Knee chips - what can we do between now and surgery?

[alteredcarbon]

Hello again, I’m looking for some input on what to do. One of my horses was found to have chips in the upper joints of both knees. These were found incidentally while looking at something else, and he’s never been lame or sensitive on them. I plan to have the chips removed but the cash for surgery isn’t available right now - I need to save up a bit just in case the costs exceed what I was quoted. I’m maxed out on my vet budget if the surgery costs exactly as planned, and when does that ever happen? I plan to have them removed in the spring once I have a bit of cushion.

In the meantime, I’m wondering if it would be detrimental to continue to hack this horse. Again, he’s not lame (yet). I am talking to my vet of course, but they are very much “doomsday is nigh” and “worst case scenario”, so sometimes I have to temper their suggestions with realism. I am able to do something like Adequan or ProStride right now to tide us over until surgery, but I would really only do that if I could continue to trail ride/walk-trot this horse. He CAN just sit if needed while I save up but he’s my only riding horse right now that is somewhat legged up, so it would be nice to keep hacking for his mental health and mine. I expect the footing is going to go to slop soon with winter rolling in, so it may be a moot point anyway.

Anyway, am I risking long term damage by riding him lightly? No jumping, no cantering, just hacking over terrain. I have a message with my vet office to have them call me when my vet is back from vacation, but I’m also curious if anyone here has done something like this or has knowledge to share.

[alteredcarbon]

Here are the X-rays, in case that’s helpful.

[Bonnie2]

Holy moly! Those are some pics! When you say he is not lame, I think you’ll be fine hacking. Then I look at the rads and see the size and placement of the chip and think run up the credit card and get that out tomorrow. It is somewhat rounded so possibly not new. Is this an OTTB? How long have you had him? If best guess is he’s been living with this for some time, he can probably live with it until spring. If your personal history with the horse is only a month or two, I would be exploring creative financing for the surgery. You can see there is already some damage to the joint. But interestingly, doesn’t look swollen. Bottom line, I would get a second opinion. Always a plan when you need to spend a lot of money! I don’t know that Adequan or prostride would do enough to be worth the price. Good luck!

[alteredcarbon]

Thanks for the input! Yeah they’re pretty impressive chips.

I’ve had him a couple years, but yes he’s off the track. We haven’t done much, we spent a lot of time rehabbing feet and getting weight on him, just puttering around. Vet assumes he has had them a while.

Funding is the issue. I would have to GET a credit card, and right now my credit score is okay but due to loans (in good standing) I have a high debt utilization that makes credit card companies nervous. I did some research and soft pull inquiries to try that route and didn’t have much luck. Therefore, I’m planning to save up and go cash. I really only need a couple grand to feel more comfortable! Several emergency vet bills (this horse and others) in the thousands have depleted my “horse” savings. It sucks.

[kaya842]

No real advice on the chips but wanted to add in a plug for Care Credit (they offer promotional 0% financing on most expenses) if you don’t already have a card with them. They’ve been great in my experience and I’ve run 1 horse surgery + hospitalization and 4 dog surgeries and other vet things through them. Not all vet offices accept them, but IME most surgical places do. You may also want to call around to any teaching hospitals/ universities that may be close ish to you. Again, IME, they have all the things in one place which is nice in case other imaging or services are needed and tend to run a bit cheaper though no hospital is cheap. It may be worth an extra few hours drive if it’ll save you a few hundred to a thousand.

If he was mine, I would let him sit and try to limit any wear and tear on the joint. If he comes up sore between now and when you can afford the surgery, back on track wraps could be helpful. I don’t think Adequan would be a great use of funds ATM since the chip is so large and I’d hold off on the regenerative therapy like Pro Stride until after surgery. Knees can be tricky but I bought a young OTTB who had surgery (though I think hers was a fracture with a plate not sure if they removed chips) on her knee and it never bothered her after.

[alteredcarbon]

Interesting about Care Credit - I haven’t looked into that. I will!

I slept on it and I think I am leaning toward just letting him sit until I can get this done. I don’t want to cause more problems. I don’t think the occasional half hour walk hack around the property will hurt anything, but I won’t do more than that.

Thanks to all who said Adequan and others should wait. I agree, and I’ll put that potential cost toward surgery. I’ll have him done at the vet school, but it’s still ~$3500 for two nights and the surgery, plus any take home meds, extra rehab board, and paying for wrapping/handwalking/supplies. Worth it, but I’m guessing it’ll be closer to $5k out of pocket on top of “normal” expenses. That’s assuming no complications - I’m just worried that if I max myself out on the regular costs and he does something dumb, I’ll be up a creek or asking the SO for money (something I WILL NOT do).