Ridecamp: [RC] Arthritis outcome?

Well, after some on and off light lameness issues for the past 6 weeks, I
decided to take my 7 year old paso/arab mare to Dr. Black's this past week.  She
was completely sound by this point, but I wanted to get a full soundness exam to
get the go ahead to start conditioning and competing again (we've had limited
competition..  3 CTRs and 1 LD ride last year).  He palpated her legs and found
some extra synovial fluid in the stifle (which he said is probably a residual
sprain)..  good news so far..  but she was very slightly positive on both hinds
for the flexions tests.  He suggested we take pictures of her hocks and
stifles..  stifles looked clean, but her left hock showed very slight bony
changes between the ventral most joint (sorry I forgot the name!) of the hock.
He went ahead and injected HA/cortisone into the joint and said she'll be
comfortable for the rest of the season.

Here's the bad news..  Long term he said she'll be able to withstand the rigors
of LD and CTR competition for the next 3-5 years or so..  then reevaluate after
that.  What are my options after this point?  Surgery to clear the bony ridges?
I've also heard of ultrasonic treatments to smooth out the bone affected..  I'd
like to do more research on this.. can anyone point me to where I could find out
more info?

She's very important to me.. and I want to be able to compete with her for a
long time..

Julienne


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