Bone Chip/Calcified knee?

I own a mare Ive had 8 years. In 2003 she came up w/ a "fluid pocket" on her left knee. Xrays done %26amp; we discovered 2 tiny bone chips on the top joint of the knee. They were removed. She did GREAT for a few years until the knee started calcifying. Started out soft like a pocket of liquid %26amp; has since turned hard. She has lost 1/2 the movement in the knee.


I barrel race %26amp; the horse is running better than she EVER has before. She wants to work. But in the last 1yr and 1/2 you can tell it is starting to hurt her. I dont think its b/c of the calcified knee itself. If I am not mistaken calcium is stronger than bone. That knee doesn't hurt. Its everything else that hurts after compensating for the loss of movement in that knee.


She gets special shoeing, glucosamine shots, lysine %26amp; msn %26amp; I am lookin into gettin her knees injected- I have never been one to want to do that!





Anyone know of anything else I can feed her, any procedures maybe change in diet?


Can't find much info on internet!

Bone Chip/Calcified knee?
I am a veterinary technician in a equine clinic. I will answer as best I can with my veterinary expertise. Of course this is still no substitute to having a qualified veterinarian actually see and treat your mare.





It is likely arthritis in that knee joint, either from damage with the previous chips, or maybe there are new chips. The "calcifying" could be arthritic changes to the bones of the knee or some of the soft tissue (joint pouch lining) becoming mineralized/calcified. In either case, injecting her joint should certainly help. Drugs for such a thing are usually steroids and/or hyaluronic acid (synthetic joint fluid). The steroids (which are quite safe) help reduce inflammation (therefore reducing pain and slowing the progression of arthritis). The HA helps lubricate the joint which will also feel better. Work with your vet to discuss what drugs to put in there. We use triamcinolone (steroid), which is really good and safe for most joint. There are others, like Depo-Medrol, but that one is harsher to the cartilage in high-motion joints. There are several brands of the HA, and it mostly depends on how much you want to spend. There are differences in quality, so cheaper is not always better. Since I am not a licensed vet, I will not give dose information, and I can say those are drugs we commonly use but cannot say these are the specific drugs your horse should get.





Some horses improve with injections, some don't, some need it re-injected every 4-6 weeks, some before every competition, some twice a year. It depends on her particular degree of lameness, frequency of use, etc. At our clinic, we see lots of reining horses, very hard on their hocks. Some are obviously lame at a trot, but return to soundness just with the injection every few months.





There are risks with injecting a joint! Any time you stick a needle in there, you risk infecting the joint by accident. If your vet takes proper precautions when prepping the injection site, being in a clean environment, and probably sedating the mare so she doesn't move, you can minimize the potential for infection. I have seen horrible infections from vets and owners who didn't know what they were doing but did it anyway.





Another option might be to do surgery again. If the arthritis is affecting the bones of the knee, some of that calcification could be removed with arthroscopic surgery. A surgeon can "clean up" the joint by removing that and reduce the amount of arthritis in there. This is the more expensive option, but may give your horse a longer useful career.





Arthritis is, of course, an in-curable disease that will always get worse as time goes by. I know from personal experience the frustration of owning a horse with arthritis. A time will come when your mare will need to be retired, and it is up to your discretion and good judgment to tell when that is. In my opinion, is she is still that willing to go and do her job, it is because she has heart and likes what she does. It would be beneficial to her and you to have a vet look at her again. New x-rays, at a bare minimum, if you haven't had any recently. I don't know how experienced your vet is, but a second opinion may be a good idea too. Not that I think you are on the wrong track now, but it never hurts to get another person's opinion. Maybe make a trip to your nearest veterinary school hospital. The vets that work there are often specialized in surgery or medicine, and are very experienced in sorting out tough cases, and new treatment methods. Maybe a bit more expensive, maybe a long trip from where you live, but maybe worth it to you and your horse.





I think you are on the right track that she is sore in other places because she is compensating for her knee. If you help her knee, I bet the rest of her will even out. It makes sense, and we see that a lot too. A lot of people say their horse has a sore back -- and they are probably right -- but usually the back is sore because of a lameness in one or more legs. Fixing the leg lameness fixes the sore back.





Well there's my opinion. Sorry it's wordy, but hope you find something helpful. Good luck to you and your mare! I'm a Paint person too.





PS... I'll probably get slammed from someone for saying this, but... Beware of track vets. Some may be good, but lots of them do whatever it takes to get a horse sound, and a lot of those things are unethical and illegal. They have other things they can inject with, and some of those things are more damaging to the horse than to do nothing at all. Be careful.
Reply:I didn't read any other answers to your question. First I'd say DO NOT Inject! That can be less help than the original surgery.


Look at this website http://www.dynamitemarketing.com


They are supplements and topicals for animals and humans. I use this personally everyday for everything from my mules to my kids. My hubby even takes it! haha


I would suggest the Wound Balm as a sweat. Also Dynamite Excel would help with her overall soreness. You have msm, how about using glucosamine and condrotin as an oral supplement instead of injections.


Feel free to IM me (cbmules2000) if you have any questions. You can't order online without being a distributor but we could find one in your area.
Reply:The best thing is called: Retirement





doesn't mean she has to stop riding, just stop the hard turning. Let her be a trail horse or leasure riding. Many good years left.
Reply:You really need a track vet to evaluate her.. Some knees that look really boggy produce no pain... others that show little physiological changes are a mess inside. And, how she moves without bute, would indicate her pain level.
Reply:maybe add calcium into her diet, that should make her bones stronger...
Reply:I agree with Phoebe, there are times when meds can do no more and horses need to be put to more leisurely activities.





Unless the vet has some miraculous idea for you, probably giving up barrel racing is the best.





Sorry about your mare.





Okey dokey,





Well I guess I assumed you knew what a calcified knee was----arthritis.. So that being the case, your horse has a severe case of arthritis you YOURSELF said the horse has been hurting the last 1.5 yrs. Heck go ahead and barrel race, but dont come on here begging for answers when obviously you only have one goal in mind, the rest of us have your horses welfare. Good day...



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