PRP

[BabyFireFly]

I have a trotter who was excepted into the Hambo Veterinary Conference study through Cornell for the PRP procedure...he's going to be their carpal joint candidate.

Has anyone used PRP technology for joints? If so, what was the outcome?

So far we have only gotten through the xray stage...

[fuzzypants]

I have a trotter who was excepted into the Hambo Veterinary Conference study through Cornell for the PRP procedure...he's going to be their carpal joint candidate.

Has anyone used PRP technology for joints? If so, what was the outcome?

So far we have only gotten through the xray stage...

How is this study coming along??? I cant find anything on it.

[BabyFireFly]

I'm sorry to say that the results of the treatment have not shown any significant improvement in the horse's arthritic knee. He is very willing to work, and the visual lameness has decreased significantly, but to be honest I think that is more from the way he is managed on a daily basis as opposed to the supposed "miracle cure" of PRP.

This is actually the second horse that we have had treated with this type of procedure. The first was a nice Meadowlands trotter who had terrible front ankles from a past joint infection. He went on to win a few in lower level classes, but wasn't going to hold up and was retired to stand stud. Another horse from the same study who belongs to a good friend was treated for a soft tissue injury that was "fresh" and the horse is still only sound enough to hang out in the pasture. I've also tried the newer PRP topical treatments (Eclipse) on two horses - one who had an infection in his foot that travelled UP the leg (talk about weird) and came out mid-way up the cannon bone and out the back and a horse that fell down being stupid in the field and cut his knee open on a rock - in both cases the topical PRP didn't work. In the end it was the good old fashioned treatments that cleared both cases.

So, I'm not convinced. It's alot of money to spend on something that hasn't shown any real results.

[HarnessFanDE]

I have a trotter that a friend and I purchased who really tore his suspensory (left hind) the first time we raced him......He had a previous suspensory issue with the same leg......We could have just eaten the loss but we felt he was a race horse and deserved a shot to come back and do what he was born to do....We have done the PRP on him twice (with good results) and several other treatments (which also may have helped somewhat) and after about a year and a ton of TLC and a lot of money......He won in his first start back a couple weeks ago at Pocono.....I never felt so good about a horse winning as I did that night (though I unfortunately didnt make the trip up)......He is in to go tonight and I will be there so I hope for the best and at least want to get one picture with him......The horse deserves this.......Despite all he has been through he is about the sweetest and gentlest horse you would ever want to be around......A couple of times we rethought what we did when we were pouring money into him with no results but when he won that race it was all worth it......even if he never wins again.....I will ask around at Pocono tonight.....The guy who trains this horse for me is on the cutting edge of everything (especially trotter related) and I will see if he has had any experience with a joint injury and PRP

[BabyFireFly]

Thanks DE! I've had luck with many horses (with suspensories) who went to Dr. Riddle for his "miracle mystery" injections. I've also had luck with soft tissue injuries using a mixture of the horse's blood and enzymes (the vet pulled the blood and then mixed it in the same syringe with the enzymes and then made 6 small injections into the affected tissues).

[HarnessFanDE]

Thanks DE! I've had luck with many horses (with suspensories) who went to Dr. Riddle for his "miracle mystery" injections. I've also had luck with soft tissue injuries using a mixture of the horse's blood and enzymes (the vet pulled the blood and then mixed it in the same syringe with the enzymes and then made 6 small injections into the affected tissues).

I finally got to ask him about the PRP on joints.....He says he hasn't injected a horse with acid for 2 years.....They have their own lab right at the farm and do it all themselves so its much cheaper for them.....He said they draw the blood and after taking it through the whole process they end up with about 24cc of finished product....They inject about 2cc in a joint so they can hit about 10-12 joints with one process........Ive seen Dr Riddle more times then I wish I ever did see him (Im only about 30 mins from his place where I live now)......I have never had a lot of success with the short term injection (but I know other people who swear by it) and seem to have more with the long term and giving them the time they need......IM about to qualify one next week at Dover after getting the long term and then the short term done to him (another fine claim I made) and giving him a couple months off and training him back for 8 weeks......If hes not where I want him I am definitely going to do the PRP at least once to give him a shot to do what he loves......He's a pacer though and the suspensory is front left......Not as bad a rear suspensory on a trotter obviously

[BabyFireFly]

I had the long term done on the hind suspensories and followed his recovery routine to a "T"...hand walking (actually by hand *wow*) starting at 5 minutes and then increasing it by 5 minutes each day until I was walking for an hour....which is good exercise and gave me a chance to teach them some old showmanship/halter class moves to keep them from getting bored.

We schooled this trotter (with the knee) yesterday and he went in 2:09 on a wet track. His gait is totally smooth at a brisk pace, but you can see a little "hitch" at slower speeds, he needs extra warm up time because of the arthritis that has developed over the years. If it wasn't for his desire to "go" he would have been retired to the "herd" a long time ago.

We are going to try a round of PRP type injections for another horse who has suffered with a horrible infection in his hock joint since antibiotics and continuous flushing with ringers and DMSO have not helped. Hopefully we will have some luck with him....