My 5 yr old barrel horse showed lame, X-rays showed a large spur at the top of the coffin bone, at excesier tendon

Hi I'm Dr. Crow, what is the question about the spur in the coffin joint?

Well, the spur is a sign of arthritis, possibly due to instability of the joint. The treatment for this is to inject the joint with steroids and HA to decrease the inflammation and help with the pain of the spur. If this does not work or does not last very long, then we look at treatments like IRAP or other more aggressive treatments to help with the pain. Corrective shoeing with a 2-3 degree wedge and a joint supplement like Adeqaun works well with the joint injection to start. The joint may have to be injected 2-3 times per year to keep her sound. However, with her age, the prognosis for future soundness is usually not good. I have never heard of anything that will actually dissolve a spur in the joint and since it is secondary to arthritis, it will usually come back if removed.

Polyglycan is good for the health of the joint, I prefer Adequan however

You should see improvement immediately after the injection, but mostly at 2 weeks. The Adequan mainly helps the injections last longer. It is frustrating, there are amazing things we can do now, though, so make sure to talk to your vet about all the options.