Boysy
Well-Known Member
Does anyone have any experience of using either of the above for splints? Hind leg cannon bone?
DMSO or Splintex ?
- Thread starter Boysy
- Start date
Ahrena
Well-Known Member
Oohh echo this but just under the knee on the inside and front of front legs? (vet has seen the one by the knee btw) -stalks thread-
zigzag
Well-Known Member
*Stalks thread as well cos of splint on outside of hind leg*
Boysy
Well-Known Member
Ok, so i've gained 2 stalkers but no answers *sulks and pouts*
Ooo Zigzag, how long did you rest for and is it midway between hock and fetlock? Mine isn't lame and i'm still not convinced it is a splint rather than bruising but covering all options at the moment.
Never experienced a splint on a hind leg before let alone on the outside..
Ooo Zigzag, how long did you rest for and is it midway between hock and fetlock? Mine isn't lame and i'm still not convinced it is a splint rather than bruising but covering all options at the moment.
Never experienced a splint on a hind leg before let alone on the outside..
zigzag
Well-Known Member
Rosie's is just below her hock, it was small to start with , vet saw her she wasn't lame so said to continue to work her, it grew in size and now she is intermittently lame, vet has told me know to rest her for a month and then bring her back slowly into work to see how she goes, Lol I hadn't seen splints on outsiode of legs either but my mare has one on her left fore as well, (she had that when I bought her)
PapaFrita
Well-Known Member
DMSO is not nice stuff. If you really feel you must do something about the splint I'd go for Splintex (silver for new splints, gold for old). You'll probably find that the splint will shrink all by itself in time though.
If it's a new splint cold hosing and rest is recommended to stop it becoming larger.
If it's a new splint cold hosing and rest is recommended to stop it becoming larger.
Boysy
Well-Known Member
Mmm, thanx for that PapaFrita, i've heard various reports about the DMSO and hadn't liked what i'd read about it either but was quite interested in the Splintex.
I don't usually worry unduly about splints and as you say, rest and cold therapy usually works well thats why i'm not convinced this is a splint as there are varying degrees of swelling and heat in the area which improves with Arnica massage and slight pressure bandaging.. box rest increases the swelling and the heat whilst gently grazing around the nursery disperses it which makes me lean towards bruising in the area as being more likely.
I don't usually worry unduly about splints and as you say, rest and cold therapy usually works well thats why i'm not convinced this is a splint as there are varying degrees of swelling and heat in the area which improves with Arnica massage and slight pressure bandaging.. box rest increases the swelling and the heat whilst gently grazing around the nursery disperses it which makes me lean towards bruising in the area as being more likely.
Mbronze
Well-Known Member
I use splintex, but just be careful , because it can/does blister the skin so take care, It does wrk btw..
TarrSteps
Well-Known Member
Honestly, neither substance is exactly "nice". Splintex is a blister, which is *supposed* to bring blood to the area and help healing. Modern science has not really supported this as being very helpful as a) it doesn't actually bring blood to the lower tissues, b) there's no guarantee that's a good idea anyway, especially with a fresh injury. The feeling now is that the rest that goes with blistering does as much good as the preparation. As mentioned, it's possible to make a real mess of it if you rub too hard, cover it, or the horse is particularly sensitive.
DMSO is pretty scary stuff BUT there is some positive science behind it as it is a proven anti-inflammatory and "free radical scavenger", which means it mops up the residue from damage and lessens the inflammatory response. But it is "transdermal" which means it travels through the skin barrier . . .and takes anything on the skin with it. That's why you can taste it in your mouth. If you use it clean the leg well, rinse it, wear gloves yourself and apply it with a clean brush. Personally it scares teh crap out of me when people mix it with other preparations - basically the rule is if you wouldn't inject it don't mix it with DMSO. Also get medical grade preparation from your vet don't use "bargain" stuff. DMSO's orignal use is as an industrial solvent (it's a byproduct of the pulp industry) and the commercial stuff does not have to be as pure as the medical stuff. It too can blister if you scrub too hard.
