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  Discussion on 4 Year Old Gelding Diagnosed with OCD Lesion - Supplements?
Author Message
New Member:
kab3

Posted on Monday, Jul 28, 2008 - 8:54 pm:

Hello,

I just recently adopted a 4 year old gelding back in June. He had a wire cut injury on his left hock which was almost healed, but still swollen. The vet & I nursed it and it fully healed, but still had some swelling. I decided to have it x-rayed just to make sure that everything was ok....and he was diagnosed with an OCD lesion. He shows no signs of lameness except for swelling. My choices are surgery or injections. My horse "Whiskey" is a pleasure horse/spoiled baby, that is trained 2x a week, and is out to pasture, so the vet thought injections should be ok. My "usual" vet did not take the films however, because she is pregnant and also on vacation this week. My question is would a supplement such as "Smartflex Repair" be something beneficial for Whiskey? This product contains 10,000 mg of Glucosamine, 1,000 mg of ChonDrOitin Sulfate, 100 mg of Hyaluronic Acid, 10,000 mg of MSM, 5,000 mg of Vitamin C, 500 mg of Silica and 1,000 mg of HyDrOlyzed Collagen per serving. And if so, is it OK for him to have along with injection therapy? I also hear things about OCD Pellets & CAL Density, but I am a little sceptical about the ingredients in them.

I would rather not have to put him through surgery if I don't have to... I would like to leave it as a last resort. He does not seem to be in any pain, he runs and plays all around. We actually lovingly call him Friskey Whiskey! He's already my buddy!
Member:
rtrotter

Posted on Monday, Jul 28, 2008 - 10:47 pm:

Kim,

Did your vet say where the OCD lesion was because it may be in a place that may not bother him and only cause some fill as long as he is not worked exceedingly hard. In that case, you may not have to do anything!

I have been using OCD Pellets for 2 years, along with Chiropractic and HPT trims on a 6 year old trotting mare. This mare was diagnosed as a 4 year old by New Bolton Clinic with the following: Bone Cysts in both knees, an OCD lesion and bone spurs in her right hock and bone spurs in her left hock. More recently, she fractured her right cannon bone out in the field (non displaced) and after it healed it was determined that a bone cyst at the bottom of the cannon bone was to blame for contributing to the fracture. All of these bone problems, I attribute to poor bone density and being trained too much too early(before I got her).

I started her on OCD pellets thinking it would be helpful for all her bone problems and she has been on this for two years. Now, I do a lot of other things to help my horses cope with the rigors of training and I never made the connection that it was the OCD pellets that was helping her because it was just part of my feeding routine. I probably would not have made the connection if it wasn't for another horse with a set of similar problems that I haven't had for all that long that is much older ( 12). I put him on OCD pellets and he is now acting like he is two instead of twelve (which would be great because he earned $448,000 as a younger horse) and he is also training very well. This horse has been through the wars( his nickname is the Jeep because he is so tough) and a bunch of trainers who did who knows what to him injection wise. He had bad hocks, a bad ankle, bad suspensories and bad feet but none of this appears to bother him very much at all and he goes about his daily work very happily.

Your horse is young and from your post it appears he is sound. While surgery and injections may be options, I would cast my vote for the OCD pellets at least for now because IMO I believe it is a preventative as well as a help when dealing with bone issues.

Rachelle
Member:
paardex

Posted on Tuesday, Jul 29, 2008 - 6:43 am:

Kim, usually[well in Europe at least] an OCD hock surgery is very simple and not invasive[had one done on a horse and you can't even see scars, they made a video of the operation and the inside and is was cool!] He only needed four weeks real recovery with limited moving.
Your horse is very young[as was mine] if you have to give supplements all his life and injections in the end I think the surgery is cheaper too.
I did give a glucosamine supplement for a year after the operation per vet advise and when the x rays were impeccable after a year we stopped them and the horse is now for five years VERY sound with never any swelling in the hock.
Just wanted to give some added information.
Jos
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Tuesday, Jul 29, 2008 - 8:24 am:

Welcome KimB,
Is your horse lame? As Rachelle notes the majority of OCD lesions do not cause lameness. Is there a reason to believe this lesion is different? The past injury makes evaluating the swelling a bit more difficult but knowing the lesions exact location and size might help with prognosing the likelyhood of problems.

I would say if the OCD is causing problems oral supplements are not likely to be of benefit and surgery indicated. I think your best next step is to have the radiographs reviewed by an orthopedic surgeon for a second opinion.

