Young horse with enlarged knee

[[131452]]

Hi everyone. I had to have my horse put down in the new year and have recently started horse shopping. I've had a 4.5 year old TBx Appy 5 stage vetted and he was fine with everything, completely sound and balanced including on hard surface. But- and why is there always one?- his left knee is bigger than the right knee with some soft swelling/fluid mostly on the outside. No heat , no pain and no lameness. Previous owner has had him for nearly a year and said he arrived like that. Vet recommended x ray for peace of mind, mainly checking for any bone abnormalities. I really like him but can't knowingly buy a problem and I'm sitting here now worrying .
Can anyone share experiences of some thing similar? I don't know if he's had an injury on it or of he's knocked it playing or something. If it has been knocked it will be from about a year ago or earlier.
I'd be grateful for any experiences!

 

[ycbm]

It's a classic place for a kick from a field mate and I've had it happen to several over the years. I was never more pleased than when my hunter was kicked on the other one in exactly the same place, which evened them up and he passed the vet with no worry when sold. I also sold a mare with one knee obviously bigger than the other, with fluid from a from a show jumping knock. Neither horse had any issues after selling. If the x ray is clear there is no reason not to buy the horse if you really like it.

 

[Red-1]

I bought one with a big knee, but like yours it was cold and not sore. I didn't even have it X rayed, and she was not a cheap mare.

The vet did talk about treatment, but TBH it was not an issue. I found, once got her home, that at feed times she would knee the door with that leg. So, I put a grid to keep her knees away from the door and in 6 months is had gone down.

She went to Int and CCI* eventing and the knee never was a problem.

BUT if you are not happy then it may not be worth buying as you may not enjoy her if you are worrying about the knee. If my mare had not been trouble free then that knee would certainly have been excluded on insurance (even though they did not officially 'exclude' it on the policy).

 

[[131452]]

Thanks for the responses, it's great to hear that youve had positive outcomes . I think the vet wanted to rule out anything serious because of his age, not because there are any symptoms. The horse is entirely sound with clear flexion tests. The only thing noted was that the "bad" knee doesn't flex to the extreme close position like the other knee does. If there are abnormalities then the vet will fail him on the vetting and I won't purchase him - but I'd be so disappointed if that is the case as he's a lovely young horse, otherwise good conformation and moves well.
I've had one fail vetting and now having to take that seller to court to get my deposit back so I could do with some good news !

 

[ihatework]

It sounds worthy of paying for a quick X-ray to check and if that is clear then I’d purchase.

Be warned that even if the X-ray is clear the vet will likely have to note the filling and that knee will likely have an insurance exclusion, at least for the first 12 months. Personally, that wouldn’t put me off.

 

[[131452]]

I've told the insurance company that he's not being vetted just in case 😉

 

[ihatework]

I've told the insurance company that he's not being vetted just in case 😉

Unfortunately that is called fraud.

 

[[131452]]

He's having the x ray around 2 PM today and I will probably not have any finger nails left by then 😞
I lost my previous horse through lameness and haven't had much luck with the horse search so far so that's making me super anxious. Thanks for the input so far, I'll update once I have the results. If I haven't chewed my fingers off by then lol!

 

[[131452]]

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[SusieT]

If the knee doesn't flex normally I'd walk away. a Mild equivalent of capped hock not so much an issue but I'd be woried there is more damage there. There are plenty of sound clean limber horses out there to buy- especially as youngsters!

 

[[131452]]

X ray was fine and vet isn't worried. He's probably had a kick a while back but there's nothing affecting the joint so he's not concerned about arthritis etc and his opinion is that it's unlikely to be an issue in the future.
The horse arrives tomorrow morning !
Without the slight puffiness you would be none the wiser so my mind is at rest now.
I've been heart broken after losing my horse after 15 years so I'm looking forward to new adventures with the new little man.

 

[ycbm]

Congratulations!