Can a sound horse have a hairline fracture??

[freebodyl]

Hello, at the weekend my horse decided to do a 360 over the breast bar of the trailer!! He went over the bar onthe side he was in, got into the jockey area (upside down) and then came back up head facing over the back ramp!!

I thought he was a gonna but He walked out with only a few scratches and although sore does not appear lame. His offside hind tibia has swelling and heat half way down and this over the last 48 hours has gone down. He has full weight bareing on it.....could there still be a risk of a fracture?

 

[frustrated]

Hi, Just wanted to give my condolences on such a scary accident, and a word of warning. Yes you can have a fracture, which can turn into a break if horse walks about, rolls etc it doesn't have to be much. If in any dount box rest/x-ray. My pony has just recovered from a fractured pasture bone, but he was fracture lame from the start. But I did a lot of research about fractures, and found that each horse can present differently, it all depends on the horse. Fingers crossed thats its just bruising.

 

[freebodyl]

Thanks, he is now on box rest and will get the vet to xray once swelling gone down - ive heard they cant see anything on xray for up to 10 days so i will keep him untill then that way not to much messing about and should be a conclusive result!?! Thankfully he is a happy boy in the stable and has lots of visitors

 

[glenruby]

Yes, as above they can have a hairline fx with minimal outward signs. Usually however, they will be very lame for 12-24hrs at he time of occurrance then completely sound. Can be seen on xray as early as 5-7days in some horses but an xray between 7-10days will most likely set your mind at rest. They usually heal very well.