Concerning the OCD pellets, if your horse is on a good diet I don't see a benefit other than possibly the normal joint supplement chemicals (Corto-flex). Though in other species there is work suggesting silicon supplementation may be of benefit to the skeletal system there is also work showing too much is harmful. We don't know where that balance may be in the horse. Currently there is no work in any specie to support its use in the prevention of OCD related problems. The rest of the ingredients should be in a well balanced diet.
DrO
New Member:
kab3

Posted on Tuesday, Jul 29, 2008 - 5:41 pm:

Dr. O,
My horse is not lame at all. He just has a small amount of swelling on his hock. It is barely noticeable except the fact that I have been fussing over his previous injury. The funny thing is, that it appears to me to be getting less swollen every day...(The longer the wire cut heals..) He only has one lesion and I will have to ask my vet the exact size and location of it. I will have the films viewed for a second opinion. Whiskey's Summer diet consists of 24/7 pasture, 3-5 flakes of quality hay and 1 scoop(s)(1lb.)(2x/day) Blue Seal "Horse 10", & Free Choice Fresh Spring Water & Salt Lick.
Kim
New Member:
kab3

Posted on Tuesday, Jul 29, 2008 - 5:50 pm:

Rachelle,

Which OCD Pellets do you use the "Dr. Beebe" O.C.D. Pellets or the ones that are now CalDensity or CalPellets? I guess they used to be partners and now are separate companies with totally different formulas?

Kim
Member:
rtrotter

Posted on Tuesday, Jul 29, 2008 - 10:08 pm:

Kim,

I use the original OCD Pellets. The guy that does the CAL Density was Dr. Beebe's marketing manager. I am not sure if they were partners. It was not a happy split. I talked to Dr. Beebe's wife ( at least I think it was his wife) and she told me that the marketing manager hijacked their domain name because they were not Internet savvy and did not realize that domain names expire. The guy almost overnight tried to take their customers by marketing CAL Density as a similar product on the website. They basically had to start all over from scratch. I'll bet they keep their domain name up to date.

Anyway I think OCD pellets are a great supplement and will continue to feed it to my horses.

Rachelle

Anyway, If you look at the
New Member:
kab3

Posted on Thursday, Jul 31, 2008 - 3:22 pm:

Dr. O,

The exact location of Whiskey's lesion is the median sagittal ridge and it is 1 to 1.2 centimeters. He shows no lameness, only slight swelling (which I am not 100% convinced isn't partially from the injury also). I am thinking of going with injections and re-evaluating in 6 months. Based on the location of the lesion, what are the chances that this would cause problems down the road? He will not be jumping or competing etc., only pleasure rides.

Thanks.

Kim
Member:
rtrotter

Posted on Thursday, Jul 31, 2008 - 4:01 pm:

Kim,

You and your vet will make the final decision about what to do in this circumstance. However, wouldn't a wait and see process be a better option. You've stated that your horse is not lame and that the present fill which is improving may dissipate altogether, leaving no appearance of anything being wrong.

From your description of what the rest of this horses life is going to be like (pleasure rides)the horse can remain usable for a long time. If at a later date you do have a problem than you can inject. The OCDlesion will not go away, but it may not bother him either and usually once you start injecting you have to keep injecting and with your horse as young as he is this may not be what you want to do.

Just my opinion
Rachelle
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Friday, Aug 1, 2008 - 8:54 am:

Kim maybe my anatomical terminology needs updating (I do use a 20 year old text for main reference: Sisson and Grossman) but which bone of the hock has a "median sagittal ridge" or perhaps a sagittal ridge with a median aspect? I also do not find this labeled as a site of OCD in a review of over 300 cases of OCD in the hock for more on this see, Diseases of Horses » Lameness » Diseases of the Upper Rear Limb » Overview of Diseases of the Hock (Tarsus).

The tibia has what I know as the "intermediate ridge" that is in the middle though not truly running sagittally. Sisson reports a synovial fossa on this ridge. It is quite prominent in photos and may be visible with some of the best radiographic techniques. I also wonder if Sisson is looking at a OCD lesion that happens to be in his specimen as the intermediate ridge is listed as a common site for OCD.
DrO
New Member:
kab3

Posted on Friday, Aug 1, 2008 - 10:47 am:

Dr. O,

Well I'm totally confused. His "lesion" is definitely in the hock and the vet said it was one of the most common sites of this in the hock...he referred to it as a median sagittal ridge, but perhaps he meant in the sagittal ridge with a median aspect? I don't know much about horse anatomy, so I did not question anything. What is generally the most common site of OCD lesion in the hock of a horse?

Thanks.

Kim
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Saturday, Aug 2, 2008 - 3:31 pm:

Thanks Rachelle I corrected the name above.

Kim, the article I reference above gives the most and less common lesions and identifies them as such. Hmmm the cannon bone has a sagittal ridge at the fetlock, could this be what the vet was talking about?
DrO
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