I just purchased this horse and the previous owner sent me his stifle x rays. I’m getting my own vet to check him out soon but in the meantime I’m wondering what more experienced eyes see/think?
Out of curiosity, why were these only shared after the purchase rather than before?
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So he was sent to an auction, which landed him with a k!ll pen/trader, which is who I bought him from… he is noticeably lame at the trot in the right hind. I got in contact with the owner who sent him to auction about what they did diagnostic/maintenance wise and they sent me these!
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That’s pretty wild that they took films, dumped the horse, he got purchased, and then you picked him up in less than a month. I’m surprised someone with such little ethics was willing to talk, much less share films.
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I was pretty surprised about getting an answer as well! And even more surprised that they did X-rays!
And this is a NICE stallion with a pedigree that’s pretty drool worthy… so I’m just as blown away as a lot of people 
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So I’m not a vet and I don’t read X-rays, but I had a horse with this circled “flattening”, though to a lesser degree:
I’d need to fact check but my vet at the time said it wasn’t supposed to be that flat but rather more of a cup shape. This horse had some sloppy stifles that would lock up as well - he wasn’t clearly lame on it though. It could be a different angle vs the X-rays we took though so YMMV. Something to ask about!
I’d ultrasound him if he’s lame, in addition to another set of current X-rays. There looks like some artifacts or maybe chips in the joint on the lateral image - I’d want to know if those were still there.
These X-rays were just about a month ago due to the same lameness we see now - their vet said arthritis but I thought that I’m looking at a chip or something as well! But still definitely going to get my own work up done on him! He’s such a cool horse… I’d be happy to get him even sound enough for my kids to poke around on with how well he’s been trained!
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That’s what my very untrained eye thought as well! The vet that took these said arthritis though, no mention whatsoever of the chips
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That’s weird. I’m no vet but they look like chips to me.
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My thought, as well…
I wish I could remember more of the vets on the board to tag, but @Ghazzu is the only one that comes to mind right now.
The radiographic appearance is definitely abnormal, but the quality of the screenshot makes it impossible to seriously evaluate.
Could be OCD fragments.
Is there any detailed history available on the horse?
Prior radiographs?
Any prior diagnosis of stifle OCD?
Any history of traumatic injury?
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Yikes! How could someone use a horse so hard as to cause this and then dump him? Did you get a vet report or just information handed on by the previous owner? Possibility surgery may help. Good luck!
Did they at least geld him before auctioning of a stallion with unknown lameness issues?
