Filled legs in a 4yr old?!

My five year old does it too, all round but much worse on the rear. We try to limit stable time to between ten and thirteen hours absolute maximum (they are in overnight). We have managed to get it down to just 'puffy ankles' of a morning, but I'm dreading it if we have to keep them in longer as I have one wimp who would be in all day in bad weather if he could.

Various things may have exacerbated Ari's problem. Longer hours in stable as it rained in torrents over 48 hours , we changed from old hay to this year's, which has a higher protein content, less exercise etc
 
I would worry much more if it was just the one leg. If its all 4, then its likely to be that horse has been stabled for longer, or feed changed, or even that the weather has got milder after a cold snap.

Is it your 4 year old pony mare, the one that was footy last week???

Fiona
 
Interesting thread, we have a 5 yo gelding on the yard, only stabled for a few hours during the day, all four of his legs filled overnight (last week), vets say lymphangitis, although he was already on antibio's for a broken jaw and prior to that he had the snots/cough for a few weeks. I dont know what has triggered the swelling, but wonder if it is related to lack of neutrition - not being able to chew properly, therefore not absorbing enough vits/mins along with being run down?

It would be interesting to hear from any neutritionalists on this subject.
 
I had a TB that got filled legs every night as a 4/5 year old- I changed the diet from normal pony nuts to something else ( soaked whole oats with alfalfa) and he never got those filled legs again. Can't explain why!
 
Axels legs fill every night and have done the since he was about 4! Usually its when he's been living out all summer and the first week or so he's stabled overnight his legs fill. I just bandage them now.
I phoned the vet once and he said it's not haylage that does it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top