removing splint bone

[pennypoo]

hey guys as most of you know ive got a lw hunter with a massive golf ball splint.....
paid £10k for him so gutted
had the splint a year with no reduce or change
girl on yards vet came and said no amount of lemons/splintex ect will REMOVE THAT!!!!!! he said its either live with it and give him a dressage/jumping career or have it removed.....
hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm ANYONE?????
a lady on here did comment on one of my old posts saying she had one removed for £800 and best thing she did with no scar .....
rang my vets and receptionist said shes never known the vet there remove one but she will get the vet to call me back
can anyone shed any light on this as i really dont want to see my money don the drain as you can expect
he is insured but they wont pay out for cosmetic reasons
cost of removing splint bone??
anyone ........
thanks in advance guys xxxx
modified for super rubbish spelling

[minkara]

instead of stressing, why don't you try showing him, some judges couldnt care, and others might, you are missing out on the whole season! showed ours with a large splint last season, stood 2nd to azarax twice, qual for everything, splint now virtually gone, and believe me it was big!! just used magnetic boots and fed limestone in ordinary feed.

[workingcob]

A friend of mine had one removed as she was so stressed about it (and this was in a WHP) - it was over £1,000 I think and it did look better, but it doesn't always completely remove the bump and of course there's nothing to say he won't throw one elsewhere.

I have another friend with a horse which won at HOYS last year and that has a couple of splints and its never held him back - have you actually had judges remark on it/move you down because of it?

[CarolineNelson]

In my experience, it is the calcified protusion which is removed, not the entire Splint bone...

Takes some time to heal and for the periostial stitches to settle. It can be an extremely successful op, providing you give good after-care.

Now would not be the time if you plan to exhibit the animal this season. Heed Minkara's advice in the meanwhile.

And, think about the root cause.

[ponymum]

if you are adamant that is what you are going to do, I would compete this season , and have it removed over the winter , when you can afford to have him off work....I do know of one person who had a splint removed, though not sure whether it came back

[Show Condition]

Hi,

When I judge I would mark down a splint if it was caused due to poor conf. If it's happened when your horse has been out doing a job (say hunting) then I wouldn't penalise it (of course if you had two horses on the same mark I'd take the splint into consideration for the placings).

I have heard of someone having one removed from a SHP & it's back in the show ring now (although they don't compete with it at the same level as before due to it's age more than anything).

My old show horse threw a massive splint when he was 21! He's now 27 & it's 100% reabsorbed.

When it comes to horses you never know how long they'll be sound or what's round the corner so I say get yourself out showing and enjoy yourself! x

[sarahp]

The vets would have been prepared to remove the whole splint bone from daughter's D - but a hind one that was broken in two places, not a splint as such.

[pennypoo]

thanks guys think i'm goin to take a long think about it???? not in a rush to get him out showing as have others to show just working him at home .... i will try and get a pic uploadsed of it tom xx

[CarolineNelson]

May 26, 2011 15:16:20 GMT pennypoo said:

thanks guys think i'm goin to take a long think about it???? not in a rush to get him out showing as have others to show just working him at home .... i will try and get a pic uploadsed of it tom xx

Perhaps better to be discrete about it - and simply discuss the options carefully with your (hopefully very capable) Vet.

[2connies]

May 26, 2011 8:14:38 GMT pennypoo said:

hey guys as most of you know ive got a lw hunter with a massive golf ball splint.....
paid £10k for him so gutted
had the splint a year with no reduce or change
girl on yards vet came and said no amount of lemons/splintex ect will REMOVE THAT!!!!!! he said its either live with it and give him a dressage/jumping career or have it removed.....
hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm ANYONE?????
a lady on here did comment on one of my old posts saying she had one removed for £800 and best thing she did with no scar .....
rang my vets and receptionist said shes never known the vet there remove one but she will get the vet to call me back
can anyone shed any light on this as i really dont want to see my money don the drain as you can expect
he is insured but they wont pay out for cosmetic reasons
cost of removing splint bone??
anyone ........
thanks in advance guys xxxx
modified for super rubbish spelling

We had big splint removed from a Connemara mare's leg about 10 years ago and it was a complete success.

