Zanadu’s potential adoption unfortunately fell through. Some concerns over her soundness in her right knee were raised by the vet which caused the adopter to back out of the adoption. We had Dr. Hannah out the following week to further evaluate her knee, which is slightly larger than her left. Dr. Hannah saw no lameness on the lungeline, but she did show a mild, Grade 2/5 lameness with flexion. She took some xrays and conferred with Dr. Bryant at Pilchuck. The xrays show a bone chip as well as an area of arthritis. This will probably cause her some soreness at some point in the future and require some maintenance (joint supplements, Adequan, joint injections) to keep her comfortable. She’s not going to be a jumper or do anything super strenuous, and potential adopters should be made aware of the issue, however she is still fine for low-level dressage, flatwork, trail riding, pleasure riding, etc. Dr. Bryant did say that the arthritis was in an area where surgery to remove the chip and clean up the joint could be an option to give her a little more time before she would need joint maintenance, however as she is sound now that is not an option that SAFE plans to pursue for her. Dr. Hannah also flexed her left hind leg which has the old barbed wire injury on it, but she showed no positive response to flexion on it and it does appear to be superficial scar tissue only. Photos of her knee and left hind pastern below.
