I did it. Got Tiki's hocks injected today. To quote my friend Becca, "Wow! I have sticker shock, but not in a bad way!" Vet took a look at the boy, and confirmed what Janet had said, that he had all the classic signs that maybe he'd be more comfortable if he got his hocks done. He isn't LAME, but the right hind definitely shows a bit of soreness compared to the left. When she quoted me the price, I said, "That's per leg, right?" And she goes, "NO! That's for BOTH. We do so much of these, we consider them practically routine maintenence." And she's a wonderful vet, not like she's some hack job. She did his teeth last year, and is very good at what she does. So, drugged him up, scrubbed him down, and injected the joints.
Plan of action is for him to stay in tonight, turn out tomorrow afternoon, then back on his nightly turnout, a light hack on Sunday, then put him to WORK on Monday, and work him 6 days a week for the next 2 weeks. Her explanation is that hock injections work for 2 weeks. During those 2 weeks, when your horse feels amazing, you need to get him to understand that work doesn't hurt, and basically do your best to "re-muscle" your horse in that time frame so that when the injections wear off, there is the muscle memory there to KEEP him comfortable. Makes sense to me!
REALLY looking forward to what he will feel like on Sunday. And ironically, after watching him on the longe, the vet said, "You know, with this horse, I would probably start with a lot of walk, then canter him around a little on a nice loose rein, THEN put him to work at the trot". Lol, I informed her that's EXACTLY what I did yesterday. Nice to know great minds think alike!;)
Hi! Found your blog through someone elses blog. My friend had her horses joints injected. They seemed to last for a while (6months), but I don't know what your horse was injected with, so maybe it was different? They told her the same thing, but that it was to get the fluid moving around. Lucky pony to have such a good mom! Your horse is adorable!!
ReplyDeleteI bet Tiki man is going to feel great! Nice to find avet that has reasonable prices and does a good job
ReplyDeleteHope the injections work for him. Nice to have a good vet that is friendly and knows what they are doing!
ReplyDeleteI'm thinking of getting Ozzy's hocks done, so this entry was helpful. Glad it wasn't as expensive as you expected.
ReplyDelete