I recall the equine vet saying it had a 60-70% chance of being a success.

The tricky part was in the after care and making sure the leg was properly bandaged etc otherwise the bone might have ossified ( I think that's the word) building up more bone as in a splint.

The whole operationand aftercare was'nt that traumatic either so I'd certainly consider it again if neccessary in the future.

[Tallyho]

There's a lady i know that gets something from America that removes splints in a jiffy - even if they've been there ages.

I will try and find out.

[brindlerainbow]

Why not just show the horse and see what kind of placings you get. If the horse is conformationally very good, is an excellent mover, has manners to burn and gives a top class ride then im sure judges will overlook a splint. If he is not quite top class then he could get put down

[luckoftheirish]

As I've said before Pennypoo lasering does work on established splints and this would be far less invasive than surgery. Also, I agree with others - our cob was imbalanced on his front legs and required corrective shoeing so you'll need to ensure that's sorted (if of course that's the problem) otherwise it's likely to come back.

I'd show him now though - what you need is judging feedback - you may be worrying about nothing and tbh with the current hard ground showing no sign of abating I very much doubt he'll be the only horse in the ring with a splint

[ticktock]

I had a splint removed from a 15hh SHP. Unfortunately the skin on the leg broke down under the bandaging, so the bandaging had to be removed and the splint returned. He was left with very significant scarring to the front and back of his leg and could not be shown again. It cost about 2k. Think very carefully.

[pennypoo]

thanks guys id like to hear about the stuff from america tho...... dont think i'm going to have it removed..... xx

[owainsmummy]

My old horse had his splint bone removed just before I got him he got kiked in the field then day before he was ment to arrive at mine so waited 6months for him he could still do everything but then he went lame realy bad found out that edinburgh willy vets had left shards of bone in that had mooved and caused him discomfort. I got him re-operated on and got the rest of the bone removed and he was great after that although If i took him to jumping competitions he became quite sore on it for afew days so I just kept him for hacking and dressage untill I fell pregnant and then sold him to a lovely couple who breed warmbloods and now he is used to hack out the youngsters he couldnt have found a better home. I would realy look into what the chances of him being able to do everything you want him to (compete to a high level or what ever you do) and see if removing it would affect him. Just take your time and I wish you all the best xx

[kymaher1606]

Hi, I also have a 4 year old that has a splint, he got it 4 months ago and I thought it was the end of the world as he cost a fortune. I have tried splintex gold whihc did seem to reduce it however over the last week it seems bigger than ever. Took him showing yesterday and the judge commented on it. I have ordered some bioflow magnetic boots to try and help but if anyone has any advice or help that would be great. Im worried its going to affect his showinf carrer which is what I brought him for.

Would love to know what the stuff is from america that helps.

Thanks so much

[dundusty]

My Welsh Cob had a splint last year. It was quite large and it worried me to death. It has gone down quite a lot this year and he is out showing this season. He has had some good placings and judges have never mentioned it to me.

I think wait and see what it does or consider lazer before going down an expensive and risky surgical procedure route

[jinja]

a friend who has a 5 year old pony that threw a large splint early last year, the pony was box rested and hosed every few hours round the clock for a week until the heat went, he was rested for the rest of the season. DMSO was tried and also wet away to a top equine hospital and had some very costly lasering over a period of a month.
This year the splint is just as big and they decided to show him regardless, sadly he has been pulled top 3 times in RIHS classes and dropped 3 times because of the splint .On all 3 occasions the judge has had a discreet word with the rider and explained the splint will hold him back. They have had him xrayed and a bone scan and been told the operation has a very limited chance of success as the bone has completely fused to the splint bone and is just as dense. This situation is heartbreaking as the family are true horse people with a wealth of knowledge and have done everything by the book.
On the other hand I once walked away from a 15 hd show hunter as he had 2 huge splints, a well known producer brought him out the following year and he won every prize possible for many years afterwords. I remember being stood next to him on many occasions and there was not any sign of a splint or scar I was told they had had him operated on and my daughter never forgave me as she loved him.