According to some ignorant fool, a horse with a club foot who needs hock injections is lame.
Yet, that said horse does NOT have a club-foot, and 80% of high performance horses get some form of joint injection. That horse has also passed all flexion tests, lameness exams (in the last 5 months) and w/t/c and jumps soundly.
So why is it that a horse who needs injections is considered lame?
In some cases, not all nor yours, I think this has become the "trendy" thing to do. Kind of an impulse thing at show barns and such ..... everyone wants to get on the bandwagon in hopes of improvement whether needed or not. It's the vet that ends up making the $ $ $. Kinda like plastic surgery for people.
I can see how a severe club foot could restrict the full movement of the limb and make a horse appear lame (I've seen a pleasure trained gelding move like an arab in the lope because of a club foot). But needing injections is not equal to being lame. My mare needs hock injections and has never taken a lame step in her life.
pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com Gotta love the ignorant fools of the world. They most likely don't own a horse (or at least don't show).
Lol!
Are you kidding me?
Hock injections once a year? I'd like to know the idiot that said was bad.
And my old horse had a club foot. His owner before me did the equivalent of Training Level eventing with him, and schooled higher at home.
A horse with a mild club foot really isn't a problem.
But seriously, hock injections once a year, and someone's making a fuss over it? Hahahaha wow.
To me it depends on how frequently this horse requires injections, and if the horse is lame without them. Some horses move and preform better with injections, but are not lame without them. Others are crippled without the injections. So, the answer is, it depends.
All I can say is they don't know what they are talking about. As Injections are maintenance shots to maintain the horses. My mare gets hock injections, and ever couple years a fetlock injection.
Of course it doesn't just ignore them. If the horse is passing its tests then its passing the tests.
I personally think it's a bit sad that 80% of high performance horses get injections. In the past, they didn't. It makes me wonder why it is such a common practice these days.
pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com However, due to the amount of horses getting them these days, many of whom are perfectly fine without them, I wouldn't say all horses who get injections are lame. In fact, I'd venture a guess that most are sound and would be sound without them, even if it meant slowing down the high impact, high level work.
So, ah, I'm curious as to what is so bad with my answer? Many horses really don't NEED joint injections. It certainly can improve their performance, but if a horse is seriously crippled or in constant pain without them, should you really be competing or riding them hard in the first place? Yes, there are horses with minor discomfort issues, due to aging, arthritis, etc, but that might tell you that you should lay off high impact, high stress work.
Again, I have no issue with it, I just wonder why it is so commonplace to do it presently and it wasn't in the past.
Park Pleasure - Thank you! That's much of what I was trying to say here.
