Lymphangitis??? Advice...

[showpony]

My Mare today wasn't turned out as yard said very stiff behind - when I got up her two hind legs had ballooned up...

She is most definately lame on her off hind & very sore & out of sorts.

I cold hosed which she found uncomfortable but managed to cold hose both legs for 15mins then turned her out to see if swelling would come down.
It did on the near hind but the off hind is still exceptionally swollen - On advice she has been turned out in a small paddock overnight as it was though better than just standing still.

We walked her up on solid surface and she is definatly lame and very off - off hind is VERY swollen... Couple of small nicks on her legs - could this be enough to cause Lymphangitis????

Apologies in advance am super stressed & am not that knowledgable about these things. Vet will be called in the morning, just panicing.

 

[be positive]

The small nicks may be enough to set off cellulitis, getting the vet in tomorrow is the best option, she will need antibiotics as soon as possible, try not to panic I am sure she will be fine once diagnosed properly and getting the correct treatment, whatever it proves to be.

I think whoever decided she was too bad to turn out should have informed you when they made that decision so the vet could have been called out today, ask them to contact you if anything similar happens in future or give them permission to call the vet if you are unable to be reached.

 

[showpony]

Yes I agree & it wont happen again - just very worried as she has never had any issues at all appart from hormonal that have been serious. Her Regumate has been stopped with immediate effect as YO suggested it.. Epsom salts were added to her feed this evening.

The small nicks may be enough to set off cellulitis, getting the vet in tomorrow is the best option, she will need antibiotics as soon as possible, try not to panic I am sure she will be fine once diagnosed properly and getting the correct treatment, whatever it proves to be.

I think whoever decided she was too bad to turn out should have informed you when they made that decision so the vet could have been called out today, ask them to contact you if anything similar happens in future or give them permission to call the vet if you are unable to be reached.

 

[fatpiggy]

Lymphangitis should always be treated as a veterinary emergency not least because it can be excrutiatingly painful for the horse. You did the right thing by cold hosing but your horse needs antibiotics and painkillers pronto. The Epsom salts are ok as some vets prescribe diuretics, others don't. My girl was a bit prone to it in one hind leg which was left permanently thickened before I bought her and as she couldn't have conventional meds except penecillin, I used homeopathic Apis mel at 30c strength and had quite remarkable results. As soon as you can get her walking, then do so as it pumps the fluid out of the leg and healing will be speeded up. For the life of me I can't see the point of stopping the Regumate and frankly I think the YO was bang out of order there. Drugs should never just be stopped without the go-ahead by a vet.

 

[showpony]

Vet was out this morning & is treating her for Odema & Lymphangitis. He gave her couple of jabs Doxcyline - and she is to go nowhere near a stable! She has to be kept moving as much as possible with regular cold hosing Have to ring vet on Friday morning & see where we go from there

Lymphangitis should always be treated as a veterinary emergency not least because it can be excrutiatingly painful for the horse. You did the right thing by cold hosing but your horse needs antibiotics and painkillers pronto. The Epsom salts are ok as some vets prescribe diuretics, others don't. My girl was a bit prone to it in one hind leg which was left permanently thickened before I bought her and as she couldn't have conventional meds except penecillin, I used homeopathic Apis mel at 30c strength and had quite remarkable results. As soon as you can get her walking, then do so as it pumps the fluid out of the leg and healing will be speeded up. For the life of me I can't see the point of stopping the Regumate and frankly I think the YO was bang out of order there. Drugs should never just be stopped without the go-ahead by a vet.

 

[lachlanandmarcus]

Well done for getting treatment )

Just to say, altho horses who've had it tend to be prone to flare ups in the future, the future attacks do tend to get progressively milder as time goes by, so don't worry too deeply that it will always be as serious as this time.

My horse didn't drink a lot so I found Epsom salts useful to promote drinking, also I found I could get a decent amount of liquid in using sloppy fast fibre soup.

 

[showpony]

Delighted to report that massive improvement this evening after vet visit this morning. . Leg has come down considerably and she is bearing weight on it and marched on down the road with no reluctance to walk forward. Thankfully we caught it very early and hopefully she will be better again in morning. Again she has been turned out overnight. Will do some gentle hacking up and down road which is super flat to get her moving on it again. Vet said we may have been in trouble if we had left it another 24hrs so it just shows you the importance of getting a vet out if an ounce of concern. I will now get a good nights sleep lol

 

[philamena]

It's pretty alarming how big, and how quickly, their legs can blow up with this isn't it? Personally if you get another attack of it, I'd get the vet immediately as an emergency, I wouldn't even wait overnight. Some cases accelerate more quickly than others, and they can get pretty ill pretty quickly, and do long term damage to the elasticity of the tissue in the legs the longer they're swollen. I've known it end badly for other people who've even just left it overnight... equally, if you get antibiotics and anti inflammatories into them immediately they can look almost normal by 12 hours later. The sooner the better for the drugs in this case... which of course usually means the more expensive the better as they're guaranteed to develop it at 6pm or on a Sunday / Bank Holiday!!