Top signs of OCD in young horses?

[iJump]

I’m looking at purchasing a young horse…

I’ve gone to see him twice. The first time there was absolutely nothing alarming about him but the second time I went to see him he was NQR in the front left.

Owner says he has just been growing like crazy and sometimes he looks a little off.

I’ve owned lots of young horses and haven’t encountered anything like this. What are everyone’s thoughts?

I should just walk away, but I really like the horse… before I get too invested in a big vetting I’d like to learn more about OCD.

Edited to add…

Curious about IV joint products, and oral for young horses too.

[horsepoor]

Young horse that looks a little off? Move on!

Honestly, it could be anything, not just OCD. My experience with OCD, for what it is worth, was that I bought two different 2 year olds that vetted fine (just your basic exam with flexions and no x-rays as they were deemed sound with no concerns at that time) but were found to have stifle OCD later. Don’t read that to say the OCD wasn’t there til later. It just didn’t bother them enough to notice and go seeking it out until they were in work, so for one as a 5 year old and the other a 4 year old. Were there signs that we missed? Neither showed anything of concern on vetting as youngsters, but both were big, fast growing warmbloods.

But had either of them been NQR when I went to see them, no way would I go forward. Let the seller chase the issue if they want and convince me that it is just “growing pains.” But I’m not spending money to vet it!

[iJump]

@horsepoor

Young horse that looks a little off? Move on!

Honestly, it could be anything, not just OCD. My experience with OCD, for what it is worth, was that I bought two different 2 year olds that vetted fine (just your basic exam with flexions and no x-rays as they were deemed sound with no concerns at that time) but were found to have stifle OCD later. Don’t read that to say the OCD wasn’t there til later. It just didn’t bother them enough to notice and go seeking it out until they were in work, so for one as a 5 year old and the other a 4 year old. Were there signs that we missed? Neither showed anything of concern on vetting as youngsters, but both were big, fast growing warmbloods.

But had either of them been NQR when I went to see them, no way would I go forward. Let the seller chase the issue if they want and convince me that it is just “growing pains.” But I’m not spending money to vet it!

How did you come to find out OCD in the stifle? Assuming the horse started being NQR?

You did the surgery? How was the outcome?

[Marla_100]

I also vetted and then bought a large, growing 2 yr. old that was fine until he was started under saddle. No x-rays at

purchase just normal flexions.

when first started under saddle, I sensed an uneveness, like he was off balance. Plus he kept throwing the saddle

off to one side as he trotted. Had a couple local vets check him out, but neither were lameness vets and they

pretty much said there was nothing they could see.

Called in the big gun lameness specialist and he confirmed the OCD in hock through x-rays. Did not have surgery.

Horse had other problems that delayed any heavy work and ended up being just an occasional pleasure mount.

[horsepoor]

First horse was NQR in hind (grumpy, swap leads, not outright lame but not right). He was 5 and had been under saddle for over a year, and kept having some niggling little lameness/NQR episodes that we kept attributing to growing, saddle fit, etc. Had to do a bone scan to figure out stifle was issue, x-rays revealed OCD, did have surgery which found more damage than seen on x-rays. Surgery went fine, came back to work, fell apart elsewhere.

Second was 4 and under saddle just a short time (I think we got on him at 3 for a short time, then gave winter off, and brought back as 4 year old). Slight lazy/loose behind with a toe drag that had me concerned, so off to the lameness vet who did the equivalent of a full PPE and found nothing, but said, we better x-ray those stifles (given my history with the other one). Chips in stifle, off to surgery. He never really was 100% sound, definite heartbreaker.

Both of those were vetted by super, well respected equine vets as youngsters with no red flags at all.

[candyappy]

How young is he?

[iJump]

@candyappy

How young is he?

3 this year

[candyappy]

@iJump

3 this year

That would have me passing him by. A weanling or yearling can at times have " growing pains" so to speak because of growth spurts or doing the silly, stupid things babies can do. A coming 3 year old I would expect to be sound.

[outerbanks77]

I own a 3 yo that has a chip in her coffin bone (planning to have it removed in a couple months, prior to starting). She has never been off, or shown any effusion, but when the local surgeon reviewed the radiograph, he unequivocally said it should be removed if I was going to buy her (examining vet said absolutely for a jumper, 50/50 for dressage, which is my plan for her). A 4 yo Trakhener I looked at prior had already had a chip removed (fetlock, IIRC), but had a cyst in one of the hind joints that was not operable, and essentially it was a given that it would get arthritic eventually.

ANYWAY, my point is that I wouldn’t buy any large horse (especially WB) without getting fairly comprehensive radiographs of the main joints where OCDs develop, and if you take one on, get positive confirmation from the surgeon you would be working with, that it’s a good candidate for removal. As far as cost, for the coffin bone chip, I’ve been quoted around $2300-2500 all in, and about 2 months recovery time.

[Libby2563]

“What are the top signs of OCD in young horses?” X-rays that show OCD lesions…? Without that you’re just guessing.

FWIW I would not buy a 3-year-old with unexplained lameness!! When I vetted a weanling who ended up having some OCD lesions, the vets advised me against buying and the breeder did periodic follow-up X-rays on her own dime and shared them with me. I did end up buying him as a yearling after consulting with the vets again. That’s the type of responsible breeder I like to do business with.

[iJump]

So… I did end up going to look at this horse once more.

I’m curious because lunging, and inhand on asphalt W/T he looks completely sound.

Lunging in footing he looks NQR on LF, but inhand (straight line) he looks sound. He’s always looks sound cantering.

Why would a horse look off in footing but not on hard surface? I’ve always had lameness show on hard surface before in footing…

[fordtraktor]

@iJump

So… I did end up going to look at this horse once more.

I’m curious because lunging, and inhand on asphalt W/T he looks completely sound.

Lunging in footing he looks NQR on LF, but inhand (straight line) he looks sound. He’s always looks sound cantering.

Why would a horse look off in footing but not on hard surface? I’ve always had lameness show on hard surface before in footing…

Soft tissue injury

[iJump]

@fordtraktor

Soft tissue injury

Could this be in the shoulder area since it’s only showing up in a circle?

[Libby2563]

@iJump

Could this be in the shoulder area since it’s only showing up in a circle?

In many cases lameness will be more visible on a circle than a straight line.

[Where_sMyWhite]

Many years ago I almost bought a young horse that wasn’t in work yet (he was either 3 or 4).

I did the vet check and got x-rays as recommended by the vet.

Discovered possible OCD in one hock in a non-operable site

I passed as I didn’t need a possible pasture ornament. Vet told me that I would not know until the horse was put in work if the chip would be an issue or not. I wasn’t willing to take that risk. Nice horse, good price, not worth it.

[mlb722]

Often horses with soft tissue injuries will be more off on a circle in soft footing, with the affected leg on the outside.

[endlessclimb]

pass pass pass

[BeeHoney]

Hard pass.

Xray young stock before purchasing if you wish to avoid purchasing a horse with an OCD.
OCDs show up beautifully on X-rays. Otherwise, they do not necessarily have any outward symptoms.

[Feliz]

Lame on a soft surface on a circle - could very well be soft tissue injury. This is how a mild front suspensory strain showed up with my horse - it was pretty subtle, but went hand in hand with loss of performance (wasn’t jumping as well as he had been)