05-05-10 Vet Call

Ransom and I arrived at the vet’s office promptly, and the work began.

Dr Sam watched him trot down & back, then performed flexion tests on all four legs. Here’s what he found:

Slight head bobble when flexed on the pasterns up front – both legs. It is only visible for the first 3-4 strides away.

Stiff and uncomfortable when flexed on the hocks – both legs.

So I agreed to a bunch of xrays.
Front pasterns
Front left knee (there’s a “bump” on the inside of his knee, either from whacking something, or otherwise)
Back hocks

And here’s what he found…
Front pasterns look good for his age – a little wear & tear, but nothing dramatic. Some “rough edges” on the bones, but away from the joints enough to not be causing a problem.
Front left knee – has one spot on it, just on the outside front of the joint. It’s either calcification or a bone chip buried in soft tissue, or a floater. He’s thinking buried in soft tissue, as Ransom didn’t fight flexion or the trot-offs enough for it to be a floater.

Back hocks – Congenitive Bone Disease in the joints. Left moreso than right. There’s very little space in the joint on the left, and a little more space on the right, but still not pretty. “Much better than Dr Sam expected, for his age and use.”

The treatment? Inject the hocks with medicines (cortico steriods and HA). We could inject from top & bottom, but Dr Sam suggested we inject from top only, and pray it seeps down into the joint. After the injection, he asks that Ransom have three full days off work, and “then he can go back to full work.” I may go easy to start. “Full Work”, also includes he’s allowed to go back to jumping. *whew* Glad to hear that!

He’s getting done this afternoon, and I can pick him up later today. He was a good patient for all the exam work, stood steady, and generally cooperated with Dr Sam and Deanna. I’m grateful they did such a thorough job, and explained everything to me so I understood.