Filled legs ?

[Blizzard]

I went to look at a new horse yesterday, he was lovely and totally what we want riding wise, however his legs were slightly filled at the bottom, particularly his back ones.

He did have a bit of mudfever but of course Im a bit concerned!

He is 16.3hh and an exhunter, he is fit so Im thinking could it just be with him getting older, or could it be something more serious!

im going to get a vet to have a look at him but that wont be for a week or so, if anyone has a horse with a similar problem would love to hear about it.

Anyway here is the handsome chap

 

[Benefice1]

my boys legs fill slightly if he has stood in for a period of time, as soon as he does some exercise or goes out they go down again - had he stood in at all?

Edited to say: He is lovely

 

[1928sky]

If all the legs have roughly the same degree of filling than I would say its not too much to worry about- often the back legs do get more filled than the fronts though but thats normal. If they are particularly badly filled then it could be lymphangitis but from what you are saying it doesn't sound that serious. My mare suddenly started getting filled legs aged 12, you just have to work out what is normal for that horse- we used to get her in in the day in the summer but can no longer do that as they fill much worse in the day than when she is in at night and also has to be fed blue horsehage as the green causes her legs to fill. Also they are worse in hot weather. You can put stable bandages on to prevent it but I don't tend to do this as mine has an old tendon injury and I don't want to mask any swelling. The filling always goes when she is worked, if it doesn't then I would say that could be something a little more serious.

 

[Blizzard]

Hiya, well he has been living in on a night because they dont have a lot of grass at the mo, he had moutains of hay though big piggy ha ha!
He would be out 24/7 with us, unless he started looking worse for wear for it.

They hadnt gone down after we had ridden him, but he was totally sound and they werent causing him any discomfort.
It was mainly around his tendons, he is 15 though, could it be an age thing, he hunted until last year since the age of 5.

We love him he is such a sweetie and a fantastic ride, but of course we dot want to let our hearts rule our head...again!

 

[Blizzard]

Yes the legs were evenly filled, the back ones just slightly more than the front, they are filled in the piccy of him abobe so as you can see they are not really bad, but when you are clse you can see it and can definitely feel it.

 

[_jetset_]

I was told that too much protein can do it, so is he on sugar beet? If so it could be this, it was with my mare!

 

[Blizzard]

He is on conditioning mix, and some cereal based food too, I dont think he is having sugar beet, there was none in his tea last night.

 

[_jetset_]

Hmmm... I am not brilliant on feeds but it could be something he is on, especially as the grass is so rich at the moment!

 

[Blizzard]

well his mum did say it was only recent and he is open to vet, Im just so wary of people!

We went ot see a 'quiet' horse on sat, travelled 3 hours and it napped like no tomorrow and had no brakes!