Bone chip surgery recovery

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Fieldlife

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Mine had bone chips in both hocks and front fetlock, aged 11. About 5 months after I bought him. Dont think he'd done more than light work before me. Noticed hock swelling and v slight lameness. Investigation (despite vet saying 11 year old horse couldnt have chip) found chip in right hock. Then x-rayed all likely joints. Decided to remove all three chips at once.

Surgery went well, no signs of any joint damage. Hock chips not in one of the hock joints likely to develop hock arthritis later (I think are 3 or 4 different hock joints in each hock).

My horse did 2 weeks box rest, hand grazing for 30 minutes twice a day. Then four weeks of box rest where he was hand walking starting at ten minutes twice a day. I used equiband one walk and figure of eight bandage next walk. Over four weeks I built walking up from 10 minutes to 40 minutes twice a day (we both got fit as have lots of hills). Was allowed to rein back and do raised walk poles in hand, but no lateral work.

At the six week point I had reassessed by vet, and did 40 minutes hand walking that morning, plus 40 minutes ridden work that afternoon. And then mild sedation and turned back out (overnight).

Horse had regular physio every 3 weeks during the rehab.

Once back in the field, I built up how you would with a horse that had had six weeks off. I did increased raised pole work to get him using hock better. I think it was probably 3 months from surgery before he was back to full competing etc.

Surgery was just over a year ago now, no issues since.
 
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Wizpop

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Noticed hock swelling and v slight lameness. Investigation (despite vet saying 11 year old horse couldnt have chip) found chip in right hock.

Well that simply isn’t true. I had a horse who was 16yo when the bone chip in hic hock was discovered. My vet did say that the chip wouldn’t have shown on xray in earlier years, but now they have the more advanced technology, more is picked up.
By the look of the chip- smooth like a kidney bean- vet thought it had been there since very early on in his life.
 
Starzaan

Starzaan

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I have rehabbed many from bone chip surgeries, and generally quote for a twelve week programme from discharge from vets to returning home in work.

It’s generally a very straightforward rehab process, and much faster than you think. The main things to be aware of are taking the initial box rest period seriously, and wound management.
Happy to chat further if you have any questions at all ?
 
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eggs

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One of mine had bone chips removed from his front fetlocks when he was about 7.

I sent him to a rehab yard to do the first six weeks of hand walking as I was coming to the end of a very intense project at work and didn’t have the time to do it properly. He then came home to continue with the hand walking programme. During this time he was still on box rest.

I was about five days into his ridden walk work when he broke his jaw so the recovery from that trumped continuing his rehab. He has since been back in full work with no issues relating to the chip removal.
 
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