Can a chip be removed?
It depends on the chip and the location.
Or are you asking @DGEventing If her horseās chip is operable?
Em
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I was asking about DGEventingās horse but your reply will do. I often see a chip listed on reports but seems easy to remove I would think.
Not all chips are āeasyā to remove.
And for sure going into the joint for any reason should only be done for the right reasons and with a lot of consulting with capable vets.
I mean Iām very adverse to anything IA and my guys do not get many joint injections because of this.
Em
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It depends on location and the chip type like others have said.
That being said there are some chips I will do and some I wonāt. Fetlock chips donāt worry me too much if we can look at the rads and come to an agreement. Knees are iffy, there are some I donāt want to touch. Same can go for hocks. Butā¦ there are tons and tons and tons of working sound horses that are working on chips their owners donāt know about. Itās very common. Iāve had a few (ex-racers) horses now that have at some point in their years with me managed to get into a paddock scrape that required x-raying the leg to make sure everything is okay. Imagine my surprise to see a few of them had old, set chips in their fetlocks or hocks. Several of those horses were horses I owned until they died of old age.
Iāve also held a few horses for PPE that raced sound or competed sound and on PPE found old chips that the owner/seller had no idea about. Itās really not a black or white answer, it depends on the chip and what your vet thinks, and your current goals.
We have a retired horse right now that has ankle chips that the vets didnāt think was worth removing. In the twenty something years weāve owned him heās never had a single issue with that leg. Ironically, itās the other three that have had problems. 
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100% concur with @beowulf
My really nice OTTB āPeteyā had and still has a Sagittal Ridge OCD. We disclosed it left right and center. (And some local other Tb resellers disclosed it for us when potential buyers came to see their horses tooā¦But I digress)
That remains one of the nicest and most Ammy friendly horses I have ever had the good fortune to own.
His most recent buyer, last fall, didnāt even find it on the vetting as they didnāt image the pasterns. Once she and I connected I explained itās existence but she didnāt care. Heās been sound a decade now on it and without any issues the vet recās are to leave it alone.
Has never stopped his success as a jumper or eventer.
Em
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The chip doesnāt bother me, and (also consulting with my vet) have the mentality that āif it aināt broke, donāt fix it.ā It would be a different story if he was sore or flexed positively on it.
I have actually been leasing my UL horse, sheās on her second person. Obviously it can go sour, but my current experience has been very good. Primarily, she does have some extreme KS and her rads are fairly rough so I was concerned about where she might end up so want to keep tabs. But, truthfully Iāve made much more off leasing than I would have selling at this point. And thatās even stepping down to run Training with her first, and now Starter with her next.
Her rads really would have prevented her selling for much, despite her record. And as a lease that āliabilityā to deal with is off the table, because normally the fear is āwhat ifā rather than dealing with her now.
I do an every 6-month renewal, the lessors keep a mortality/major medical policy, and I can also for example, I took off $X amount so that she stays on equioxx, will take off $X amount off the top for the next 6-mont for Adequan.
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I honestly wish more people would be willing to lease. I know there are horror stories out there, but I think there are also plenty of people who take excellent care of their horses and just canāt afford an experienced mount to help them gain confidence/experience. I leased a great packer for a couple of years, and now he is retired on my farm. It definitely can be a win/win situation if you can find the right match.
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Iām selling one virtually identical to yours, albeit has now had a month of letdown and has been in light work. He has a PPE tomorrow and three people lined up behind that buyer, should they pass. He moved slower than I expected, but now I think people are shopping again in earnest as the weather improves.
I am doing a PPE on one in Ocala and am having a friend of my trainer sit on him quick. If the PPE goes well will be buying him sight unseen. I am sure there are others lined up behind me. Fingers crossed as he checks all the boxes but am prepared for a let down as I donāt want my hopes up. We are doing neck/wither/back/ all 4 fetlocks/hocks and stifle rads along with a flex. I canāt do anymore.
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Maybe let the vet you hired guide you on what needs to be imaged.
Standards are nice but specific needs are more useful.
Em
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Agreed. If you go looking hard enough for a problem, youāll find one.
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Heās an OTTB so neck back withers would be in line.
Given where I work, admittedly not in the section that does PPEās, we do what the owner requests but the clinicians have the leeway to give suggestions on what may be useful in addition, or instead of an arbitrary list.
Withers are outside of what I have heard of as being a standard. (My own experience)
Backs are wildly misinterpreted by prospective buyers and while I typically encourage all to image what they want, I also would hope that they are listening to vets who have explained (a lot) that a horse with KS images WITHOUT Symptoms should not be looked down upon nor assumed to be an absolute 100% risk in the future. They really can be fine. I had one that had terrifying back rads and we never imaged that and never knew. He was imaged very late in life and for a mystery foot lameness. His back was interesting looking, but ultimately ruled out as having any role with the lameness.
Em
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But why? If the horse doesnāt palpate sensitive or poorly on the back, I donāt know why youād spend the money other than to find out something that might make you pass on perfectly suitable horse. (Iāve also never had someone shoot neck or withers on an OTTB Iāve sold.)
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If I ever consider another TB, I am asking for rads of the entire spine that can be seen. No way Iām going down that road again after my last few experiences with them. Iād tailor the rest of my imaging to the specific horse and flexions - but the spine is non-negotiable.
Unless the horse is older and been doing what I want to use it for, Iāve had enough bad luck with backs in TBs to be very cautious. I donāt blame anyone for the same - and would indeed encourage it.
ETA: I think people look for issues in places theyāve seen issues before - so for me itās necks and backs. For someone else it may be hocks or stifles. Itās never a guarantee the horse will be sound but I think itās an attempt to protect oneself from round 2 (or 3, or 7) of issues
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Oh I would consider Domestic Tbās. Less EDM than Imports. Not 0, but not as many.
Em
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Seeing LOTS of neuro horses at work. Necks are a smart investment as a baseline for ANY owner and not just Tbās.
I have had a horse with cervical arthritis that merited being dropped down to an easier life. And for sure with all the other neuro issues out there it behooves all of us to know what is and is not an issue going forward. Clean necks as a 4 yr old can show a nice starting point if the horse has issues as a 12 yr old.
I really recommend imaging necks. Hell, one of my imports came with skull rads! They thought he might have had a blind wolf tooth and went ahead and imaged to see if there was one. There was not but was a fun surprise in the files.
Em
6 Likes
How are they at imaging necks in the field? I had a PPE vet give me a hard time once about necks/backs in the field, saying they werenāt really good enough to see anything. This was a couple of years ago though so maybe it has changed?
