My yearling has OCD, now what? [Archive]

View Full Version : My yearling has OCD, now what?

Really

Oct. 2, 2009, 07:37 PM

Waaaa! My yearling had some swelling in his stifle, but not lame so I had the vet out, turns out he has the beginning of OCD in his Rt. stifle. I am heartbroken, he is perfect in every way but this. What do I do next? Leave it alone? Surgery? Pray to the joint god? Lots of glucosamine/chondroitin?

Any advice would be appreciated.

shawneeAcres

Oct. 2, 2009, 08:10 PM

Your vet would be best to turn to treatment options rather than a bunch of strangers. I think though, in young horses the best course is to do surgery while still young and before majorr damage occurs. As far as join supplement MSM is the best for reduction of inflammation and is the only one proven to have any true benefit as a feed thru supplement. Discuss with your vet the options he/she feels are the best for long term soundness and resolution of the problem

Oct. 2, 2009, 10:22 PM

I think there are varying opinions on this in the vet community. Some recommend waiting a bit, as it's not uncommon at all for ocd issues to totally disappear as the horse gets to the 2/3yo stage.

But, I think the above also entirely depends on exactly what you're seeing on the xrays. I am sure there are some situations where it's a no-brainer to do surgery - only your vets can help you with that.

Don't be afraid to ask them for 2nd opinions from places like New Bolton and Rood & Riddle who see many more issues like this than most vets and even most hospitals.

NorCalDressage

Oct. 2, 2009, 10:30 PM

Are you able to post the radiograph here?

Can you describe more? OCD is kind of general - subchondral cysts, flattening of cartilage, joint mice/chips?

Did your vet refer you to a surgeon or suggest where to go from here?

Dressage.For.Life.

Oct. 2, 2009, 10:56 PM

There's a lot of different things you could try depending on how much you can spend, how bad it is, what the horse is intended for, etc. It's best to talk to your vet.

I'm going through some tough times with my horse (recently diagnosed with a bone spavin, etc.) and have just today started him on OCD pellets (http://www.ocdpellets.com/shop/). If you read the success stories and such you'll see that a lot of people have had amazing results when putting young horses that have OCD on it.