Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

Bruce, I thoroughly agree with what you've said.

I've had two horses with bone issues. 

One was my pro-barrelracer stallion. He began to get chips in his hocks. After consultation with several vets and UT - it was decided that he probably had OCD, most likely caused by his 24/7 stall confinement from weanling to 4 years. I was given options: Surgery to remove them - though he may ALWAYS get more due to the poor bone formation in his youth.  Rest - since he wasn't lame just had the slightly enlarged hock.  In BOTH cases, his prognosis for returning to his career in IPRA barrels was bleak, and as a stallion - he would either need to be collected from the ground or risk constant recurrence of these chips...His heart was there - his body was not able.

We decided he was to good of a 'general' riding horse to risk. So we permanently retired him from physically stressful work - and gelded him as well... He's been 100% sound as a beginner lesson mount/light trailriding horse - for over a year. Swelling in his hock has been gone as well. It was a VERY hard decision for me - he was the BEST barrel-horse I'd ever trained - but in retro-spect, I know I made the RIGHT decision for HIM.

We can give you all the advise you want, but it's up to YOU to decide what's more important: The horse's long-term health and longevity - or your longing for competition.  You can always get a 100% healthy horse to use for strenuous riding, and your old mount can become your spouse's/kids trail horse.

- LP