Back legs swelling - any ideas?

abi31

abi31

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I got my lovely 8yo ISH gelding in September and he lived out most of the time. On my yard we turn out during the day and get-in at night. I noticed his back legs are swollen and puffy in the morning but have gone down again after exercise or after being in the field. He trots up sound and when I spoke to the vet about them when his teeth and vacc were done he said it probably wasn't anything to worry about.

He doesn't seem bothered by it or in pain and it walks off really quickly. He wears brushing boots and over-reach boots when we exercise. Is there anything that might be causing it or anything I can do to stop them puffing up overnight? Or, am I best to leave well-alone?
 
Last year my TB's back legs swelled massively... he was in due to the snow. Now he's wearing leg wraps on his hind legs and stable bandages in front.. these help a lot and his legs haven't really filled at all! Magnetic boots also help.
 
We have an older mare that fills on the backs when in a lot, so we simply bandage her backs at night. If they are swollen we simply walk her and then bandage. We've also found that if she is exposed to high protein she also fills - but she has had liver problems and lymphangitis (which is why they are susceptible in the first place)
I find wraps don't work to stop the swelling, but she does wear turnout chaps in the field to keep her legs dry to enable us to bandage her at night.
 
Legs swelling-up while in is a very common problem.
When I was an apprentice I noticed that it happened to most hunt horses during the season but not when they were at rest.
When some 10 years later I started only doing referral cases I came across it again.
In my experience it came down to one thing, circulation, if the blood is not circulating well while at rest then you will get pooling, especially in the hinds that have been concerned with propulsion all day, and then made to rest
When I was shoeing for this problem I found that short tongued hart bar did the trick, making sure the foot was well balanced med. and lat.
Now that I only work on barefoot horses I have to admit that I don’t come across the problem, this I now know is due to the ability of the foot to expand and contract at the correct amount in order for the vascular process to work efficiently through the tissue that is allowed to be in contact with the ground.
 
Circulation is the first thing that springs to mind, but be sure it isn't linked to infection. Mud fever, or a slight cut, then turned out in muddy fields can have this "puffy leg" effect. I course of antibiotics will sort it if it is, and is worth considering if it doesn't resolve itself.
 
Moorman, thank-you, I hadn't considered shoeing as a possible way of alleviating the condition. I will talk it through with my farrier when he comes back in January.
Andalucian, a horse in another field has thrush at the moment. I might put some iodine on his soles to clean them out and harden them up. The vet did suggest this in case there was a slight infection but said it wouldn't do him any harm if there wasn't.
I think the key here is circulation so magnetic boots shouls help with the blood flow.
Thanks to everyone for their help.xx
 
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