Stumbling out of gate

Question
QUESTION: We purchased a 3 year old thoroughbred in Feb of this year. He has been racing since Nov 06.  After he ran for us the first time in Feb, our trainer noticed some lameness the next day.  We found that he had bone chips in both knees.  We had the chips removed by anthroscopy surgery in Feb.  We had noticed on the horse's past performance that he was consistant in stumbling, breaking awkwardly out of the gate.
He stumbled out of the gate the first time we ran him in Feb.  We ran him for the first time after surgery on June 22, he stumbled again.  We have heard reasons like inmaturity, he will learn with time, or the horse was hurting.  They do say that his back end is very strong and that he is still growing.   It has been very frustrating, for we know the horse can run if he can only get out of the gate.  Any ideas?

ANSWER: hi  well if he had knee problems in the past then that would cause him to be sore and not want to break from the gate knowing he would hurt himself. you could again have him checked by a vet for the back end problems, that could cause him to stubble out of the gate. another thing is that some horses do need blinkers when they run. sometimes they are too busy thinking about the gate and the other horses that they are not ready to break and come out of the gate in a tangle. here is the other thing that i would try , but you may think that this is a off the wall idea, but it does sometimes find out things that you never would know unless you try this. have a psychic come to the barn and read the horse for you. they sense things from the horse that we cannot and can tell you lots of things they feel and see. i have done this many times with my horse with great success. hope this helps you . thanks ED HESS

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you for your response.  Our vet had told us to give the horse 60-90 days off after the surgery in Feb.  We gave him about 90 days, he was put on the walker some after the first 2 weeks.  He continues to do well, no swelling or heat.  But we do wonder if it would have been better to give him the year off. We have been told that the horse has alot of potential. It worries us that he will get hurt again at the gate. Our trainer had mentioned the blinker idea.  I think he will try that if the horse runs here in a couple of weeks.  The horse is very calm when your around him, but get him in the paddock and he seems very restless and anxious.  What do you suggest for time off after bone chip surgery, and do you recommend using adequan or legends?  He had a large chip in the left knee and a very small one in the right.  And your idea about a psychic sounds good, I just do not know one from our area, but we may check into that. Thank you again.

Answer
hi as you mentioned , your horse was racing when your trainer noticed some lameness,then you had his knees operated on and removed the chips. your vet recommended that you give the horse 90 days off after the knee surgery, which you did and now he is back training well so far. i would expect that the trainer would think about blinkers as sometime it will def help the horse, buy putting his mind on his business. now i am not a big believer in racing 2 yr olds at all. as they  usually have open knees, and are put into training too soon because of the big 2 yr old purses offered. so most 2 yr olds never make it past the 3 ye old year due to  the racing injuries they sustain from training too soon and being pushed to make it to the races in time to race for the big purses. 2 yr olds also come up with buck shins-- shin fractures--knee chips and bad breathing problems as they get polips in their throats, which cause them to get coughs and sometime make them bleed from the wind problems. your trainer can school the horse in the paddock a few times before his next race, so he gets use to the paddock area. . sometimes they anticipate the race and being sore , and that is why they get anxious and nervous in the paddock area. the psychic is a very good idea for you to try as it has helped me many times over in the past. i would personably give the horse more time off to make sure he heals properly ,6 months at least,time heals all. but you and the trainer and the vet have to make that decision. in my experience the knee chips in the upper joints are worse then the chips in the lower joints. your vet will know which acid to use in the knees if it is needed . i wish you all the luck in the world with your horse in the future.. thanks ED HESS