Any advice on hernia's please

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lisa_dundee

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My friend bought a yearling section D colt off a dealer yesterday and when he got him back to our yard he discovered he has a hernia, he phoned the dealer and told him to come and take him back but I didn't have the heart to see him go back, so I bought him, hes well bred and big and up to weight for a yearling and looks quite well, however he is semi wild and extremely nervous but none of that bothers me, I would just like any experiences on hernia's as ive been told it could just go away of its own accord, it definitly doesn't hurt him as I had a good feel of it and he didn't seem to bother.
 
I had a mare a few years ago that had a hernia. AFAIK it does depend on the type of hernia, but with the one that my mare had it was a lot weight related. I was told to keep as much weight off her as I could to prevent too much stress on the area. I kept her weight on a close rein, and once she was working (I appreciate that this won't be applicable for your yearling colt!!) you really had to know the hernia was there to find it.

Best thing would be to get a vet to take a look at it if possible - although that may be difficult if he is nervous - just to check it out.

Can we see some pics please?? :)
 
I will take some pics of him tomorrow and show you, ive bought him now so the deed is done but its nice to hear of people experiences, ive never had one with a hernia before, he is nice enough to go county level when hes older so i may have it operated on when he gets older, thanks for your help x
 
A friend of mine had a colt with a hernia & had it operated on at the same time as she had him gelded, we had him done in the field wedged upside down between some bales of straw...vets idea, not ours i might add. Defiantely get the vet to check it to be on the safe side as they can strangulate which is not a good thing!
 
Am assuming it's an umbilical hernia? If it is a small hernia - size of the end of your finger or less then it can go as the horse gets older and builds more muscle, although as a yearling if it was going to heal it should have pretty much gone by now. If it is bigger than that it needs to be surgically patched up as there is a risk they can get a section of gut prolapsing through it and then strangulating - in which case you could loose the horse if not caught straight away - signs of a strangulation are the same as colic basically. They are pretty easy for a vet to fix as they are not that uncommon, and could be done while he is being gelded - seems daft to knock down twice - you'd need to speak to your vet anyway. They basically sew the 2 sides together with an overlap and strong stitches! He'd need 2 weeks box rest - so good chance to get him used to you and handleable, and it should never cause a problem again so nothing to worry about long term.
 
we have a 3yo filly with a very small one, she had it from birth, and our vet was quite happy it was stable & that there was no need to operate, she raced last year (2yo) and it didn't bother her, and fingers crossed she'll run again soon, like with most things, its something that is very much dependent on the size of it
 
Alexart said:
Am assuming it's an umbilical hernia? If it is a small hernia - size of the end of your finger or less then it can go as the horse gets older and builds more muscle, although as a yearling if it was going to heal it should have pretty much gone by now. If it is bigger than that it needs to be surgically patched up as there is a risk they can get a section of gut prolapsing through it and then strangulating - in which case you could loose the horse if not caught straight away - signs of a strangulation are the same as colic basically. They are pretty easy for a vet to fix as they are not that uncommon, and could be done while he is being gelded - seems daft to knock down twice - you'd need to speak to your vet anyway. They basically sew the 2 sides together with an overlap and strong stitches! He'd need 2 weeks box rest - so good chance to get him used to you and handleable, and it should never cause a problem again so nothing to worry about long term.
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I am going to get my vet to have a look at it but I really wanted to keep him entire as long as possible and maybe even keep him entire as our hannoverian stallion is 18 years old now and sadly not going to be around forever, if he turns out as nice as I think he is going to, he may be worth keeping entire if thats possible if he has a hernia??
 
Hernias are congenital, so I personally wouldn't be breeding from a horse that has one, they are more commonly found in draft breeds as they tend to have bigger umbilical cords but can occur in any breed. If you did keep him entire you'd need to tell people that they have a high chance of a resultant foal having one so need to set aside extra money.
 
Had the vet check him this morning and he said just to keep my eye on him but in his opinion it will go with time and if it gets heated or swolen or he shows sign of pain I have to call him back.
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