Help with horses hock

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Blueysmum

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Looking for some advice.

Had our mare for 5 weeks now and our livery yard owner noticed she came in on Monday with a swollen fetlock. Now I have no idea what I’m looking at lol.

We had the vet out on Monday and he said 2 weeks rest with bute and see how she is. She doesn’t seem bothered by the leg at all, it’s feels squishy with fluid and was hot on Monday but isn’t anymore. Obviously it’s been mega hot as well.

Now, she passed a 5* vetting but on the vetting it was noted

“Windgall medial to lateral present, particularly with nasodense concern.
Subcutaneous oedema medial left cannon region – non-painful.”

Could this be it?
 

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I think the quote from the vetting is referring to the right leg. That looks ‘normal’ for a windgall. I’d be a bit concerned with the left leg, that looks a bit abnormal, is she sound?
 
I presume it wasn't that big when you brought her, being as the YO noticed new swelling on bringing her in.

I would consider a horse with windgalls if it was an older horse who had clocked up mileage/ experience and had been sound, and I only wanted to work at the same or lower level.

Sadly, even though they can be there without lameness, they are still a weakness. They will generally get worse over time, or all of a sudden if the fetlock is strained/concussed.

Sadly, hard ground and a new yard are top conditions for a worsening.

If there is heat, I would cold hose or ice. Heat would be new inflammation and I would want it cooled off. Other than that, I would just follow vets advice.

The vet commented on what he/she saw on the day. Worsening is just part of horse ownership. It will probably settle down in time, but still be bigger. I would cancel plans for anything other then gentle work for the rest of this summer though to give it best chance to settle, as it is huge.
 
Oh no, I don’t care about that lol

I’m just wondering if I’m wasting my time getting the vet out / keeping her on rest for 2 weeks when it’s just her and normal lol
 
She’s just turned 17 and has had it for most of her life, never caused her lameness. I have her vet history,

She has an amazing dressage record etc which is why we bought her.


This was it a few days after we bought her so I’m assuming it has always been big.
 

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I'm not sure if its the same thing but I bought my now retired boy with a large windfall. Passed vetting was fine for many years. The only thing vet said was that if the wingall goes solid, lay off the riding. It went solid once, he had a few weeks off and was then fine. It did cause issues when he was 17/ 18 and partly caused his retirement. If you don't call the vet then as said above, plenty of time off. I am slightly surprised a vet passed her for dressage unless you are thinking of only low level. Hope you get it sorted.
 
Looks like she's had a hard life with those legs. Take vets advice. It's never wrong to call out a vet, better safe than sorry. Maybe she'll be ok for light hacking when the hock settles down. I don't understand why you put " lol" in your posts animal welfare is a serious issue and never amusing. The photos indicate that the horse won't stand up to a lot of intense work anymore,eg hunting jumping dressage.
 
She hasn’t had a hard life, she’s been an absolute princess all her life.

She had a field accident when she was young which caused it.

I know the woman who bred her and her last owner.

She won’t be doing dressage, she’s a fun all rounder low level for my daughter
 
Blueysmum said:
She hasn’t had a hard life, she’s been an absolute princess all her life.

She had a field accident when she was young which caused it.

I know the woman who bred her and her last owner.

She won’t be doing dressage, she’s a fun all rounder low level for my daughter
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In that case I would get vet to investigate further. It would be sad for your daughter to just get going then have to stop. At least if you have a vet investigate you know what your dealing with and it will put your mind at rest.
 
Blueysmum said:
She hasn’t had a hard life, she’s been an absolute princess all her life.

She had a field accident when she was young which caused it.

I know the woman who bred her and her last owner.

She won’t be doing dressage, she’s a fun all rounder low level for my daughter
Click to expand...

A horse can be well treated and managed but still have had a ‘hard’ life. By that I mean competition takes its toll on horses, and particularly so on the hind end for dressage horses.

Buying a school mistress is fantastic for learning but you also have to appreciate that this will most likely be offset by vet management. For these horses I’d advise closely discussing management with previous owner and replicating as much as possible. These horses generally also need to be kept strong so correct riding!

It would be worth getting vet input at this stage as it will extend her working life for you (and importantly her quality of life)
 
A friend went to view a gelding with exact the same on his hind limbs, last summer and ground was hard. I took pics as they looked too large for my liking and sent to my vet who said they’re too large for standard windgalls and he would suspect more is going on. Hopefully not in your case.

Good you’ve got the vet involved. Fingers crossed it improves with rest OP.
 
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