Tell me about your hock ocd experience...

[equinkel]

I would like to hear from anyone that has had experience with Hock OCD and decided against surgery. I've had my 4.5 yr old ottb for 6 months and one day after training I noticed his hock was swollen. He was not showing any obvious signs of lameness. I decided to to do an xray and found two chips in the hock. The vet is recommending surgery. I've been reading a lot of articles but most relate to yearlings. I would like to hear from people that have horses 4 yr old and up and how the horses have faired. Long term damage, soundness, regrets? I don't have overly high aspirations for this horse. Mostly just fun shows, mini events, etc.

[cajunbelle]

http://www.salesintegrity.org/pdf/cba_ocd_book.pdf

[Perfect Pony]

Not hocks but a stifle in a 7 year old. She too was never LAME lame, but uncomfortable. I opted for surgery, and despite having a lot of post op issues with infection/cellulitis and scar tissue, I would do it again in a heart beat, I only wish I had found it years earlier. Even though she may never look 100% or never want to engage that stifle as much as she could, she is happy and comfortable now, and much nicer to ride.

IMO if the chips are causing swelling there's a lot more risk the horse will destroy that joint eventually. I assume that is why they are advising you to remove them.

[equinkel]

Thanks for posting the article. I read that article a few days ago on race horses with OCD and it was very helpful on shedding some light on the subject, especially in young horses. My family has been in the horse racing industry for years and they tend to down play the ocd issue as well. However, it is rare for them to ever see a horse past the age of 6. They tend to not think of the long term arthritic/joint damage effect of leaving a chip in b/c they never have to deal with it when they get older. That's why I'm trying to get some thoughts from people that delt with it first hand.

[Fharoah]

Often once the surgery is done the prognoses is good. I would do the surgery because the chip will damage the cartilage over time or quickly. I have had two have hock surgery and both went on to be sound jumping and fun.

Best Wishes!

[equinkel]

How old were the horses when you found the chip? How much damage/degeneration did it cause, if any? Were your horses lame prior to the surgery?

[Fharoah]

One was seven and started jumping 3.6 foot no ovious lameness but she wanted to go sideways which we did not understand. In prepurchase exam she flexed positive on left front, radiographs revealed OCD on right hock and left front why she went sideways. She failed the exam but owner was friends with a surgeon and since it was the fifth horse that failed she decided to take a chance at a much lower price subject to secessful surgery. After the vet check she was even so slightly off. She had surgery and went on to jump 4' and was sound. The other was her daughter at two (genetic) she was also discovered on PPE (we didn't know when we bred the mare) she had the surgery and is a dressage mare now and sound and loved!

[Pony Fixer]

I had a 13 yo DWB that I removed OCD lesions in both hocks, one stifle. He was never lame, never swollen. Opinion was very mixed even among surgeons whether to cut as he had a long, impressive show record. When moving up to 4th/PSG he just couldn't engage, opted for surgery. Quick recovery, still never lame, now can pirouette to beat the band.

Sometimes these things can cause subtle problems, they don't have to be screaming lame.

[equinkel]

I appreciate the posts. I'm wondering how much harm it can cause if I leave it alone until next winter. Did the xrays on your horses show a lot of damage? Did they have any idea how long the chips had been there.

[Fharoah]

Generally the sooner you get it out the better the prognoses. The chip will cause more damage the longer it is left in and the prognoses becomes more guarded. Your horse may stay sound for a long time with the chip it is just that the damage can be irreverable.

[AppJumpr08]

If the chip is causing swelling, I'd take it out asap.

My now 8 year old homebred had one chip in the front of his left hock. It wasn't on a weight bearing surface, and he had the surgery within 2 weeks of the first time I saw swelling. He was never lame, but the joint was stiff due to the swelling.
The surgery went off without a hitch, he recovered quickly, and I have yet to see any ill effects.

[equinkel]

Here's an update on what I decided to do. I tried to inject the hock to bring the swelling down, it worked temporarily but as soon as I tried to ride him a few times it came right back. He felt off and I it was making his back sore so I decided to go ahead and do the surgery to remove two chips in the right hock. The surgery is March 31st. How long can I expect the recovery to last? Any tips to aid a fast recovery? How about advice to keep him from losing his mind during stall rest?

[Hevs]

Hi, just registered after seeing your post.

My 16'2 8 year old Belgian WB is going for x-rays on Thursday of this week for suspected ocd chip in his right hock. He is not lame, and performs fine on the lunge other than a slight reluctance to bring his hind right forward in the canter stride. When ridden, he will canter fine on the right rein, but when asked for a canter transition on the left rein, he struggles to get into his stride, changes leg behind repeatedly and is clearly not comfortable. I had a friend watch him go into canter and she said it was like he was trying to canter on 3 legs. Bless him, he does try though poor boy.

The vet couldnt find any swelling but he has a slight swelling on his right hock now which just showed yesterday - I am cold hosing it.

Vet has recommended surgery straight away if it is ocd chip, so I will be following your progress to see how you get on.

