Haematomas- any advice???

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Holloa

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Me and my boy had two nasty falls out Hunting 2 weeks ago, and my boy has a haematoma on the top of his thigh. Had the vet out 2 days after the fall and it was reasonably small, size of my palm, but i've been away for 4 days and annoyingly he's obviously been clowning around with his mates, because i looked at it again and its doubled in size!

Not really keen on lancing it to drain as that has a risk of infection, but wanted to find out if anyone has any tips/ experience of these things!
Also worried about the scarring..etc.
Can i carry on jumping/hunting?! Got lots of things planned, so quite concerned as he's my only horse fit at the mo.

Any help/advice would be MUCH appreciated!

Thanks everyone!
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that is nearly identical to my mares from the sumer before last, she was lame and i had the vet
she was given steroids i think but apart from that they said when she is sound give her a week then ride as normal, but gently to start with
also i was advised to massage it gently to help it disperse
it has never bothered her since however has scarred under her skin you can still feel it sort of lumpy, and for afew months there was like a little bubble that wouldnt go away
sorry not much help
 
Sisters mare had one on her shoulder last year - we put ice on it twice a day for the first couple of days then left it alone and it slowly disappeared. It was gone completely in just under a month and there's nothing left to show it was there at all. Hers was fairly small though - just fitted into my palm when I put my hand over it. With hers being on her shoulder it was in the way of her saddle so she wasn't ridden for a couple of weeks - we continued lunging and doing in hand work with her though as she's a chubby welshie and we didn't want her putting on any more weight! I'm afraid that's the only experience I've had of them - probably not much use to you.
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I'd give your vet a ring for advice if you're still worried about it tbh.
 
fwiw i have something very similar on my leg from a bad kick a few years ago, still hasn't gone. my vet (!) gave me some ointment to rub gently into it, feldene gel. might be worth asking about?
direct pressure was absolutely agonizing, as painful as a burn, so i'd be wary about massaging it other than very gently.
 
My TB had a huge Haematoma at the same site as yours in 2005 following an innocent looking fall out hacking
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Vet suggested box rest, but as he seemed ok then I gave him limited turn out ... big mistake
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As it started to get bigger Vet decided to make a small incision just below it and syringed some blood from the site.

After a couple of days it grew to the size of your horse’s one and the Vet said that she would have to make a bigger incision below the affected site ….. Well you could not believe the stuff that came out
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I had to syringe it out with a saline solution twice a day until it reduced in size, which it did very gradually …. I think it was about 3 weeks.

Now apart from a little tiny scar you would not know anything had happened, and to be honest he never felt a thing.

I blame myself for it getting so bad as I did not take the Vets advice and do the usual ‘Box Rest’

Good Luck!
 
No that's alot of help! Thanks Leanne.
I've been told by my vet that they are reluctant to lance it now, so i have to just let it sort itself out! sad thing is that i'm booked on lots of sponsored rides etc! :-(
 
Trouble is my boy is one of those who doesn't do box rest! Highly strung types would go bonkas!

I think i'll just have to try gently massaging it, i've read somewhere else on H&H that iodine is good?
do you think its too late for arnica?

Thanks for all your helpful comments!
 
My boy had one when he got a kick and vet gave him a couple of jabs and said haemo would disperse on its own, it did but took a while. good luck
 
is your horse lame with it? my mare was but when she was sound i exercised her like normal, on the vets advice, i felt awful because it was stil there and wobbling around!
 
As a Vet Nurse I would recommend having it drained and a course of AB's. We have a horse in our centre who was a high level show jumper and he sustained a huge haematoma on his shoulder...it was never treated and it solidified and adhered to the musculature around the chest. He can now not be ridden and this is the reason he ended up with us. A couple of weeks off work is nothing compared to what could ultimately end up as retirement
 
No he's not lame at all! He's acting like a spring chicken larking around all the time!

I've given him some arnica and i'll see if that helps... i've asked my vet about the steroids and gel available, will let you know once i've heard back from her.

Thanks for all everyone's advice!
 
had a huge one on one of our youngsters quarters a couple of years ago, we were advised to keep him quiet for a week and see how it went, it got bigger so vet came out and opened the bottom of the haematoma and removed all the congealed blood, left it to drain for a couple of days (we had to wash it out with a syringe each day) and then stitched it up. Only a minor scar there now and no lump either.
 
had a mare on the yard some years ago, she slipped on concrete road, the swelling got bigger and bigger, till it was the size of a large football, the fear was it was still bleeding inside, the vet opened it up and removed a bucket full of blood, luckily it had stopped bleeding, as it would have been a dash to a clinic to sort it out, it healed well and never bothered her again, hope all goes well for you.
 
My mare had a huge one in the same place as your horse, she was at stud when it happened and the stud vet said to let it go down on its own, it wasn't until 3 weeks later i saw it for myself and took her straight to my vet who drained it imediatley, I am so glad he did. He left a small hole to let it drain itself and she was on a course of AB, it did get slightly infected when she came off them so she was put straight back on them.
Because it had been left for 3 weeks the top had started to solidify and this is the area that has left the lump, thankfully it is not too bad but it would have been awful if my vet had not drained it.
If any of my horses got another I would def have it drained straight away.
 
Gosh, now after reading all your experiences with them, i'm wondering whether i should get it drained..... vets are saying no.... not sure what to do.

thanks everyone. will try speaking to the vet again.
 
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