Legs filling overnight

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perryhillbay

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Please can someone give me some advice on this?

Before I bought my mare, she was in for MONTHS and her legs never filled. Now I have bought her and she has been living out for about 3 or 4 weeks now, but as the weather has gone a bit crap again and she feels the cold a lot, I have bought her in the last couple of nights. In the morning, her legs are really like tree trunks. They go down when she's out in the field during the day but then are all puffy again the mornigns.

Does anyone have any idea why this could be? She is not lame at all. Should I bandage them over night when she is in? Is this really worth doing as she is not lame and they go down again during the day?
 
Hi, what breed is she? My TB X's legs used to fill overnight when he was stood in during cold weather. He was never lame and like yours they soon went down as soon as he was exercised or turned out. I asked my Vet about it and he said it was something that is common in TB's and is to do with poor circulation particularly in the back legs as these are furthest away from the heart. I have since brought him some leg wraps. He has these on his back legs each night and they no longer fill. My Vet advised leg wraps as he said these can't be put on too tight (unlike bandages) and therefore can't do his legs any harm. Don't know if this applies to your horsey but might be worth trying some leg wraps to see if they do the trick.
 
The main difference is the quality and quantity of grass she might be taking in at the moment, which could easily have changed her metabolism - if the swelling goes down quickly with movement I wouldn't panic. You could consider magnesium or bran maybe to adjust the diet, or simply restricting access to grass
 
i put legs wraps on my tb as he has windgalls on his back legs and they fill when stood in his stable over night, the wraps stop this, its usually to do with the lymphatic system and fluid starts building up on the legs, and when the horse moves around when turned out the fluid starts to "flow" again.
 
Hi, a horse at my yard has problems with her legs filling up, but she has lymphangitis. I'm not suggesting your horse has this but it might be worth getting your vet to come and look at her. Did you get her vetted when you bought her? How old is she?

The horse at my yard has to have her legs bandaged every time she is stood in to reduce the filling up and to keep them warm and keep the circulation going. During the summer, she is turned out 24/7 so she doesn't have as many problems as in the winter. Would it be possible for your horse to be turned out 24/7 during the summer?

Hope this helps.
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My TB's front legs fill when he is in at night or stood in during the day. However, his stable is only 10 x 10 ft and he can't move about a huge amount. I took him away on a hunting trip and he hunted all day in the deep mud and amazingly enough his legs didn't fill at all when he was in a 16 x 16 ft stable.

Def. to do with movement - the less movement the more the filling.
 
my tb's legs swelled up due to a protein intolerance.. we reduced the amount of protein in his feed and they don't swell up now! also stable bandages/ leg wraps as well!
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My TBX has a windgall on his left hind fetlock and both hind fetlocks used to swell during winter when he was stabled at night. Never lame or stiff and they went down as soon as he was turned out/ exercised. He was like this when I bought him 5 years ago and hasnt got worse/ better. I bought some thermalux leg wraps (actually to help with mild mudfever) and they havent swelled since he has worn them. Even when i stopped using them as weather was drier the swellings have not returned. Magic!!
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Would recommend you perhaps try this and see if it is any help.
 
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