If a horse is lame..

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Dumbo

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If a horse appears lame should it be stabled or turned out to stretch and move? Say if you notice your horse is lame, would you immediately stable or turn out, before consulting a vet?

Hoping that isn't a dumb question but throughout recent years with horses I've heard people argue on this matter (don't want to start an argument here!)
 
oh thats a hard one... I think it depends on the lameness??

If there is fluid build up then I tend to turn out to try and move the fluid. but if its hopping lame then I'd defo keep in and wait for the vet
 
Personally I would be inclined to turn out, see if it improves and if not stable it. But I would also not object to the other way round. I always try both with a lame horse before getting the vet out. Obviously not if its on 3 legs! Then I would probably call farrier if I thought foot, vet for anything else but always immediately for something suddenly and markedly lame.
 
Not a dumb question but not going to have one answer, if I knew why it was lame, that turning out would help, stiffness through arthritis or a minor pulled muscle for example, then I would leave out to move around, weather permitting.

If it was lame with no known reason, I would bring in and rest, it could be nothing but it will be safer inside if the injury proves to be more serious.
Often after a night in it is easier to find the problem, it may swell up around an injured area, there may be heat which is less obvious when moving around, or a night in resting may mean it is fine the next day. Most vets now, unless they can find a clear injury, will often say box rest for a few days before they start on diagnostics if resting does not allow them to recover.
 
I haven't had too much experience with lameness (yet!!), but if it was only slight lameness then I would turn out and watch for improvement... if horse was hopping around on 3 legs then I'd be stabling & ringing the vet straight away. The only time my horse has been lame, I turned her out as I knew she'd run around the stable and possibly make it worse - she'd pulled something in the field and was fine in a few days, but I did still get someone out to look at her.
 
I don't have a stable, so my horses are always out.

However, how much they should be moving depends hugely on the cause of the lameness. A strained tendon (very gentle movement) is treated very differently to an abscess (move as much as horse is happy with).

And you can't tell from the severity of the lameness either. An abscess will have your horse on three legs, a tendon injury not necessarily so.

If in doubt, get a vet exam.

Experience - 30 something years.
 
It all depends on the lameness...

if it looks like laminitis - stable immediately call the vet

Swelling/heat on a tendon - stable & call vet (maybe cold hose etc while waiting on the vet etc)

heat in the hoof, but not lami - lilkely to be an abscess - personally I poulitice and leave out if the ground conditions arent to wet and sticky - or as it is at the moment and with having an abscess horse, stabled with a poultice - generally call the farrier for an abscess rather then vet

no sign of any heat/swelling etc. and only mild lameness, - deal with on a case by case

extremely lame with no heat/swelling (as my mare is currently) stable and call the vet...


so really it does depend on the lameness, how/when it started, related to exercise/injury etc etc etc.
 
Extreme lameness with no obvious cause I'd call vet as an emergancy. Mild ish lameness I tend to box rest to see what swells/ where heat it to give me more clue as to what I'm dealing with.
If I know the horse has old injury/ arthritis etc. then I leave out to stretch it off.
 
Hedwards said:
It all depends on the lameness...

if it looks like laminitis - stable immediately call the vet

Swelling/heat on a tendon - stable & call vet (maybe cold hose etc while waiting on the vet etc)

heat in the hoof, but not lami - lilkely to be an abscess - personally I poulitice and leave out if the ground conditions arent to wet and sticky - or as it is at the moment and with having an abscess horse, stabled with a poultice - generally call the farrier for an abscess rather then vet

no sign of any heat/swelling etc. and only mild lameness, - deal with on a case by case

extremely lame with no heat/swelling (as my mare is currently) stable and call the vet...


so really it does depend on the lameness, how/when it started, related to exercise/injury etc etc etc.
Click to expand...

Exactly. Every lameness is different so it's impossible to state on such a wide topic.
 
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