Good luck :)

[luckeys71]

MY WB presented with swelling inside her right hock just a couple months before her third birthday. No heat or lameness. Vet flexed her 100% sound. Took x-rays and found 3 chips in the hock. Said he was surprised she wasn't lame, but eventually, WOULD be. Took her to surgery and she spent one month completely stall bound. I was fortunate enough that my barn had a 12x24 stall for her to use. I hand walked/grazed her just about every day. Fortunately, she is super sane and I never had any issues. The second month, she was stall bound with VERY limited turnout. Vet had suggested the round pen with fences or poles put in to block edges, so it would no longer be round, so she could not run around and around. Again, fortunately, the "cripple suit" had been set up to have a paddock out the back that just had not been built, yet, so BO built a paddock that was about 12x24 with a 5 foot tall fence. I was VERY glad to have the 5 foot fence. I hadn't expected her to do anything when let out there for the first time (quiet horse, same size as stall). She was pretty nutty and certainly looked like she was measuring the fence a couple times. If it had been shorter or she had enough room to get some speed, I think she would have gone over it. A week or so before the second month was up, the vet injected both hocks. Her first day of turnout was in a small area with a calm buddy, then she was free to go on full turnout. I broke her about a month and a half or so later. She has not had any problems with the hock (it has been 3 years since the surgery) and I had it x-rayed about a year and a half ago and everything looked clean.

[equinkel]

I'll post a full update when I get more info. I trailered my horse two hours to a university to have the surgery on mar 31. They did a full exam and spent lots of time doing lameness exams, more xrays, etc. The following day they preformed the surgery. When they called to give me an update they said my horse was resistant to the anesthesia and needed alot more then the standard horse. Therefore it took him much longer to wake up then average. He ended up recovering from that ordeal.
As for the surgery, when they went in to remove the chips they found that one of the chips was huge, they said it was half the size of a golf ball and very difficult to remove. They never got to the second chip b/c they were worried that the high dosage of anesthesia would be really bad for him. The surgeon said she is pretty sure it is the the larger chip causing the problem. They wanted to keep him a few extra days then originally thought b/c the surgery was so invasive.
She also said there was pretty significant damage done to the joint. So, my "routine" procedure is not looking so "routine" anymore. I'll pick him up in few days and post an update. My $1500 quote is now up to $1860 plus $100 a day for the extra stay. I'm sure this is only the begining... yikes!

[Perfect Pony]

She also said there was pretty significant damage done to the joint. So, my "routine" procedure is not looking so "routine" anymore. I'll pick him up in few days and post an update. My $1500 quote is now up to $1860 plus $100 a day for the extra stay. I'm sure this is only the begining... yikes!

I am so sorry to hear this! My stifle surgery was supposed to be much more routine as well, but her chip also was very large, and required a longer surgical time, and a very large portal to remove it. She had several complications, and it's been a long road. But, now a year later, she is doing better and is being ridden daily. She will probably never be 100% or go on to be a upper level dressage horse, but she is happy and healthy and enjoying her work now more than before.

Good luck.

[equinkel]

. She had several complications, and it's been a long road. But, now a year later, she is doing better and is being ridden daily. She will probably never be 100% or go on to be a upper level dressage horse, but she is happy and healthy and enjoying her work now more than before.

Good luck.

What type of complications did you run into? Did they say there was alot of damage already done to the joint? That's the part I'm worried about.

[rmh_rider]

My 1.5 yr old QH got a bump on the outside of his hock. He was ever so slighty off, but not really. Vet injected it, it got a bit better. He was broke at 2 yrs old(yeah I know, but he was a wild child, I had a fx leg, and wanted him to get a foundation before I rode him). During his 30 days he got sore again. Not lame but I could tell he was not right. Took him to a leg/surgeon vet. He said OCD. Got the horse surgery right away and he got another injection about 1 month afterwards. He is totally fine. Sold him 5 years later. He matured to 15.3, and no I didn't grain him up, although between 0 and 4 months the previous owner did. He would get high on any sugar so didn't grain much. He grew big and fast.

OCD can happen in up to 10 places in a horses body. There ****IS**** a window of opportunity to fix it. If not, injections and the risk of infections (not to mention $$) each month. After a certain age 2.5 years, it is harder to fix due to more arthritis (calcium build up in the joint)

If the horse truly HAS OCD he needs orthoscopic surgery right away. He should be stalled until he gets the surgery. Depending on the severity of it, it may or may not be fixed. If it is not fixed, the loose cartilage will continue to rub and make calcium and then you have arthritis. My gelding got surgery when he was 2.5 yrs old. He did have a good bit of build up in the joint. Which the vet "sanded" out. He was rested, handwalked, gently ridden, lots of turn out for a few months and was fine afterwards. I watched the entire procedure. Horse has to go in a sterile operating room, not to be laid down in the stall.

If he does have OCD, he will not get better but only progressively worse. The more the joint is moved the more build up of calcium.

My QH was to be a trail horse. But he could have done other stuff.

If horses have to be injected X number of times a year, there is a huge risk of infection, whether the vet got it in the right spot, and also there will be marks of where the needle goes each time. Also $$.

I lucked out and my horse only had to have one surgery. It can be that they have to have ortho a couple times. I know that for certain, a friend has done a few ocd surgerys on her horses.

Also, my gelding got sore on the good hind leg. That is due to him not using the sore one. I did have him chiro'd, and his pelvis was out. But that was a couple years later. Hind sight, I would have done it right before or right after surgery.

Remember, any more movement will cause more build up in the joint. And by that time it may NEVER be fixable.

OCD the vet said was due to not enough copper in the mare during her pregnancy. SO feed your preggo mares the correct amount of copper.

Been there done that got the tee shirt on OCD.