My horse's hind legs fill up in the stable

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Nerys&Tully

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Hello my pony has to live in the stable and has 2/3 hours of turnout when the fields are good. I noticed yesterday that his hinds where swollen his left a lot more than the right. He has recently recovered from a stifle injury on the right and a small flood appears in the front of his stable when it rains hard. There isn't much heat in his legs but the one is huge and he doesn't seem to be in pain. They were the same this morning so I put him on the horse walker for 30 mins and cold hosed it for 10/15 mins. It had gone down after walking around. I was wondering what I can do as it is 24 hours a day with all this bad weather making the fields too wet to go out. He has 1 hr dressage lesson 3 times a week get hacked out 2 times a week with just walk and trot. He is on matts under a small miscanthis bed in a large stable with stones walls. What can I do to help the swelling stay down??
 
My horse has lymphangitis caused by mud fever from going out, so it seems you are damned if you do and damned if you don't!

The vet advised stable bandages for mine to bring the swelling down (obviously he is on meds for the lymphangitis as well).
 
Why is the yard busy stopping you bandaging? Sorry I have probably read that wrong. You really don't want to leave it, everything ends up stretched and more likely to swell and it can lead to cellulitis. Stable bandages behind, take them off when he goes out and re do them when he goes to bed.
 
I have the same with my horse, once he is out and about the swelling goes down, it is only natural swelling like "old women's ankles!". :eek: :eek:

To combat the problem, I use magnetic wraps just below the fetlock when he is in at night, the legs are still a little bit filled but are ice cold to touch whereas before they were hot. Apparently the magnets encourage blood circulation. Worth a try. :D :D
 
He was on haylege but I have put him back on meadow hay. I think I will just have to bandage him last time at night and take them off when I muck out first thing...
 
I know I keep saying this but filled legs is a symptom of poor circulation and not a symptom of stabling.

Vets will advise to bandage to keep the fluid out but really, you need to ask them why. Usually a sluggish liver and kidneys is the cause.

Too much protein, minerals, vits etc can cause the liver to work extra hard and the kidneys can't keep up excreting everything. A detox will sort the problem usually within a week but that does involve feeding a bland diet of just soaked hay and perhaps just dampened chaff to give the body a break for 10 days or so.
 
Yes, I had forgotten we gave our boy clivers (mixed with something else, marigold perhaps) and gave him hay, no haylage at all. He is fine now. I have had a problem with bandaging ever since I went to bed in a crepe bandage and my leg swelled in the night...it throbbed and hurt, had to take it off. Frightened of this happening to horse, who would not have the option of removing it.
 
jenf said:
Yes, I had forgotten we gave our boy clivers (mixed with something else, marigold perhaps) and gave him hay, no haylage at all. He is fine now. I have had a problem with bandaging ever since I went to bed in a crepe bandage and my leg swelled in the night...it throbbed and hurt, had to take it off. Frightened of this happening to horse, who would not have the option of removing it.
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Make sure you put the bandages over some gamgee pads and not too tight and you will be fine...

I had my horses on haylage until about 10 days ago. The TBs legs would always swell, even though she was turned out during the day. She is currently on minimal turnout due to weather and is off work for 3 months due to injury, but since I changed her to hay, her legs haven't swelled at all.....
 
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