Tootsie's clueless about bone chips

[Tootsie4U]

Found a prospect. Manners, temperment, abilities that fit the bill to a tee.

The horse is 8 and has had a bone chip removed.

What sort of injury would lead to a bone chip? (How severe would it have to be?) What lasting affects does it have?

Thanks!

[Mehitabel]

usually a kick that has chipped a bone - so it would be likely to have been a fairly severe injury, unless just an unlucky angle (i broke my finger just brushing it against a wall). they remove them so it's not floating round and potentially blocking up somewhere important.

effects? scarring, probably, and then it would depend on where the chip was. we had one who got kicked and had a chip of splint bone removed - then the rest of the bone got infected and she had to have the entire splint bone removed - never really came sound for anything other than light and intermittent work after that.

if the horse has recovered and is back in work and has been so and sound for at least a year, and the work is as hard or harder than you will want to do, then worth a look. if it's recent and could still be grumbling on, or the horse is only back in lighter work than you'd want, i'd avoid.

[Big Ears]

if it was in the knee then that it pretty standard for tbs in USA which have raced as they can run them on pain killers to mask problems, so get a lot with bones chips in their knees

[Tootsie4U]

Horse actually does more than we need him to. Dressage and jumps up to 2'6". His ad says he can't do more than 2'6" - do you think that has to do with the chip?

I'll be meeting this horse sometime over the weekend, most likely, so I'll ask these questions then, but I just want to be prepared.

<edit> just had another look at his ad... the chip was removed 2 years ago.

[Mehitabel]

could be to do with the chip.

keep in mind that if he has those limitations now, at 8, they might get worse over time. hopefully the current owner is just being cautious, but with my cynical horse-buyer hat on, i'd wonder if it has gone unsound doing more and may not stand up to a lot of work.

certainly worth a look for what you want, i think, but definitely get a vetting and ask the vet to particularly scrutinise it for effects from the chip. got any pics?

[KarinUS]

I have no advice to offer but I wanted to be sure to subscripe to this thread in case we get to see pics... :)

Didn't Gal's 3rd horse just have chips removed?

[Mehitabel]

she did, karin, but in her neck. i was presuming this was in a leg though?

[Tootsie4U]

from his description, he sounds like a DJ look alike. Bay with a ton of white! :D My favorite!

He's a QH though, 16.1 hands.

Advertised as a sane safe husband horse. Champion 4-H, trail, dressage horse.

A friend of mine has already tried him out for one of her students. They passed on him because he was too laid back. She said she saw no signs of problems due to the chip and he goes western or english. However, she does have a different idea of what is 'sound' than I do, so Im not going to assume anything until I see him for myself.

[KarinUS]

:eek: Oh how exciting. I want him if you don't! :D

[Sophini]

Bone chips are most common from a source of concussion for example a kick but they can be caused by wear and tear...

If the chip has been removed from an area around a joint i would supect that that joint is going to be more prone to arthritis - i would probably get the area scanned to check for any tissue damage.

My broodmare Lily smashed her sesamoids on one back leg and chipped the other by kicking out into a gate when jumping out of the field.

The vet used keyhole surgery and a steroid injection into the joint to treat the chipped leg and she has full strength mobility and soundness in that joint. Had she not smashed the opposite set she would have returned to full competition work however, the damage on the worse leg had an impact on the tendons and ligaments which has lead to minor permanent lameness.