I think the general concensus is that cold and rest (especially if it's a concussive injury rather than just from a random blow) does the best. Splints form when the bone or the connection between the splint and cannon bones (the splint bones are vestigial "toes" and only partially attached below the knee) is damaged and the body lays down new calcium in response to the inflammatory process - called "remodelling". If the damage is minor, say just to the covering of the bone or a small ligament tear, then there might be a fair bit of calcium laid down (it depends on the individual horse as much as anything) but it resolves itself quickly and, hopefully, the body "reclaims" the calcium over time. I've seen lots of young horses get splints that go away in the course of a couple of years with no intervention. The problem comes when the damage is caused by concussive force/angular limb deformity - in other words the force up the leg is out of whack. Then the body tries to strengthen the bone along the path of the force. The problem is if a change isn't made in some area (trimming, workload etc.) the force keeps coming and the bone keeps remodelling. Even if they don't cause lameness at all they can still be a sign the leg is under stress.
Usually splints don't cause significant or long lasting lameness after the first inflammatory stage unless they interfere with a joint (the reason "high" ones can be a problem) or a tendon or ligament. In such cases an agent such as Splintex can be used to "get the splint going again" with the hope the body will absorb some of the calcium and at least flatten the splint. The most common intervention these days is "cryo" where the leg is essentially deeply blistered by being frozen so it doesn't hurt the same as the old iron firing. It can be very effective . . .although I've also seen it kick splints into overdrive. Either way it leaves a permanent mark. I've really only seen the procedure done on show horses that have to be "clean" to be competative. If the end of the bone is "free" sometimes it's so unstable it keeps getting inflamed, in which case it can be surgically removed. I've also know at least one horse that had his whole splint bones removed.
Blah, blah, blah . . .a veeeerrrrry long winded way of saying random splints are usually best cooled off (ice, cold hosing, cooling gel) and rested until they're cold and then ignored if possible. If it keeps happening or won't cool down then it requires medical intervention.
DMSO is pretty scary stuff BUT there is some positive science behind it as it is a proven anti-inflammatory and "free radical scavenger", which means it mops up the residue from damage and lessens the inflammatory response. But it is "transdermal" which means it travels through the skin barrier . . .and takes anything on the skin with it. That's why you can taste it in your mouth. If you use it clean the leg well, rinse it, wear gloves yourself and apply it with a clean brush. Personally it scares teh crap out of me when people mix it with other preparations - basically the rule is if you wouldn't inject it don't mix it with DMSO. Also get medical grade preparation from your vet don't use "bargain" stuff. DMSO's orignal use is as an industrial solvent (it's a byproduct of the pulp industry) and the commercial stuff does not have to be as pure as the medical stuff. It too can blister if you scrub too hard.
I think the general concensus is that cold and rest (especially if it's a concussive injury rather than just from a random blow) does the best. Splints form when the bone or the connection between the splint and cannon bones (the splint bones are vestigial "toes" and only partially attached below the knee) is damaged and the body lays down new calcium in response to the inflammatory process - called "remodelling". If the damage is minor, say just to the covering of the bone or a small ligament tear, then there might be a fair bit of calcium laid down (it depends on the individual horse as much as anything) but it resolves itself quickly and, hopefully, the body "reclaims" the calcium over time. I've seen lots of young horses get splints that go away in the course of a couple of years with no intervention. The problem comes when the damage is caused by concussive force/angular limb deformity - in other words the force up the leg is out of whack. Then the body tries to strengthen the bone along the path of the force. The problem is if a change isn't made in some area (trimming, workload etc.) the force keeps coming and the bone keeps remodelling. Even if they don't cause lameness at all they can still be a sign the leg is under stress.
Usually splints don't cause significant or long lasting lameness after the first inflammatory stage unless they interfere with a joint (the reason "high" ones can be a problem) or a tendon or ligament. In such cases an agent such as Splintex can be used to "get the splint going again" with the hope the body will absorb some of the calcium and at least flatten the splint. The most common intervention these days is "cryo" where the leg is essentially deeply blistered by being frozen so it doesn't hurt the same as the old iron firing. It can be very effective . . .although I've also seen it kick splints into overdrive. Either way it leaves a permanent mark. I've really only seen the procedure done on show horses that have to be "clean" to be competative. If the end of the bone is "free" sometimes it's so unstable it keeps getting inflamed, in which case it can be surgically removed. I've also know at least one horse that had his whole splint bones removed.
Blah, blah, blah . . .a veeeerrrrry long winded way of saying random splints are usually best cooled off (ice, cold hosing, cooling gel) and rested until they're cold and then ignored if possible. If it keeps happening or won't cool down then it requires medical intervention.