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Comet:Some very sad news

4K views 28 replies 8 participants last post by  Horseychick94 
#1 ·
Comet was diagnosed with end stage osteoarthritis. It is both incurable and it is chronic. He has bone on bone rubbing and heavy cartilage damage. Lots of inflammation as well. He also has bone spurs as a result of the arthritis. ALL of this was caused by racing. We were going to inject him but he has been injected so many times during his racing career that it stopped working for him. He can be ridden walk trot. It won't hurt him to be ridden because the damage is already done. Where he is older, it will help him to keep him moving. His stifle(s) are so bad that if he was a human, he would need a knee replacement. His arthritis is going to just get worse and worse. Only thing we can do is give him lots and lots of love, peace, and try to give him comfort.

In the X ray photo : The gap in the blue area is cartilage. There is only a little left. The gray area in the green circle is inflammation. The red ring shows where there should be cartilage. In that area, there is bone on bone. In the pink ring, there are several bone spurs. Where the cartilage is worn off, there is pain. The body tries to heal itself by immobilizing the joint by trying to calcify it. The joint is so large that it is impossible to immobilize so that is where the bone spurs come from
 

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#5 ·
:( poor guy! That is terrible news!

We give a joint supplement to one of my mares that contains sea cucumber. I noticed a difference in her within days of using it. I don't know if this will help comet or not, but it may be worth a try. Its called Equu Sea I believe.

I'm hoping for the best for your guy, and that he is able to be comfortable for as long as possible!
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#9 ·
Good luck with managing this condition, my tb is in a similar situation with his hocks. He was only 8 when he was diagnosed, I have tried just about every treatment under the sun with no success. Thank you racing industry *shakes head*

Just a word about Bute - its great for short term, but terrible long term. It does some shocking damage to the kidneys so is not generally recommended to be administered for more than 2 weeks at a time.
 
#10 ·
Many horses live on daily bute for years and years. Unless the horse has a sensitivity issue, it is generally considered safe to administer up to two grams a day, generally split into two one-gram doses. No, it's not ideal, and yes, you have to watch out for signs of ulcers, but more often than not the pain relief benefits outweigh the side effects. And this information is coming from the agreement of three respected equine veterinarians as well as personal experience.
 
#23 ·
Particularly given what you now know about his arthritis, keeping him on the lean side will help him.. Carrying any extra weight, even what I call "show weight" increases the burden on this joints.

Hylurunic acid or synthetic joint fluid probably will no longer help since he's bone on bone, steriod injections *may* help short term because they relieve the inflammation. They also make the horse a *lot* more comfortable and more willing to move and exercise.

I am going to side with bubba on the bute issue. If the bute works for him and makes him comfortable, I say go for it and just monitor him for ulcers. It's a quantity of life vs. quality of life question - would you rather that he have more in pain years, or fewer years but relatively pain free ones? And before anyone acuses me of being callous, let me assure you that's how I make decisions about treating my own osteoarthritis.

Horseychic, I am so sorry. I know you adore your horse and have been struggling to give him the best life you can. I know this is a terrible blow.
 
#24 ·
I can understand your reasoning re Bute Maura, and it is up to the OP to make that call. Personally I would be looking at other alternatives other than Bute before deciding to Bute on a long term basis. And to be honest, I would rather put a horse down or retire it rather than bute them continuously just to ride.
 
#25 ·
My old fella is a buted-up pasture puff, and has been for a couple years. No detectable signs of problems (fat, dappled, and shiny as always), and gets around well enough to buy him a reasonable quality of life. I'm too afraid to take him off the bute to see what he'd look like without it.
 
#27 ·
Kayty,

I understand your position as well. I think relying on daily bute so a horse can compete or be ridden heavily is a poor decision.

However, I based my answer ot the OP mostly on some previous experience. I had a much beloved senior citizen who tolerated daily bute well for years, and it was really the thing that helped most consistently after supplements, hyluronic acid injections, cortisone injections and finally acupuncture failed to help him any longer. I was very fortunate that he was an individual that tolerated daily bute well.

And in the OP's case, since the horse is relatively young, I do think it's best if she get him comfortable enough to tolerate light trail riding.
 
#28 ·
Hmm, I can see both sides, but being so young, I wouldn't personally keep a horse in this condition in any ridden work, a stable companion at the most.

Bute is effective, but long term can have serious effects, same as humans taking a paracetemol every day, really! I have only ever used bute once on one of my own horses after she was kicked by another. I don't understand why bute is sometimes used cure for things, when its purely masking the pain. You've got to think about winter, too. I don't know how cold it gets where you are, but boggy fields, cold nights etc, and being a young horse, how long are you planning on keeping him on bute for? Hope your vets has a cheap supply ;)

Have you looked in to homeopathic things? I used Rhux Tox on my 19yo dressage horse last winter as he was showing huge signs of stiffness, and we did a small comp and led a quadrille! You'd have to speak to someone with more experience though.

There are lots of options, but you know your horse better. Good luck, and speak to your vet, and perhaps another vet. Can never do any harm having a second opinion.
 
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