acw295
Well-Known Member
Pony came in from field yesterday suddenly lame and with very swollen hind leg. On the way from the field she was hopping lame to start with but got someone to get a hoof pick as her feet were very full of mud and stones and she was instantly much happier to move and only slightly lame on the swollen limb (she is shod in front only). She was very unhappy with me touching it though so called vet out as I was worried about soft tissue injury.
She reacted a bit to hoof testers but not in any conclusive way, does have a pulse in that leg too. Vet had a bit of a dig about but nothing found although she did have some grit in white line which vet has removed. Vet says it could be an abcess we've yet to find, could be bruising and the swelling is where she is non weight bearing or could be an infection in the leg although no sign of any injury and no mud fever/scabs anywhere (lymphangitis I guess?). On vets instructions I'm tubbing twice daily in epsom salts, packing hoof with epsom salts and covering with lintex, vetwrap and duct tape (not a wet poultice yet) and she is on bute and antiB's in case it is an infection in the leg. Vet says soft tissue injury unlikely due to the nature of the swelling but obviously can't rule it out entirely, I'm to report back in a few days and they'll decide next steps if no improvement.
She's on box rest but being walked out inhand to help circulation - I'm not normally a fan of box rest but her field is a long walk away, very wet and muddy and they've added a new horse yesterday so there is a lot of hooning going on and sorting out of pecking orders and I don't want her involved in that whilst she is on 3 legs! We do have a medical paddock near the yard but she is a muppet and goes absolutely crazy in there as she won't be on her own for a nanosecond - where as in her stable she is a bit mardy but relaxed as there are others in, so I think that's best until she is more comfortable at least
She has had a large abscess before in front hoof but it did present a bit differently - she was hopping lame then (looked like leg was hanging off) and abscess was easy to find, hot poulticed for a few days and no bute/antiB's needed although she did also have a fat leg then too - but this resolved as soon as the abscess was draining. This time she was similarly lame when trying to walk with stones in her feet but much less lame as soon as feet picked out, but she is resting leg and unhappy on it - athough there is improvement since she's had bute.
I'm tempted to get farrier to have a look in a couple of days if no progress to see if he can find anything? Is it common to have symptoms of abscess but not be able to locate it?
I've ridden for years but only in 4th year of ownership and I find it all a bit daunting when she isn't right (hence I do resort to vet much sooner than more experienced people might!)
She reacted a bit to hoof testers but not in any conclusive way, does have a pulse in that leg too. Vet had a bit of a dig about but nothing found although she did have some grit in white line which vet has removed. Vet says it could be an abcess we've yet to find, could be bruising and the swelling is where she is non weight bearing or could be an infection in the leg although no sign of any injury and no mud fever/scabs anywhere (lymphangitis I guess?). On vets instructions I'm tubbing twice daily in epsom salts, packing hoof with epsom salts and covering with lintex, vetwrap and duct tape (not a wet poultice yet) and she is on bute and antiB's in case it is an infection in the leg. Vet says soft tissue injury unlikely due to the nature of the swelling but obviously can't rule it out entirely, I'm to report back in a few days and they'll decide next steps if no improvement.
She's on box rest but being walked out inhand to help circulation - I'm not normally a fan of box rest but her field is a long walk away, very wet and muddy and they've added a new horse yesterday so there is a lot of hooning going on and sorting out of pecking orders and I don't want her involved in that whilst she is on 3 legs! We do have a medical paddock near the yard but she is a muppet and goes absolutely crazy in there as she won't be on her own for a nanosecond - where as in her stable she is a bit mardy but relaxed as there are others in, so I think that's best until she is more comfortable at least
She has had a large abscess before in front hoof but it did present a bit differently - she was hopping lame then (looked like leg was hanging off) and abscess was easy to find, hot poulticed for a few days and no bute/antiB's needed although she did also have a fat leg then too - but this resolved as soon as the abscess was draining. This time she was similarly lame when trying to walk with stones in her feet but much less lame as soon as feet picked out, but she is resting leg and unhappy on it - athough there is improvement since she's had bute.
I'm tempted to get farrier to have a look in a couple of days if no progress to see if he can find anything? Is it common to have symptoms of abscess but not be able to locate it?
I've ridden for years but only in 4th year of ownership and I find it all a bit daunting when she isn't right (hence I do resort to vet much sooner than more experienced people might!)
