Shaved knees?

surprisewind · Postby **surprisewind** » Sat Oct 03, 2009 12:10 pm

This may be one of those really bizarre questions that people shake their head at and pass over...

we have a 16yr old ex-race horse. He raced from 4 to 11 in the lower levels, we met him in his last year on the track and then he came home to us. I know virtually nothing about his history other than race record and we knew his personality was a good match for us.

In going through some photos we were given when he came off the track, I saw one of him where his knees were shaved... I'm sure it's entirely possible he's had injections of various kinds and at various levels of "legal" but I've never heard of any where the knees are shaved.

Any idea what that could have been for?

As far as tracking down old vet records... he was at several tracks, I don't know where this picture was taken. Don't know which vet he would have seen....

any ideas would be very much appreciated!

TrueColours · Postby **TrueColours** » Sat Oct 03, 2009 12:53 pm

My vote is for hyaluronic acid and/or cortisone injections

Most vets will shave down the injection site prior to injecting the joint

ageecee · Postby **ageecee** » Sat Oct 03, 2009 1:29 pm

No vet in the world will give you a horses vet records.

surprisewind · Postby **surprisewind** » Sat Oct 03, 2009 2:22 pm

If the request is coming from the previous owners, yes they will release the records if the records are available. The pevious owners don't keep their bills that far back so figuring out where he was and which dr. he was treated by is that much more difficult. They are also not fans of joint injections and so were a little surprised by that thought. We all feel sort of moronic for not noticing the shaved areas in the picture before now!

ageecee · Postby **ageecee** » Sat Oct 03, 2009 4:17 pm

why do you want to know so bad about the joint injections?

The horse is 16 yr olds do you really think a vet will dig into his records 10 yrs ago just to tell you he at one time injected ur horse?

Sock Monkey · Postby **Sock Monkey** » Sun Oct 04, 2009 8:00 am

It's possible he'd banged his knees up falling or in the trailer, etc. and they were shaved to clean the area up.

Or, maybe he was injected. Maybe he'd had surgery to remove chips (although owners probably would have remembered surgery). If he's sound who cares?

I'm sure it's entirely possible he's had injections of various kinds and at various levels of "legal" but I've never heard of any where the knees are shaved.

What leads you to believe that any injections were anything but legal? He's obviously not a cripple, so why would you think anyone was taking drastic measures with his knees? Joint injections are common in all horse sports and there is nothing shady about them at all. People tend to blow these things way out of proportion.

trackgal · Postby **trackgal** » Mon Oct 12, 2009 11:50 am

I was trying to re-home an ex racer, the girl wanted him vetted by her vet, the horse had small patches of "shiny odd hair" on his ankles, her vet said that is a tell tail sign the ankles had been repeatedly injected, and that repeated injections will shorten the life of the joint. I eventually found a home for this guy but at age 9 he is only suitable for light riding. I guess what you inject the joint "with" can make all the difference, My own horse had his knee's done repeatedly, and is still going strong at almost 16.

Crystal · Postby **Crystal** » Mon Oct 12, 2009 1:10 pm

I don't know many vets at the track that shave an area before injections.. Tapping a joint is a very quick procedure with very little "pre-op" work beside a quick betadine scrub.
Shaving a joint or area would (to me) ask the question if the horse had been at the clinic for chip removal. If a horse has been running that long he/she is a check getter, and the owners may have spent the money for the surgery.

And yeah, a track vet doesn't keep any records of vet work on a horse beside bills to the owner. If a horse is claimed multiple times it is like starting a clean slate each time. All a vet might say to a trainer is he/she may have gone into a joint before and would or would not recommend doing it again.

trackgal · Postby **trackgal** » Mon Oct 12, 2009 2:54 pm

I spent about 5 years at Belmont, and I NEVER saw a vet NOT scrub a horse for atleast 25 minutes before going into a joint..I have seen a riding horse put down due to infection after a hock injection..the vet did NO scrubbing.

Rachel Alexandra · Postby **Rachel Alexandra** » Mon Oct 12, 2009 3:42 pm

If the area was shaved, more than likely chips were removed.

photofinish · Postby **photofinish** » Mon Nov 02, 2009 9:51 pm

Really, really simple reason would that the whole leg was shaved from above the knee to hoof to make it easier to keep his legs clean and for doing up. Was he wearing bandages or polos in the picture? Especially in the winter you have to shave their legs at cold weather tracks because the chemical in the track will burn them if not kept immaculately clean and dry.

surprisewind · Postby **surprisewind** » Thu Nov 05, 2009 12:46 pm

@photofinish - no bandages and the shaved areas were very clearly confined to the knees. Also, this picture was from mid-summer in New Mexico, so cold wouldnt' be a factor. That's interesting information, though.

Trackgal and crystal, I've seen both shaved and non-shaved knees for injections. I guess it just depends, but that's why I couldn't automatically assume it was just injections.

Sock Monkey - Who said the horse is "obviously sound". Are you watching my pasture? He's 16, he's not going strong, as another poster's horse is. I also never said injections are PETA material. They really aren't a big deal; however, if he HAD injections it is a clear sign that there were issues in those joints at some point and that they bear watching. So far, his knees are one of the few parts that aren't causing problems... seeing the picture just made us think, "oh crap, is that next?" The guy raced til he was 11 (and quite frequently) so I think he's allowed some aches and pains. This, though, is getting ridiculous. I really don't think he's going to get to be a fuzzy 20+ codger in my barn.

Anyway, he's now had radiographs and some other assorted vet work done and it's been interesting. Thanks, all, for your info.

photofinish · Postby **photofinish** » Thu Nov 05, 2009 9:14 pm

Used to be that if you had a cheap horse who could pay his way, you would occassionally shave one or both knees, just to make 'em wonder :-D

. We have also put a small piece of sponge inside vetrap bandaging to "build" a bow, or build a big ankle, make the suspensories look suspect...
Hope your guy gets ok. If you need any particular from the trainer (and he's still alive) I may know him. No guarantees, but PM me if you want.