Filling Legs

[Redlet the Nedlet x]

My horse's legs generally fill overnight but by the time he gets to the field they've gone down so I'm not worried about it, but his hocks fill too, is that normal? Again, they go down by the time he's walked to the field but I was wondering if there is anything I should be worried about? I know I can bandage but as soon as he starts walking they go down so I don't see any point in it...?

 

[Wagtail]

I have found that often horses with DJD of the hocks have hind legs which fill. I have neve been a fan of bandaging them though as feel that more harm can be done than good if they are even slightly too tight.

 

[Ludi-doodi]

Although my horse's legs don't fill to the hocks, they do fill if it's cold. I think its something to do with the circulation slowing down in the cold. Possibly also because of standing still in the stable, although in Ludo's case his stable is big and he currently does a full circle from hay bar to water and back to hay bar! They've never filled when he was on box rest over the summer (several years in a row) so in his case, I'm convinced its cold weather related.

I bought a set of thermatex stable wraps and put them on when its quite cold and they seem to do the trick no filled legs in the morning and with the added bonus that they can be worn when the legs are muddy/wet and they dry them off lovely! They are much easier than bandages and because they're quite baggy on him, can't be done too tightly but they don't fall down either!

 

[LiveryList]

I'd bandage if it were a one-off thing like through injury but not if it were a regular occurane. I agree that this would be very labourious and not very beneficial if they go down anyway of their own accord. My mare has filled legs for a while when she was on box rest and i was advised to use magnetic boots rather than bandages as there was less risk of damage and she had them on for 2hours am and pm and seemed to get rid of the problem fairly quickly