Concussion or laminitis

[jharvey30]

I have just brought a TB in from the field which is wintering with me and its lame on all four legs keeps changing her weight but never gets comfortable. she is bright and has a temp of 38.7. I have had puss in the foot from a few of them but she doesn't seem the same.

When I washed her legs down the steam that came off was incredible. I then felt all four legs and they were boiling hot from the coronet band to jusr above knee/hock. I have consulted the vet and he thinks she has concussion from the frost we have 5 days ago and to give her bute and leave her in a small paddock and she should recover in 5 days

I am just wondering if its laminitis and wary that if leaving her out does this cause more risk of the pedal bone rotating?

Any views ?

 

[angiebaby]

I would keep her in on a deep shavings bed. The symptoms you describe are that of most laminitics; ( although not heat up to the knee) shifting weight and heat in the hooves. I would call the vet out to give hoof test.

 

[samuelhorse]

if it is laminitis, frosty grass will make things worse due to fructans, not sure though if that is the same with concussive laminitis. Not sure about heatr that high up, think lami is just usually hoof heat and bounding pulses.
Good luck and hope she gets sorted. xx

 

[kellyeaton]

laminitis could cause her to be shifting her weight about. but for the heat and puss and the high temperture that should not be linked to lammi. what about abcesses or infection with all that heat going on?

 

[gothdolly]

laminitis caused by concussion? I dont know, but I would be inclined to stable on a deep bed and get the vet out to apply hoof testers... never heard of the heat so far up except in cases of infection though. Does she have digital pulses?

 

[Tia]

To be honest, it really could be anything given the description.

In the country where I live, it gets incredibly cold and we have a lot of snow and ice. There is one horse on my yard whose legs don't stand up to the extreme cold. He is a heavy horse with feathers, the only one here like that, and the only one to ever be affected. His legs get very very hot, his coronet band gets sensitive and once in a while he will get some sores on his lower legs due to the sharp ice. I use something called Bag Balm, can't think of what is similar in the UK right now, but it works well. I just smear the antiseptic balm on his legs and it provides a waterproof barrier - you have to do this before his legs start to be affected though. If I miss it for any reason (snowfall overnight etc) then I pop him on bute for a couple of days and that brings down the swelling.

Not sure if this is the same as your mare has, but bute will relieve the swelling and bring down the heat in the legs. Laminitis can be caused by concussion, but your ground would need to be pretty hard for this to happen; it's certainly not impossible though if the horse is prone to laminitis.