Yearling with screws in knees :(

[Broady87]

Hey Yall!! I have a 16 month old pleasure bred filly who had surgery on her knees two weeks ago. In past 8 weeks her right front leg took a turn for the worse from the knee down. Totally bowed out from the knee down. I feel awful I didn’t catch it sooner. I was slightly concerned of physitis of her knees early summer, but after having the vet out to take a look, he suugested light exercise-, scaling back grain ration, and just giving her mineral. Essentially turning her out to grow up. Before June I was ponying her lightly once or twice a week on the trails. Since june she has just been grazing in a huge pasture enjoying life and growing up. Well here I am- after radiographs showed uneven growth in the knee growth plate on her right knee- vet said surgery asap. It has been a rough rough road. Im just looking for any tips or experience with this surgery. I know no one that has gone through this except the vet and I feel so silly calling him up all the time to ask questions. Filly is great natured with a very quiet and friendly disposition. Her surgery was on both knees on the inside of the knee. We are trying to get the growth plate on the outside knee to catch up and straighten her leg. She has been on stall rest for 14 days. Yesterday was her first day of turnout. I have a 25ft square pea gravel pen with three sided shelter. She is not allowed to graze as she does awkwardly and put too much pressure on her leg- she has two hay nets available and also gets her daily mineral as well. I have a tube of ace just n case, but she hasn’t really needed it. I have been bandaging her knees daily with elastikon and padding to keep swelling down. from now until this Friday directions are to turn her out 6 hours a day, after that I think full time, but in the small pen. Surgeon says one leg will be good in a month or so to get screws out, other screw on the worse leg will be in until the growth plate stops growing or the leg straightens out- which the surgeon said 70-80% normal- it will not straighten 100%. I also have surpass cream which I have been applying daily. Any other experiences or suggestions? Its hard not to get super down and depressed She is such a nice filly looks and temperament wise. thanks in advance,

Rachael

[Bluey]

Are you familiar with the story of World Champion running AQHA filly Hot Idea?
She was born with such crooked legs, they didn’t know if she make it.
One leg was so bad, they did surgery and she did fine afterwards, so fine she ended up world champion running filly.
If you go to allbreedpedigree dot com, if I put a link up, this site’s filter won’t let my post thru, you can then click on the white circle with the i icon by the name and get the story and the next icon has pictures.

You never know, maybe your filly will do well and come out of it with a good quality of life.
Sounds like she has the right temperament to do well, sensible and not one that is hard to handle or keep quiet enough for treatment to be successful and you are taking care of her well.

[Bluey]

Are you familiar with the story of World Champion running AQHA filly Hot Idea?
She was born with such crooked legs, they didn’t know if she make it.
One leg was so bad, they were afraid it was just too bad to be viable.
They did surgery and she did fine afterwards, so fine she ended up world champion running filly.
If you go to all-breed-pedigree web site, if I put a link up, this site’s filter won’t let my post thru, enter her name, Hot Idea, you can then click on the white circle with the i icon by the name and get the story and the next icon has pictures.

Or you can google “Hot Idea, AQHA Running World Champion filly” for her story.

You never know, maybe your filly will do well and come out of it with a good quality of life.
Sounds like she has the right temperament to do well, sensible and not one that is hard to handle or keep quiet enough for treatment to be successful and you are taking care of her well.

[Broady87]

Thanks Bluey! What am amazing story! Its just so much work on a daily basis caring for her, I wish they had a guarantee on the surgery. I know that is wishful thinking though lol! Hopefully her next radiograph will show changes for the better!

[keysfins]

I bred a filly that developed bilateral carpus valgus (slight rotation outward from the knee). She was pretty straight/correct at birth. She and her dam were out with an older foal/dam pair, and our “leg vet” suggested that she might have had some overuse trying to keep up with the other foal, who was about 6 weeks older.

We kept a close eye on things and gave her some time to see if normal growth would even things out, with restricted exercise. At about eight weeks of age, we did another evaluation, and my “leg expert” recommended surgery. We did the transphyseal screw procedure, and the filly only needed a short time for the legs to correct and straighten. I think it was about 8-10 days, but I would have to check my records. Surgery was successful, the only sign that she had it was a few small white spots where the skin sutures were placed. The filly had two surgeries: one was to place the screws, the other to remove them.

She’s now schooling FEI level dressage at 11 years of age. Never had any further issues with knees or joints.

I do not have any experience with older horses, but I suppose in theory, as long as the growth plates have not closed, you have a chance for a successful outcome. I’d be interested to hear from others that intervened with an older foal/yearling.

[BeeHoney]

This type of surgery is generally NBD. It’s a commonly done procedure and I believe the techniques are well studied. I have had several young horses have it over the years and never seen an issue. Of course, it is important to follow the layup instructions and to make sure that the screws are removed at the appropriate time–that’s very important.

Personally, I don’t change the elastikon bandages daily–I get a bandage on good and then leave it for at least several days, making sure the bandage stays dry. Removing elastikon can hurt, so I use a bottle of alcohol to loosen the adhesive.

[Broady87]

Thanks for the experiences with this. I have been taking pictures of both legs every few days so I can tell if there are changes. I know one leg wil need the screws out in a couple weeks, the other leg will take months with my fingers crossed! Honestly I cant wrap her knees to save my life…I think its a good job in the morning and when i come back at night the damn bandages are around her ankles or slipped down her knees lol!! I need to get them tighter around the knee- they are obviously to loose. Question for you who have had the surgery- did you continue bandaging after the 14 day period? Vet instructions were to bandage until day 14 and optional after that. any input would be awesome. Also what was turnout like? what size pen? how much turnout? Did you put them on grass? Thank you in advance

Rachael