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Veteran
Posts: 110
| I have a horse that has a bone chip but its not in a joint. I have xrays to make sure i can tell if it moves. He is not lame, never has been, but waned to know if people have opinions on the longevity of one with known issues. He is not my main horse (he's 14) so he is only used a couple of times a month, in the summers. He runs 1D and 21 sec poles so he seems fine. i just wanted to see what other opinions are out there and things i can do to keep him sound.
Edited by allaboutme2 2016-01-22 1:02 PM
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 Veteran
Posts: 274
| alot of running horses run with floaters that their owners never know about. If they are small and don't seem to bother him, I wouldn't be bothered. The only thing you worry about is over time they do cause scar tissue if they do not absorb. The larger, the closer to the joint the worse wear and tear you have. The more arthritis sets in. |
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 Own It and Move On
Location: The edge of no where | If it's not in the joint, many of them never cause a problem. It just depends on the location of the chip as to how much it's going to affect long term soundness. Considering his age, I'd just go on with him. |
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  That's White "Man" to You
Posts: 5515
 
| In my opinion, if the horse is worth anything, have it removed unless a vet suggests otherwise. |
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 A Somebody to Everybody
Posts: 41354
Location: Under The Big Sky Of Texas | If I'm running a horse and know that theres a chip floating I would have it removed, I know you say it dont bother him now but latler down the road there could be a problem. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 883
Location: Southern Indiana | It depends on a case by case basis. If you can remove it, I would do it. Its always better to be safe than sorry. Chips can be nasty. I had to put one down last year due to a knee chip. She was retired at a young age, because at the time nothing could be done. Over the years the knee just got more and more damaged. Obviously a very different case, but it very well could be something that will bother him down the road. It would be best to talk to a vet about options. |
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 Saint Stacey
| I'll be the odd man out. I think it's just stupid to run one with chips. We expect these horses to give us their guts run after run. Yet we ignore things and get mad when the horse stops working. Unless a chip is still attached and calcified over, I'd get it taken care of myself. |
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 Champ
Posts: 19623
Location: Peg-Leg Julia Grimm | I would follow your vets advise. If you have good digital pictures, send them to a good lameness veterinarian (preferably one with racetrack experience) for a second opinion. I've always been told if the chip is not in a joint where it's going to cause problems, not to mess with it. |
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Own It and Move On
Location: The edge of no where | OregonBR - 2016-01-19 1:41 PM I would follow your vets advise. If you have good digital pictures, send them to a good lameness veterinarian (preferably one with racetrack experience) for a second opinion. I've always been told if the chip is not in a joint where it's going to cause problems, not to mess with it.
^Same thing I've had equine sports medicine vet tell me. The circumstances around each case are different, I'd probably get 2 opinions from vets on the horse and make my decision. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 672
| OregonBR - 2016-01-19 1:41 PM
I would follow your vets advise. If you have good digital pictures, send them to a good lameness veterinarian (preferably one with racetrack experience) for a second opinion. I've always been told if the chip is not in a joint where it's going to cause problems, not to mess with it.
Same here. Sometimes they will dissolve on their own. I broke my elbow and had 2 largish chips floating around. The Dr advised to watch them and only do surgery if they bothered me. Within 1.5 years they were no longer visible on xrays. |
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 Regular
Posts: 56
Location: Savannah, Tennessee | I would go with what your vet suggests, and possibly get a 2nd opinion. My tendency would be to leave it if it isn't affecting his soundness. If you go in and surgically remove the chips then you are opening yourself up to other problems. You could cause a soundness problem that wasn't there prior. Anytime you do surgery there is a risk.
I have one that was running and fractured his knee. It did require pins and wire. He has developed mineralized chips, yet he is sound. We are choosing to leave the chips at this point and avoiding the risk of another surgery.
You can send his x rays to Rood and Riddle and see what the surgeons there suggest. I have a ton of faith in what they say over there.
JMO.
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Veteran
Posts: 110
| I have the x-rays...anyone want to look? |
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