HELP - HEALING TIME!

[chance]

I was wondering if anyone has had any experience with hair line fractures. My horse went lame in June and it was treated as a fracture (thankfully as it wasn't completley diagnosed until re-xrayed at the end of July). He never had any swelling in his leg even when he first went lame but when they bone scanned him there was a large indication of a problem at his knee. He had his leg splinted and that stayed on for 3 weeks i think. When it came of his leg reacted and swelled and then split and bleed and ooozed. He has now been on box rest since June, his leg is heeled except he has a large scab at the back of his knee still. There is some heat in the leg still near his knee joint. He made excellent recovery within the first 5 weeks as he was very lame to start with and then we thought he was sound again but he does not seem to have made any improvements since then. He is still seem slightly lame in the trot on one rein. Does anyone have any experience of how quickly a stress fracture should heal as he has now been on box rest since June and i am worried we shld be looking for something else. He is being walked out each day as the vet says he should be walked on it. I am also slightly worried as said pony can be a bit of a wimp and i dont want his lameness to become a habit as such!! Any ideas welcome?

 

[rubyred]

A basic fracture is 6 weeks - obviously this is just a standard and horses like to vary! Yours has had complicatons when removing the plaster which will extend the healing time. Why not x ray again to see how it looks?

 

[TayloredEq]

Hydrotherapy can help with fractures and swellings. Why not have a chat with your vet about it?

 

[cellie]

Oh dear it sounds like we are in the same position.The vet thought my horse had done his suspensory but it turned out to be a hairline fracture this was in june as well he had xrays and scans.After 8 weeks he improved enougth to think that I could start riding again and he was kicked in the same leg and nearly identical place so we went back to 8 weeks rest again.I trotted him up this week and he was fine the next day he went mad in his paddock and he has to have scans tomorrow for a tendon related injury. The kick injury was just below the knee like yours and althought the splint /fracture healed well I have always had my doubts that there wasnt something else going on.My horse is very wimpy too and on the lunge checking lameness workout he just didnt seem 100%.Its especially difficult as he had spavin op in january and that is still fusing.
My vet has told me that 6 to 8 weeks is normal amount of time for fractures then you must build up work very gradually to strengthen the bone.I do wonder if their other joints and tendons/ligaments come under more pressure when they have this type of injury and become weakend .I will try and find out more tomorrow for both of us when I see the vet.
My horse is sounder on the injured leg when its on the inside when lunging.What have you found? .I was always under the impression that it was likely to be sounder when it was on the outside.Another mystery that could point to suspensory damage

If your boy still has heat wouldnt that mean a infection .Have you had the vet out again.