Horse with legs that fill… not filling

[SOS]

I have looked after (groomed then owned) my horse for ten years and every winter his legs will fill overnight. He has been in stables the size of small barns, varied types of feed, turnout every day etc. and all four of his legs always filled. Even in early autumn where he would have the odd night in but 24/7 out otherwise, his legs filled. He is normally fed in winter when stabled a variation of things over the years.

He recently got an injury which meant he needed to be turned away. In the short time between lameness starting and being turned away he was on box rest and his legs would fill badly. We were bandaging overnight in the end, using ice vibe boots and hand walking to keep them down as he couldn’t exercise/be turned out as usual, but they were still puffy. The leg which was injured understandably filled a little more.

We turned him away, legs went down. Then last week cut his foot. He’s been in since and his legs have not filled at all. He is on on a handful of chaff with his bute in, hay and 10 minutes hand walking twice a day.

This has come as quite a shock for me and I’m keen to know what the secret is here for the future. I’m pleased his legs are down now and would love to prevent it. Any ideas?

 

[quizzie]

Make a list of every type of feed he has ever been fed, and every ingredient in every feed......then delete all ingredients that do not appear in every feed as fed (ie: if mix/nuts/chaff fed together, that is one feed as fed)

You will be left with a list of possible problem feeds.....my guess is soya will feature on that list, and would be top of my list of suspects.

It may not be feed related, but its a good place to start!

 

[AmyMay]

Freezing temperatures would be my guess - ie cold legs

 

[SOS]

Freezing temperatures would be my guess - ie cold legs

Unfortunately it’s been cold before in our past winters together and he’s had filled legs.

 

[meleeka]

I’ve no idea but if you work it out please share!

 

[SOS]

Make a list of every type of feed he has ever been fed, and every ingredient in every feed......then delete all ingredients that do not appear in every feed as fed (ie: if mix/nuts/chaff fed together, that is one feed as fed)

You will be left with a list of possible problem feeds.....my guess is soya will feature on that list, and would be top of my list of suspects.

It may not be feed related, but it’s a good place to start!

Feed is something I thought may be the key.

Before he was turned away he was just on speedibeet and pony nuts with a little chaff to bulk it out.

Over the ten years he has had all sorts, oats, barley rings, conditioning mix, various pony nuts, ease and excel, racehorse mix (!), micronised linseed, salt and oil.

So potentially beet or pony nuts could be influential. I will check with the YO the exact feed he was on (brands) before he was turned away.

 

[quizzie]

Feed is something I thought may be the key.

Before he was turned away he was just on speedibeet and pony nuts with a little chaff to bulk it out.

Over the ten years he has had all sorts, oats, barley rings, conditioning mix, various pony nuts, ease and excel, racehorse mix (!), micronised linseed, salt and oil.

So potentially beet or pony nuts could be influential. I will check with the YO the exact feed he was on (brands) before he was turned away.

if he has always had some kind of nut or mix, then you may well find common ingredients in those! Having had a horse with allergies, it is amazing the level of detail you need to go into to rule things in or out!

 

[Sossigpoker]

Until my boy's hock arthritis and SI pain was diagnosed and treated, his legs filled quite badly. The front end was due to compensating for the pain behind. After treatment and now that he's sound, it's a lot better

 

[Cragrat]

I literally said this tonight about my ex-racer. Every winter since we've have had him, 5 years, his front legs have filled slightly overnight, but putting loose leg wraps on has prevented it. I assumed it was the cold, because his 'stable' is actually a covered yard and is quite chilly.

He has had pretty much a year off, and I have just realised that I haven't needed to wrap his legs. His feed hasn't changed, just he volume, so i suspect he was suffereing a bit of wear and tear. I am hoping that once he starts working his legs don't start filling again!

 

[tyner]

Definitely the diet . Have your vet take bloods next time they are out. Protein levels can lead to filled legs.

 

[spotty_pony]

Reading that I would say they are filling due to the work he is doing when he is in work. I’ve know horses legs stop filling once they are not in work/same level of work because they are not under the same strains as they were.