Diceman was
diagnosed with knee chips last October, which is why he was given to me.At the time, he was unsound on both
front legs but he also had large splints on both legs and so we rested him, put
him on a joint supplement, and used DMSO on the splints.
Splints went, and he came sound.I started him in light work and he
remained sound.Occasionally, he
would go fractionally short on the off fore, if he turned a tight circle or if
he jumped on hard going. I’m
not sure whether that was joint or splints
though.His flexion has drastically
improved since he arrived, something noted by both vet and farrier.
As you know, he had African Horse Sickness recently and
since then I’ve rested him.He’s now slowly working hard on achieving the award for Fattest
Belly On The Planet, and doing nothing else. We also pulled his shoes, so he’s
footy, and I can’t assess his soundness at this stage, but prior to
taking off his shoes, he was sound.
I’ve discussed the knee chips with the vet, whose gut
instinct is to remove them, but he wants to take another look at the x-rays.Dice had a knee chip operation three
years ago, and then went back and raced in PE, so he’s already ad
arthroscopy once.I’m loathe to fiddle more with that joint.My gut feel is to keep him on a joint supplement
(possibly IV Legend) and to adopt a “wait and see” approach.If he goes unsound, I’ll remove
the chips.Some people say that I
risk wear and tear on the joint if I do this, but OTOH to me, surgery is always
a risk.Thoughts?
He is a very pretty horse who will definitely have a career
in showing (according to the Showing Queens who’ve seen him) and I can
probably do some low-grade eventing and showjumping with him, so it’s not as if he’ll
be facing big fences.He’s a
sweet horse with a willing temperament, and I’m quite happy to adopt a
wait and see approach as he isn’t in pain at this time (apart from the ouchy feet).
I’ve heard there is a homeopathic muti
on the market to help resorb chips.Does anyone know what it is?And how effective is it?
