Ever heard of tibial tarsal syntovitis/bog spavin?

Question

Sorry If I spelt it wrong.

My horse was just diagnosed and as I was reading up I read that it can flare up every once in a while but not affect the usefullness of my horse.

For those who dont know its basically like water/fluid on the hock (tibial tarsal) joint.

I am just wondering if anyone has had experience with this and if so, can i show my horse anymore or will the swelling prevent this.

Im just not sure whats in store for my girl

Answer 1

nooooooooooooooooooooooooooope...... o_0

Answer 2

I haven't heard of it...

Have a good talk with your Vet.  Ask if there are any quality  joint supplements you can put her on, and ask about having the fluid removed.

You can also talk to your farrier about getting different shoes to help her joints.

We had a horse at our barn that had a bad leg injury, where he had to get hock injections, and special shoes. After six months though, the owner is able to ride him in shows.

Answer 3

Yes, the joint capsule of the hock becomes distended (swelled) due to the excessive production of synovial fluid, which is normally produced in the hock to help lubricate the joint.  It can be caused by conformational faults (straight hocks, in particular) or stress caused by quick stops and sharp turns.   So either conformation or actions which cause excessive stress to the joint, cause extra production of the synovial fluid which accumulates and causes the puffiness you see on the joint.

It does not usually cause lameness or effect performance, is just a cosmetic blemish.  If the bog spavin was caused by trauma (getting kicked, for example) then lameness may be present.  You can show your horse despite  this problem.  I don't know much about halter classes, though, so it may be a problem for that type of class, though it's not performance limiting.

Edit:  OK - if it happened right after a fall, then probably the trauma to the joint caused the increased production of syonovial fluid.  As long as there's been no associated lameness (was the hock hot after the fall?)  there will probably be no limitations in terms of movement.  You might want to make sure that there were no injuries to the supportive tissues of the hock joints or fractures of any of the the bones in the joints of the hock, but most likely, if she was never lame at all, then there were no strains, sprains or fractures.  I hope she does well, and you're able to pursue your competitive goal with her.  Good luck.

Answer 4

Bog Spavin is harmless, your horse will be fine for showing except in any classes where they'd count it against you.  Judges probably wouldn't even notice it in any classes where you are moving around the ring.