OTTB with osselet and upper level eventing? Help!

[eventingpnw]

I have a 5yo ottb, retired from the track Feb 2014 and vetted clean, tendons cold & tight and ankles looked great (from the outside, did not xray). I know, I’m regretting that now. Since letting him down for a couple months I have done xc and jumping and he held up great. His work was reduced to flat work 4x a week (no jumping) 2 month ago, and 1 month ago he came in from turnout with a hot swollen ankle, but he was NOT lame and showed no sign of it bothering him.
Vet diagnosed as a green osselet. There is significant joint pressure, swelling and a half a golf ball sized knob on the front inside of his fetlock. Vet said to wait to xray after stall rest, ice and pentosan treatment for 30 days and see where we are at. It has shown improvement but still some heat & joint pressure.

I thought osselets are usually painful, have you had a horse present sound on a green osselet? Would you xray now? I am thinking this an old injury from the track that they injected, and looked great until now? Do you think this will limit his career as an upper level eventer?

[joiedevie99]

No way to know without getting a diagnosis. Get an x-ray and see what’s going on in there.

[Arcadien]

Don’t know about green osselets but the soundest OTTB mare I ever owned had huge lumpy cold ones. Seriously the ugliest ankles you ever saw. Evented up to Prelim, ridden into 20’s, never took a bad step! Good luck.

[crosscreeksh]

I agree with x-rays and further diagnostics. When an osselet “sets/calcifies” there is less/no pain, but flexion is not possible either. Ask your vet.

[bornfreenowexpensive]

Doesn’t sound like an old injury. Sounds like he did something in the field. I have had most of my horses hurt by doing crap in the field.

Me, I’d not be stressed about this. Follow your vet’s instructions and X-ray later if needed.

[judybigredpony]

Occelot would have been long over from track, you haven t done the type of work associated with creation of occelot…sounds like a pasture whack n ding…and actually like Sesmoiditis if the swelling was not forward of that area.

TIP…it’s not what you can see but what you can t see when buying on the track. Unless you have a real trusting insiders relationship with the person you are buying from and can trust the horse has not been injected repeatedly …Get an X-ray.
ALSO the drug rules have changed and what they can use to inject joints with has changed! I prefer an ultrasound of tendons and suspensorys best $$$ spent !!