Ring bone!?!?************

Hi everyone,
My vet came out and looked at my horse again. She said the previcox was working great on his hind end but she thought he has ring bone or some kind of arthritis by the hoof in the right front. He has the arthritis in the left hind, hock.
What do you guys suggest using for that? It needs to be very effective, but I am on a SUPER tight budget. Please help!

He has only been on the previcox for 14 days now, and he only had one bad day. (I do not visit him everyday) on it

She said it was unlikely for the previcox to work their, so what do you guys suggest? Do you think it will? What is the cheapest and best thing to make him close to 100% or all the way?

Will it work their possibly with 2 more weeks on the previcox?? She said his head bob was their because of that, but he is a walker that trots, so is that why he does it?
Thanks!!

Sounds like you're asking for a bit of a miracle, if you want something to dose the horse with to actually fix the prob, returned to 100% and cheap to boot. I don't believe it's necessarily impossible, but it would likely take a lot aside from painkillers to manage symptoms. Did you ask your vet, as she's likely a much better source of info on drugs, prices, etc than us lot.

I presume it's articulate low ringbone? I would imagine if he's already on the Previcox, that would do as well as anything. As it's already progressed to pronounced lameness, possibly the best management is to allow the horse full field rest & painkillers/anti-inflams & when the ossification has fused the joint, hopefully the horse will not be lame any more.

I'd also be giving a pre/probiotic while he's on the NSAID, to hopefully avoid/minimise the gut damage these drugs can cause.

Thanks for the info, my vet said that I can ride him only on trails as of now, but I had an argument with her about the problems, but I am looking for some other advise.

If he's lame, I wouldn't be riding him.

Here are some free videos which have yoga, stretches and bodywork and some discussions on ringbone which you might find helpful for your horse and hopefully make him a little more comfortable. Can't beat the price if you're on a budget ;)

https://www.youtube.com/user/HolisticHorseWorks#g/u

If he's shod, you may want to consider pulling the shoes. If the ground he's stabled on is not very forgiving, removing shoes may also help make him more comfy. I personally wouldn't ride him unless you can get him sound enough to be ridden without any signs or symptoms of pain and discomfort. And without drugs.

Thank you, and no he is barefoot. He isn't lame, he just has his head bob. But I think part of it is because he is a Walker.

When their head is bobbing, they ARE lame.

Low ring-bone is usually a performance stopper. Other than nsaids and keeping a horse's toes rolled to facilitate breakover, I know of no way to do anything more. We generally consider them 'crippled' when they have ring-bone.

When my spotted saddle horse developed ringbone, I retired him because he was becoming dangerous to ride (as well as for his own comfort.)
We first noticed a stiffness, and then he began stumbling - first on the trails and then in the roundpen. If your horse has ringbone, you do not want to be on him on the trails. It's not safe for you and it's painful for him.

Walkers do nod their heads when they gait, but normal bobbing for a walker and nodding because they are lame are different. Is your horse stiff in the front? Your vet can x-ray his front feet and pasterns and solve any dispute over whether or not he has ringbone. If he has ringbone, he is in PAIN when he's being ridden (or even if he isn't, if you don't have a level field) and he isn't safe to ride.

Ringbone can fuse given time, but it's iffy. Please, if he has ringbone, find a way to retire him. There's no cheap fix for this.

You mentioned he goes barefoot. Are his hooves trimmed pretty regularly, and are his bars pared down? The reason I ask is that the loading problems could be partially or wholy causing the ringbone, so could possibly be farrier-related? This article may be of interest to you: https://barefoothoofcare.wordpress.c...gory/ringbone/

Thanks! I will be reading that