I think my horse may have a splint

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Aniseed

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I should really know how to deal with it but in 8 years of having her I haven't had a single problem with her legs. It's only a small lump at the moment, she is completely sound and there is no heat in it. Someone at my yard had a look this morning and agreed it looks like a splint and thet I should just take it easy. I'm guessing it is from working on the hard ground we have had recently.

So what do I do? Is there anything I can put on it, is it likely to get worse?
What should I do work wise, just walking out hacking and then trot and canter in the school? I was planning on going to a show next weeknd which is jumping on grass so is that out of the question?

So many questions but I really want to deal with it correctly.
 
My mare broke her splint bone in two places a couple of years ago, which led to alot of box rest and I found the Areborn Magnetic boots helped. I know this is abit different, but I found these wraps really helped and aided recovery and keeps the swelling down. She wears them when ever she is in now as they keep the swelling down and the lumps to a minimum.
 
as far as i know for a splint fracture your meant to have box rest!!! Mine done one last year and was sound at first then went very badly lame and had 8 weeks box rest, i no someone else whos horse only needed 4 weeks box rest then started hacking. Mine also had anti inflams and painkillers for a week or so and got this bottle of stuff to apply to it but it was rubbish, all it done was make him baldy were it was applied.
 
Ok have just done some research on the internet as this is starting to sound more serious than I realised. I'm pretty sure it isn't a splint fracture. There is no heat or inflammation in the leg, she is sound an I only noticed it when checking her legs after XC at the weekend. You can't see it and it's only a tiny lump.

For it to be a splint would I have to have seen all the above symptoms?
 
Aniseed said:
Ok have just done some research on the internet as this is starting to sound more serious than I realised. I'm pretty sure it isn't a splint fracture. There is no heat or inflammation in the leg, she is sound an I only noticed it when checking her legs after XC at the weekend. You can't see it and it's only a tiny lump.

For it to be a splint would I have to have seen all the above symptoms?
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A splint is a fractured splint bone lol .. is the lump hard? no my horse was sound for a day then lame the next then sound the next then lame and heat and swelling didnt come until a few days after

ETS ... are you sure its not an old one that you havent noticed until now??
 
NicoleS_007 said:
ETS ... are you sure its not an old one that you havent noticed until now??
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Thats what I was thinking -if it is really small, hard and no heat then it does sound more like an old one, maybe keep an eye on it and check if any heat/swelling develops but try not to worry too much!

My last boy had about 6 splints (he was very gangly and didnt have much control of his legs!), they started off hot, sometimes with some swelling around them then gradually calmed down to be much smaller with no heat. He was never lame with them either. Once they had settled down they never caused any probs :)
 
I guess it could be an old one but she has never had a day unsound.

Have just read an article in H&H and in summary it says:
A true splint is damage to the interosseous ligament and new bone is laid down between the splint bone and cannon bone to form the splint.
A false splint is caused by direct bruising to the periosteum covering the bone.
Fractures to the splint bone can also lead to formation of a splint.

So although it could be a fracture which sounds quite serious hopefully it is one of the former. It is a hard lump, if I was just checking the one leg on its own I probably wouldn't notice it, but on comparison there isn't a lump on the other foreleg.

So is it something I should get a vet out for, or just monitor her for the next few days and see how she is?
 
If it is old it shoudnt cause any problems eg unsoundness ... mine had one for years and i didnt notice it until last year when he done the other leg in lol If i was you and didnt know weather its new or old id probably keep her in for a couple of days just to be on the safe side but thats just me :D
 
Thanks Nicole, she is in today anyway so will have a good check tonight and go from there.

I feel like a realy bad Mummy if it as an old one I have missed. I have recently started to be more vigilant with her legs now I am not just a happy hacker so I guess I could easily have missed something that has been there for ages without causing problems.
 
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