Help needed with a lame horse?

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HorseMad.

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Hi, before i start i just wanted to say that i know it's very difficult to say what a horse could've done to go lame & we are calling the vet out in a week if he gets worse.

My horse went lame around christmas day ho ho ho ! We brought him in on boxing day and as soon as he stood still he rested it, we thought this was natural as we'd just moved them to a new feild ( Christmas eve ) full of grass so we presumed he was just resting, but as we turned him out his head was bobbing as he put it to the ground and he was very reluctant to put any weight on it or walk at all, as a week has passed he has got worse and he dosnt want to walk and he rests it all the time as he rolls he gets up very gently.

I ran my hand down the tendons and he didnt react but when i ran my hand down the front of his leg as i got to his fetlock on the bone ( he was resting it ) his ears flicked back and his tail swished as i squeezed it, I know this isnt much of a observation but he wasnt to happy about me squeezing it.

My mum said that it could be a fracture of the bone and if it was he would have to be put down, although this is a big jump i just want to know if anyone elses horses have had this and how they treated it? he also isnt happy about picking his feet up and putting weight on it either.

Any help would be great. please no crit as im just trying to get some advice,Thanks :)
 
If he is getting worse you really need to get a vet, ideally tomorrow, the sooner you can get a diagnosis and appropriate treatment the better, it may be that he needs to be kept in, moving around may be making him worse. If it is very sore he may need some pain relief, it is unlikely to be a fracture but without expert advice the longer you leave it the worse it could get and the outcome could be very serious.
 
Could be anything, but certainly sounds like he needs a vet as you already say he has got worse, I would be cold hosing... Heat or not, and I would be popping him on box rest, sounds like he needs a thorough check and some anti inflammatory drugs in his system. Don't know what vets you use, but AVS are brilliant. They aren't costly and at the least you would have some clarity regarding what you are dealing with. I wouldn't be happy that it had gone on so long and got worse but not been seen by vet. That is not criticism, it's just a gentle nudge to get the vet out.
 
Also, re fractures, it would not necessarily mean he would have to be put down, hairline fractures can heal. It may be bruising of the bone, it could be absolutely anything, don't go worrying about anything until you have had the vet out, but do get the vet, at the least he sounds like he needs some pain relief
 
Why are you waiting another week? Your horse has already been lame for a week, & it sounds as if he's in a fair bit of pain. from what you are saying it most probably is an abcess, so should be fairly easy to resolve, but they do cause a lot of pain so need the appropriate treatment sooner ratrher than later.
Let us know what happens.
 
You really need to call a vet out tomorrow. It's hard to say what is wrong with your horse from what have said but it definitely sounds as though he is in pain - it would be negligent not to get him seen by someone very soon.
 
Hey thank for the advice, Harvey was standing in the field today resting his leg,so he'll be coming in on saturday as im working tomorrow, he has feathers so it's hard to tell if there is swelling, i am hesitating wether to give him some pain killers as he may go cantering around if he feels no pain.

Hopefully it is just bruising but i will keep you all posted :)
 
HorseMad. said:
Hey thank for the advice, Harvey was standing in the field today resting his leg,so he'll be coming in on saturday as im working tomorrow, he has feathers so it's hard to tell if there is swelling, i am hesitating wether to give him some pain killers as he may go cantering around if he feels no pain.

Hopefully it is just bruising but i will keep you all posted :)
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Sorry OP but this isn't good enough, he has been lame & in pain for a week & you have no idea whats wrong with him, now you intend to leave him again tomorrow by which point unless you have an emergency visit on Saturday then it will be Monday, so another 3 days left in pain. This is negligent & cruel, sorry but it had to be said & I can't believe after everyone very kindly said you need the vet that you plan to just leave him, dreadful & your poor horse deserves better.
 
HorseMad. said:
Hey thank for the advice, Harvey was standing in the field today resting his leg,so he'll be coming in on saturday as im working tomorrow, he has feathers so it's hard to tell if there is swelling, i am hesitating wether to give him some pain killers as he may go cantering around if he feels no pain.

Hopefully it is just bruising but i will keep you all posted :)
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If it was just bruising he would have got better each day, not worse and after 10 days I would expect him to be almost fully recovered. Even with feathers you should be able to feel swelling, if there is any, by comparing with his other leg.
Do not give pain relief now, you really do not know what is wrong get in a vet to find out, hopefully it is not something too serious but by leaving so long before getting a diagnosis it may take longer to recover and possibly need more treatment than if correctly dealt with early on.
 
Op bute is an anti inflammatory... Not just a painkiller and this is vital for your your horse to help heal properly. Just ring your blooming vets and speak to them. A phone call doesn't cost anything :mad: and fwiw, leaving a horse in pain and doing nothing about it is against the law. Since you and your mum clearly don't seem to have a brain cell to share between yourselves on this... Please ring the vet. I mean if this is true you have not box rested, cold hosed, you haven't even gone and bought something over the counter like devils claw... Not even a call to your vet... I'm not going to assume this isn't true, I'm going to assume you are quite clearly a neglectful ignorant owner.


Kindest regards,

Utterly appalled
 
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Harvey was trotting round today and he's now in, For the person who said i havent bought any pain killers/anti inflammatory's (devils claw) it's because i read an article that suggests they're not the best one to use as they can acctually damadge your horses liver! I do know how to take care of my horse thankyou and so does my mum she's had many years of owning horses & riding. Im not giving him pain killers as i said because he may run around making it even worse ive spoken to my local instructor and they agree.
 
And i havent been leaving him ive been seeing him every day and feeding him , checking on his leg etc. I would never neglect a horse and i love him to peices i would never hurt him/leave him in pain. He was trotting round fine which he wouldnt be doing if he was in pain and he's not the best being stabled for a long period of time so thats why i havent brought him in sooner!
 
HorseMad. said:
Harvey was trotting round today and he's now in, For the person who said i havent bought any pain killers/anti inflammatory's (devils claw) it's because i read an article that suggests they're not the best one to use as they can acctually damadge your horses liver! I do know how to take care of my horse thankyou and so does my mum she's had many years of owning horses & riding. Im not giving him pain killers as i said because he may run around making it even worse ive spoken to my local instructor and they agree.
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Long term use of bute, and devils claw can cause liver damage... LONG TERM USE, furthermore, it would be interesting for you to look up the hepatic cells in the liver... Liver cells are amazing and can regenerate from damage, hence it takes long term sustained uses to cause damage... If damage is going to occur. The benefits of antiinflamatory and pain relief drugs far outweigh this. I'm not even going to go into my thoughts and opinions regarding this issue, your mother and riding instructor and yourself, just to say I hope that fate doesn't bring us into the same horsey circles as I certainly don't like mixing with fools.
 
HorseMad. said:
And i havent been leaving him ive been seeing him every day and feeding him , checking on his leg etc. I would never neglect a horse and i love him to peices i would never hurt him/leave him in pain. He was trotting round fine which he wouldnt be doing if he was in pain and he's not the best being stabled for a long period of time so thats why i havent brought him in sooner!
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But your OP said that he was lame, therefore he is in pain, feeding & checking him is all very well but it doesn't actually do anything to help him. How can he be trotting around fine if he is lame? If your mother has many years experience then she knows that a horse that has been lame for a week needs the vet, it is illegal not to provide veterinary attention to an animal that needs it. I just hope that it is nothing serious which is now irreparable due to the lack of approriate veterinary attention, poor horse. No one said you should stable him for a long period of time, that would be dependent on what the VET found if & when you actually decided to get the horse looked at, if it is something like an abscess then he could stay out with a poultice on.
 
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