Pedigree Query

A colt that I am considering to buy needs surgery for an "OCD". What exactly is this and how serious is it? Career ender? Easy recovery? Don't sweat it?

remember what the repalced robot [in I robot] told Will Smith??

griff

Sorry. No

Jagger, I found this description...

"Osteochondritis Dissecans (or OCD for short), can be effectively treated. OCD is a condition in which fragmentation occurs in either the cartilage alone (“chondro”) or the bone and cartilage (“osteochondral”) within a joint. OCDs most commonly occur in the stifle, knee, hock and fetlock joints and are usually caused by trauma. These lesions can be smooth and still sitting in their normal position, called a stable lesion. Or, they may become loose and detach to become a loose body within the joint space—an unstable lesion."

In my experience, also, OCD's can appear and disappear over a growth period. In one image, a cartilage section might appear to have a void, which is filled in and gone a few months later. A pal of mine had a filly with a big OCD in her hock and they did stem cell on it and it is Gone. Since it is a lesion, or void, in cartilage, and stem cell has been proven to regrow cartilage, that makes sense to me. Surgery might not be your only option and if it was my horse, surgery would be my LAST option. I've had pretty good luck with Doc's Equine OCD pellets - but I will never know if it was actually the pellets or if the OCD's would have been grown out of anyhow. Good luck with your horse.

How difficult the OCD is going to be to deal with depends a lot on its location. Some are operable, some aren't. And especially when you are dealing with young horses, many simply resolve on their own.

We raced a filly who had an OCD in a hind fetlock. Surgery was recommended to us. We opted to wait until it bothered her. In 16 starts over 2 years, it never did. We also did surgery on an OCD in a hock which was fairly simple, though there is downtime involved.

"RUN!!!"

griff

Consult a veterinanrian you trust. Then consult another one.....Tin Cup Chalice ran his whole career with a chip and OCD's. It all depends.

My vet says I would be stunned to see the ghastly exrays that belong to sound horses, that go on to long careers. It has also been his observation that removing chips generally creates more joint trauma then leaving them alone.

What joints were affected in TCC's case, El C?

This business is tough enough with out buying known problems.

griff