I bought a weanling last summer that hit his Knee on a panel months later. He was lame on it for quite a while and it become enlarged compared to the other knee. I treated him with stall rest, bute, PHT and hidze compression socks but the swelling never went down. It has been x-rayed and there was no visible damage to the actual joint. This spring he has increasingly gotten better to where hes running around the pasture and not taking a limp step at all even though his knee is still large. My vet was not sure if he was going to be sound but said there was a chance since he didn't see any joint damage and I have been told by other people he may just develop arthritis at a younger age compared to a horse with a normal knee. Does anyone have any experience with an injury such as this? He is a 3/4 brother to a really nice horse of mine so I don't want to just give up on him.
Depending on how long ago the first set of radiographs were taken I probably would recommend taking another set to see if there has been any joint changes since the first onset- this to me will be one of the better indicators of prognosis for future soundness (short of performing MRI or other advanced diagnostic modalities). If the joint has changed drastically since first onset- poorer prognosis. If joint has maintained and not changed at all- better prognosis.
Enlarged Knee "Yearling"
