and Riddle? Thanks! |
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 Straight Shooter
Posts: 5725
Location: SW North Dakota | Chilly - 2016-03-22 8:18 AM Mine was fusing at 8 and it was very painful for her. Had gotten too tight to inject the middle but was still not completely fused and was told that last little bit could take a very long time or never completely fuse and it was extremely painful. I took her to Rood & Riddle for an evaluation and they were in agreement and had her hock drilled. She built bone quickly and fused amazingly. Took her about 9 months total but she is totally fused and sound as can be. Best decision I ever made for her. Rode her before the 9 months, but it was about that till she was solid and working nice.
I looked in to drilling, too. Of all the horses I've had, we had one gelding that wouldn't fuse, and we tried everything for 5 years. I had his chemically fused with alcohol and he's 100%. Wish I would have done it sooner, poor guy!! It cost me about $750, most of the cost was x-rays and contrast to make sure there was no communication with the top joints. He was better in days (which I've heard is unusual), we gave him a month off and started using him on the ranch again. It was about a year before we tried him on barrels again (he's a phenominal ranch horse and we had plenty of blue collar work for him). He works GREAT. I'd do it again if I had another one that fused incompletely. |
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 Born not Made
Posts: 2937
Location: North Dakota | Barrelracingroper12 - 2016-03-21 12:01 PM My gelding has been turned out for 2 month to let his hocks finish fusing, this is honestly my first experience with this. He's 13, vet said it was common & this was about the age he saw it performance horses, along with arthritis. I've heard that once they're fused Hess be good to go, how many have experience with this and what kinda maintained and care went into them, during and after?
Not all horses will fuse on their own. And there's no way of knowing.
My Red was fusing the "upper" joint of the lower joint and we first diagnosed it when he was 7 years old, but it had been going on for a while already. Last year when he was 9 at his checkup, he was completely fused. I am hoping I will no longer need to inject him (did as needed, to keep him comfortable). Didn't have a chance to really ride him this year b/c I had a baby, but we'll see how he does next year.
Do what you need to do to manage their pain while fusing (injections, previcox, etc) but I would rather use them to help the fusing along (rather than just let them sit).
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 Expert
Posts: 2335
Location: IL | I wish mine would fuse! He's been fusing since 8 and now he's 15. Not fused and my vet said it is possible but more of a myth.... FYI |
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 Coyote Country Queen
Posts: 5666
| We had one that we were injecting due to hock pain. The last time we injected him the relief was very short, and our vet suggested that we do laser fusion. He was on stall rest, followed by rehab, and then back to work. We also used Adequan as part of his joint management.
Edited to add - This horse was in his early teens when we did the laser fusion. Don't know if that makes a difference to people, but thought it was a detail I should include!
Edited by Jenbabe 2016-12-28 5:30 PM
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Fusing hocks