How much of a problem is minor arthritis in a 10 year old horses hocks?
‘Minor’ and ‘Mild’ are relative terms. What I might do is ask if you can have a copy of the rads sent to your vet for evaluation to determine usefulness. Also, if the radiographs are over a year old, I might suggest having them retaken. The hock is composed of several moving parts. In some cases, part of the joint becomes arthritic, but the, if it advances, it can fuse. Obviously if the joint has fused, it’s no longer painful. This is happening if a hock is ‘injected’ and the vet says there’s no room to place HA or betavet (medicine). So the point here is, even tho’ your prospect is arthritic, it may not be a bad thing if it’s advanced. Having said that, fusing a hock joint takes considerable time & work with NSAIDs administered to relieve pain while it’s occurring. But to answer your question, it shouldnt’ shorten the horse’s lifespan, per se. Until the joint fuses, it can limit usefulness (ie: make flying changes come late or difficult, limit height of jumps, limit athletic ability e
