Arthritis in Fetlock?

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CausedStar

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I'm purchasing a fairly young horse off the race tracks. They warned me that he had bone chips in one fetlock that were causing him to be a little stiff, with injections he was doing fine and warmed up out of it. Well I requested x-rays before purchasing him and it turns out this stiffness is caused from arthritis that has set in within the last 3 years. The vet said that with regular turn out, supplements, and injections every 3 months or so he should stay sound and will continue to start off stiff.

I just wanted to hear some second opinions and maybe what other people have dealt with. I'm hoping to train him in some low/intermediate level dressage and compete. He raced only 3 days ago and didn't show any signs and they never thought it was anything as serious as arthritis from how he was acting. I'm just nervous that he will come home and end up being lame.
 
Fetlock is a highly moveable joint. I wouldn't buy this type of problem .... Ever. Horse I had a vetting done on had this and the vet told me not to touch him. Poor thing. Walk away, if not, run.
 
Sorry, but I'd walk away too. I have a 15 year old dressage/sj mare with hock arthritis. It's mostly manageable, but it's a degenerative condition and when she's uncomfortable it shows. I'm quite happy to keep managing her, because for the most part she's fine and going great, but I wouldn't knowingly take on a youngster with it!
 
Unless you are planning light hacking only and have really deep pockets for the injections (they aren't cheap, plus you have to rest the horse afterwards which is easier said than done in my experience), I would walk away too, sorry.

I had an older mare with fetlock arthritis. A course of Adequan [expensive] kept her sound for several years, but she required careful management to keep her sound once she got a bit older, then we went for hyaluronic acid/steroid injections into the joints (no quite as expensive, very effective, but relatively short lived). I can't help thinking you'd be buying yourself a broken heart.
 
I am not sure why you would bother going down the route of purchasing this horse. Injections every three months come at great cost. There is every chance that she won't be able to do the work required.

That said, my horse has severe arthritis of the coffin joint, but is able to do fun rides, showjumping upto 1.05m and elementary dressage. So it does depend. But I personally wouldn't take the risk.

My horse was sound and past a full vetting when I had him otherwise I wouldn't have bought him no matter how much I liked him. Its just setting you up to fail otherwise.

There are enough horses for sale at the moment without having to compromise.
 
Thank you guys for all of the opinions, in about an hour I will know with the final decision from our vet instead of theirs. The reason I am considering taking on this horse is because I would like to rescue a horse off of the racetracks that may not otherwise find a home. I am aware he will be unable to ride down the road and at that point he will have a forever home in our pasture. I am just looking for a horse that I could maybe ride and work with for a good 5 years before retiring. So many of these guys end up at slaughter, and I just want to take one of them out of that situation.
 
Try graham at the racehorse sanctuary in Sussex. He is a professional and runs the charity. He has the expertise to find you one perfect for riding, trained and rideable, desperate for a new home and safe to Adopt. I highly recommend him.:)


www.racehorsesanctuary.org/
 
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