Today I decided to lunge Kaswyn instead of riding him. Almost every time I go to the barn to work him I ride him, but today I wanted to watch him go just to make sure everything looks like it should. Unfortunately, I think Kaswyn looks stiff and a bit uncomfortable. He's not lame, and he certainly willing to work, but he just doesn't look as loose and flowing as he should.
So I think it's time to start him back on Legend shots. Legend is a monthy IV injectable joint supplement that increases the overall joint fluid, increases it's viscosity, and decreases inflammation in the joint which can cause damage. It's much less invasive than injecting medications directly into the joints, which really helps any hock problems but is costly and carries a risk of infection. I got his hocks injected last year, and while I don't think he's at the point where he needs them injected again I think he could use a bit of help in the joint department. I really don't want to go into his hocks and inject them unless I really have to, and it's not a critical situation yet so I'm just going to go with Legend. Also the Legend will reach all of his joints, where hock injections just address the hocks and nothing else. Usually after I give him a Legend shot he looks like his joints are all greased up, and I can tell when I ride him that he feels better.
Kaswyn used to be on Legend shots but I stopped that when he was lame and in recovery from his various injuries and incidents. I didn't start up with the shots again until now because they are SO expensive. They are like $80 a shot and you are supposed to give a shot once a month. I found that I could get away with one every six weeks during the winter, and once a month during heavy show months of June - September. I think that will be my plan this time around since it seemed to work well in the past. However with his advancing age I might have to go once a month. I'll just see how it goes.
So it's off to the vet's office Monday after work to pick up a vial of Legend. I know some people are nervous about giving intravenous injections to their horses, but Kaswyn is a champ about it and I can usually hit the vein on the first try. I've been out of practice, so I hope I don't have to poke him more than once!
The Week In Pictures
4 years ago
2 comments:
My horse has ringbone and he is a big fan of those Legend shots. My vet calls them "liquid gold" because they are so expensive! Spring/Summer/Fall he seems ok without them. I think he moves around enough while on pasture to keep his joints lubed. The winter months with slippery footing and the lack of grazing motion are difficult. Those Legend shots really help him a LOT. Why can't they be $25??
My old guy, may he rest in peace, got Legend shots before I got him. However I found that he did very well on a daily glucosamine, chondroitin, MSM, C, and Hyaluronic Acid supplement. We used Equinyl CM. I like it because it's easy to get it in the horse, and the cost is a little lower than the shot.
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