Hock Injections

Veterinary Evaluation

Leo was definitely lame, even at the walk, when I brought him in from the field Friday for the vet. It wasn't crazy obvious but I was predisposed to look for it after Thursday's initial evaluation. To me it looked like the right front leg, but Liz said it was definitely hind-end related.

Liz flex tested him and his left hock was the dominant problem thought he also was sore in his right hock. During the examination she re-confirmed the other issues she found yesterday:

1. Soreness in his neck
2. Reactive and sore in his dorsal sacroiliac ligament (not to be confused with the SI joint)
3. Reactive when palpating his lower back (this is symptomatic of SI joint problems)

We talked at length about Leo's race history. He raced for 3 years (as a 3 yr. old, 4 yr. old and 5 yr. old) and had a total of 28 starts. It doesn't sound like a lot of starts and I am well aware of the bad habits Leo has from the subpar training he received. But because Leo retired sound, I don't think I ever fully appreciated the impact 3 years of racing might have had on his body.

Liz's recommendation was to start with the hocks since that was the source of the immediate lameness issue. She said to accurately diagnose any other issues we had to resolve his immediate lameness and discomfort. Since the hock issue has likely been building over the past several months, he's been overcompensating with other parts of his body which leads to increased soreness in all the other areas like the neck and lower back. Correcting the hocks may help the other issues naturally resolve themselves. If not, then we can slowly begin addressing the leftover issues. 

What I learned about Synovial Fluid and Hock Injections

So we injected his hocks. Liz said the synovial fluid in Leo's hock joint was too watery and not viscous like it should be. I learned that the synovial fluid should have the consistency of maple syrup in order to lubricate the joint properly. When it's watery that means there is swelling in the joint. The damaged tissue causes white blood cells to escape into the synovial fluid and they cause the synovial fluid to breakdown. The white blood cells also break down the hyaluronic acid molecules.  If not treated, it leads to arthritis.

Moving Forward

Leo will have a couple days off and then I can start riding on Monday. Next week, the plan is do to some acupuncture to see if we can help speed his muscle recovery and reduce the overall soreness he's experiencing. Liz also recommends skipping the oral joint supplements and instead do a monthly shot of Adequan.

I'm going to try to focus more on hill work and less hardcore dressage work in the ring. Leo's body and mind may not be able to handle more than 1 or 2 dressage schools a week. Our hacks have been limited since the new year because the woman who owns the land next to the farm no longer allows us to ride on her property. Crossing her property is the only way to get to the other properties we are allowed to ride on. The relationship has yet to be repaired so we are stuck riding on the farm property. It sucks but I am just going to have to do laps up and down the road and around the property. Leo felt great last fall but we were also doings of long walking hacks through the hills. 

Good news is, Leo was quite happy when I saw him today. He actually power-walked over to me in the field (normally he ignores me or walks away from me). I can't read his mind, but maybe he is actually grateful for the hock injections?? Or maybe he just wanted his dinner early.