Hi all, just did a PPE on a nice 3 yr old draft cross mare. Started lightly under saddle but not jumping yet. No lameness, no flexion issues. My vet is recommending surgery to remove it before she’s 7 yrs old to prevent arthritis - he said around $2-3k with 6-8 wks rest then back to normal. Would you pass on this or is it pretty much a non-issue?
I would be under the impression that this is a larger issue, unless the amount $2k/3k isn’t significant for the purchaser. I have had a sizeable chip removed from an ankle for a competition horse, and I know some upper-level competition horses that were purchased and had chips removed immediately thereafter.
But, it’s still a risky surgery. My own was sound before surgery, then NQR after for a period of time. That was with the requested 3-month rehab. (We thought she would retire as she wasn’t sound after surgery, so we threw her in a field after a few months, then a year later she came back into work.)
In my case, the ankle still needed significant maintenance after. The price seems appropriate. I had the chip removed, then did PRP.
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i would seek a second opinion on this radiograph set. Usually vet school radiology departments can offer this along with independent veterinary radiologists
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I had a fetlock OCD removed from my horse in 2021. He was 10 at the time of diagnosis. He went back to work in 6 weeks. I had it performed at a university and they also checked for a bilateral OCD, which he thankfully didn’t have. It cost me $1500 for the surgery (full anesthesia midwest location) plus another $350 post for HA injection. He’s been sound on that fetlock since with no issues - it’s been flexed multiple times since.
Universities do these surgeries a lot so they’re very comfortable doing them and telling you what to expect for recovery etc. The University surgeon could also advise you if this would be worth your while to do or if you should pass after they review the X-rays. Some OCDs can stay and not cause issues, some can cause cartilage damage - and there’s no way to repair cartilage once its damaged.
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My 12 year old warmblood x had an incidental finding of an ocd fragment in his fetlock when we were xraying for another issue. I’ve had him 5 years and the fragment was found 3 years ago. It’s never been an issue so I’ve not done anything about it.
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Things like this are very location dependent. I’m not a professional at looking at x-rays, but I am not a fan of the location of that chip. Definitely get this looked at by a radiograph specialist.
I bought a four-year-old many many years ago with a chip that was outside of the range of motion of the joint on the front. My extremely good vet said by her if you like her. This will not be a problem unless it migrates, and you will know the instant it does because she will be dead lame and then you get it taken out. I took the chance and bought her and she was fine. But the location of this chip is really different and I would probably pass.
Since this is now a known item, the seller cannot in good faith represent the horse without this chip being divulged. The price of this horse would most likely come way down. If you really like her, you could request that the owner take the risk of getting the surgery and then get back to you once the horses sound. If they bog down about that, then they themselves are saying that it’s a significant risk, and as such they should Drastically reduce the price.
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I would expect seller to get the surgery and offer the horse for sale after recovery. They can’t represent it as sound now.
Depends on your tolerance and ability to pay 3k for the surgery and roll the dice on whether it recovers to complete soundness or not (and absorb additional costs if further treatment is needed insurance will exclude).
There are stories of successful recovery and just as many failures. Of concern here is it is still a youngster never in hard work and will get bigger and stouter as it matures.
I bought one with a chip but it was a fully trained 9 year old working as a show Hunter with no history of trouble. I did take a chance and seller took about 15% off the price. A year later there was no sign of it. I was lucky.
I also will never do it again and cannot recommend anybody else take that chance. Unless they are willing to reduce their expectations or even retire it, as I was.
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