icy cold lower legs and feet (pony)

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titchy

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Hi,

I have a 3 year old New Forest pony who has intermittant icy cold lower legs and feet.

Today all 4 legs (knee down) and feet were icy cold (body and ears felt warm). Other days just one or two feet are cold, or all 4 normal temp. She is healthy, correct weight and sound - Does any one else's horse have a similiar problem. This has been going on since I had her two years ago.

Just shocked by how icy cold they felt today. Any suggestions?

Thanks
 
Sounds totally normal to me and cold legs and feet are exactly what you want. There is no muscle and very few places within the lower leg for blood to go to, its all bones and tendons, so the legs and feet should feel cold to the touch.

Often the feet feel a little warmer, and sometimes really quite hot, if they have been out in the sun but thats heat from the outside rather than from the inside.

If you think about it, horses in the wilds often have to cope with very low temperatures around the legs and feet, they can be wading through feet of snow at times. If they had muscle down there it wouldnt take very long for a large amount of blood to get chilled and that would end up pumped back up through the body which would chill the animal very quickly.

Obviously if a horse has warm or hot feet or legs and is lame then thats a different thing entirely but in a normal healthy leg coldness wouldnt worry me in the slightest.
 
It may be a sign of poor circulation there are massage systems available that improve local blood circulation you could try one of those?
 
they are supposed to be like that. i'd be worried if they weren't!
since there are no muscles at all below knees and hocks, and no fat (well, i've never seen a horse with fat legs!) there's nothing to insulate etc. it is just bones, tendons and ligaments, blood vessels, and skin. totally normal for them to be very cold in cold weather.
don't forget that horses can't get frostbite in their feet unlike us... so, don't anthropomorphise too much!
 
Thanks for all your comments. I wonder if it is a survival thing to contain body heat in cold weather with some native ponies. Some days one front foot could feel normal (no extreme of temperature as I run my hand down her legs, and the other one icy cold - really icy cold. Also seems odd that not all four feet feel the same temperature at the same time.

I also have a Welsh Cob and his feet feel more-or-less the same temperature most days (cool, but not icy cold).

Blacksmith is coming next week so I shall ask him. I will also make a note to ask my vet next time I see her. Pony looks very well - perhaps she suffers from Raynaud's disease like me!

Thanks again.
 
Horses legs are meant to be cold.. The circulation is crap in them and this is why, when they have heat in there is a problem..

This is also the reason they can take the minus temperatures of a hydrotherepy spa.

Lou x
 
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