Dealing With Spavin in My Old Mare
Okay, so let me tell you about dealing with spavin. It wasn’t something I ever really thought much about until my old mare, Daisy, started acting a bit off. She’s usually pretty stoic, you know? Doesn’t complain much.
It started subtle. I first noticed she wasn’t quite tracking up right behind. Like, her hind steps weren’t landing where her front steps had been. Just seemed a bit short, a bit stiff, especially when we first started moving or on a cold morning. At first, I thought maybe she’d just tweaked something in the field, you know how they can be, tearing around like youngsters even when they’re getting on a bit.
So, I gave it a few days. Just light work, gentle walks. But it didn’t really clear up. Some days seemed better, others worse. She also started getting a bit grumpy when I picked up her hind feet, especially the right one. That wasn’t like her at all. That’s when I figured, okay, this isn’t just a little ouchie, better get the vet out.
The vet came, bless him. He watched her walk, trot, did those flexion tests. You know, where they hold the leg up bent real tight for a minute, then have you trot off immediately. Well, when he did the hock flexion on her right hind, she definitely trotted off way more noticeably lame for a few strides. That pointed him towards the hock.
He talked about getting some pictures, x-rays they call ’em, to see what was going on inside the joint. So we did that. It’s always a bit nerve-wracking waiting for those results. When he called back, he confirmed it. Spavin. Basically, arthritis in the lower hock joints.
Hearing that word, “arthritis,” in relation to my horse wasn’t great. You immediately think the worst, right? Like, is she going to be in pain forever? Can she still be ridden? My mind was racing.
But the vet was pretty calm about it. Explained it’s super common, especially in older horses or ones that have worked hard. He laid out some options. We talked about:
- Management changes: More turnout was key. Keeping those joints moving is better than letting them stiffen up in a stall. Also, making sure her warm-ups were longer and more gradual. No sudden bursts of speed.
- Shoeing: We discussed maybe changing her shoeing slightly with the farrier, to help her break over more easily behind, taking some strain off the hock.
- Keeping her comfortable: We talked about joint supplements, the stuff you feed them. And maybe some anti-inflammatory stuff if she had a bad flare-up. He also mentioned joint injections as an option down the line if things got worse, but we decided to start with the basics first.
So, that’s what we did. I made sure Daisy got loads more time out in the pasture. Our rides changed – shorter, focused on keeping her supple, lots of walking, gentle hills, but avoiding really tight turns or hard stops. I worked closely with my farrier, and he put a shoe on her that seemed to help her hind end feel a bit looser.
It’s been a journey, not gonna lie. Some days she feels fantastic, other days she’s a little stiffer. It’s about managing it day by day. Keeping an eye on her, adjusting her workload based on how she feels. The supplements seem to help keep her comfortable for daily life. She’s mostly retired now, enjoys her field and short hacks.
The biggest thing I learned? Don’t panic. Spavin sounds scary, but for many horses, it’s something you can manage. You just have to listen to your horse, work with your vet and farrier, and be prepared to adjust how you do things. It’s part of having an older horse, really. You just adapt and keep giving them the best life you can.
