Oh bother, massively lame horse. Healing cheers required!

[Charmin]

My homebred beloved mare is 9/10ths lame on her foreleg. She was marginally lame yesterday so mum gave her a rest in case she'd tweaked something hooling around bit but today she was much much worse and so in came the vet.

She's weight baring but not happy, it seems to be in her shoulder but she's not happy to twist or turn on it. She's terrible to stable and vet said to turn her out so she didn't stiffen up, so she's double buted and turned out in her quiet herd. We think it was the young gelding that booted her, he was moved out of her field yesterday but he doesn't have shoes on. She could have slipped in the mud or any manner of things.

Vet said it was unlikely to be a fracture as he said she wouldn't be weight baring at all but she does have a high pain threshold. He said about muscle tear or trapped nerve but if no improvement by Monday then scan. Mum has decided that tomorrow might be the cut off if there's no improvement because she does have such a large pain threshold and she doesn't want her walking on a fracture.

I feel so so useless, I'm at uni miles away but she's literally my baby, she's my heart and soul and I can't bare the thought of her in pain. She gets very stressed stabled as well, I'm just terrified about the future and my poor poor girl. Words like bones splitting make me want to be sick. Every phone call I'm dreading, it makes me feel physically sick and no one at uni really gets it because they probably just see it as just a horse

 

[Gingerwitch]

I feel so so sorry for you, fingers crossed that you get good news. Worrying all night wont help - any chance you could get home fomorrow for a hug??

 

[Sukistokes2]

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<HUGE Vibes>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Fingers and everything else crossed!!!

 

[Sukistokes2]

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<HUGE Vibes>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Fingers and everything else crossed!!!

 

[Pie's mum]

Really hope it's' nothing serious. It's not an abscess is it? Horse on my old yard was literally on 3 legs holding leg out at a funny angle looked like her stifle wasn't working properly. Vet couldn't find anything. Next day it erupted through her coronet band, masses of pus!

 

[Tiddlypom]

I was going to say that I hope it's an abscess too, maybe worth putting a poultice on that foot anyway?

 

[debsflo]

oh dear,youre mum sounds sensible though so shes in good hands. not knowing whats wrong is awful.....

 

[Sukistokes2]

Sorry about double post......IPad !!

 

[Wagtail]

I'm afraid I do not agree with your vet! I would be box resting her . My mare sustained a similar injury in the field. It was a massive injury to her biceps bracci tendon. Not a mark on her. It can be caused by a direct collision from an immovable object such as a gate post or collision with another hors, or doing 'the splits' in the field. Strict box rest is what is needed.

 

[Wagtail]

If she can't be box rested then build her a pen and put out some sacks of wood pellet if it's wet and muddy. Keep topping it up. This works really well.

 

[Charmin]

Thank you all so very much!

Mum wondered abscess so hoof tested but there's no raised pulses or tenderness combined with a bit of heat and tenderness in the shoulder suggests otherwise

Oh goodness about immediate box rest! Oh bother it's so hard isn't it. The main reason was because of the hope it's a trapped nerve. Box rest could also be a big challenge for her as she can stress by herself, doesn't like being stabled and cribs.

I wish I could go back but she's in the best of care with my mum who's a vet nurse and will do all she can as she's our pride and joy. I don't know what else I could do bar flap and worry.

 

[Goldenstar]

I have seen a horse with a broken femur walking and wieght bearing with pain relief on the vets advice it was turned out it turned and the bone came straight out through it's leg I held him for my friend until the vet got there ,poor boy he had nearly bled to death by then.
Please be careful OP turned out horses on pain relief when you don't know what wrong with them is a risky thing to do.

 

[Charmin]

These horror stories are horrific

There's not much I can do now. My mum is under vet advice and has done as told. She was told to do so and so she did. All Ruby would do in a stable would be kick out. Plus vet was hopeful that as she was minorly lame the day before then worse today it wasn't a fracture as it would have been sudden and immediate not onset.

Am now having horror images of her bone sticking out of her leg oh god my poor girl what if she's down in the field right now?

 

[JustMeThen]

Hope she's ok, it's horrible, especially if you can't be there but I'm sure from what you've said that your mum will be keeping an eye on her x

 

[*hic*]

OP, hopefully you'll have a phone call very shortly to reassure you that she's not had some major drama overnight from your mum following the vet's instructions. After all vets have had quite a lot of training and experience . . .

As for making a pen with wood pellets, the damp will very swiftly convert them to sawdust and muddy wet sawdust is not a suitable environment for many animals. Use woodchip if you want to try that.

Here's hoping she's a lot better this morning.

 

[Goldenstar]

OP, hopefully you'll have a phone call very shortly to reassure you that she's not had some major drama overnight from your mum following the vet's instructions. After all vets have had quite a lot of training and experience . . .

As for making a pen with wood pellets, the damp will very swiftly convert them to sawdust and muddy wet sawdust is not a suitable environment for many animals. Use woodchip if you want to try that.

Here's hoping she's a lot better this morning.

Well one of those well trained vets told my friend to turn her horse despite it showing all the symptoms that us untrained numpty owners are trained to look for in serious injuries.
Then compound his error he used the fact that the horse was more comfortable the next day to advise turn out ( of course it was more comfortable it had had lots of injected pain relief ) and although I told my friend it was behaving just like a horse I had seen with a non displaced fractured femur and it had exactly the same odd pitted swelling round the site of the injury she trusted the vet and turned him out ...
It was horrible .
And that was a survivable fracture.

 

[charlie76]

My horse was weight bearing with a fractured radius. He only had a tiny mark on his leg. He survived following three months cross tied and six months box rest but had he been turned out I imagine he wouldn't be here now.

 

[Merrymoles]

Oh dear I'm sure all these horror stories are not helping but I am afraid you are going to have to rely on your mum and the vet to get things right - awful when you are so far away.

Just as devil's advocate, my horse was 9/10 lame a couple of years ago and, while it did turn out to be a tiny fracture and he did have to be box rested and have remedial shoeing, it would not have been life threatening in any way. Even a tiny thing can hurt a lot! He came sound and has been fine ever since.

Sending you some vibes and hoping your mum rings with good news soon.

 

[Finlib]

for a horse that is 'dog' lame my dad and grandad always said 'rule out foot first!'
I have had horses look like they have broken their leg non weight baring and also some weight baring who have turn out to have an abscess.
I had a horse referred to Cotts farm vet hospital with a hind leg lameness xrays scans etc etc to find it was an abscess which erupted from the coronet band (had been lame for 3 weeks from very lame to improved lame).
I trust my farrier (an absolute star) with checking feet the testers need to be in VERY capable hands and sometime really deep abscesses don't react to testers.
So I would have my farrier out to rule out foot first A good farrier needs to rule it out

 

[Wagtail]

OP, hopefully you'll have a phone call very shortly to reassure you that she's not had some major drama overnight from your mum following the vet's instructions. After all vets have had quite a lot of training and experience . . .

As for making a pen with wood pellets, the damp will very swiftly convert them to sawdust and muddy wet sawdust is not a suitable environment for many animals. Use woodchip if you want to try that.

Here's hoping she's a lot better this morning.

So long as you keep topping up with wood pellets you'd be surprised at how dry they keep the area. I have done this on several occasions and it has worked really well. The key is to keep them topped up.

 

[Nari]

Lots of good vibes.

If box rest is needed, & personally that's what I'd be doing, then there's always sedation.

 

[Charmin]

Of course if that's what's needed that's what she'd get. We always said if she needed it then she'd probably have to go to a rehab yard where they're all in so she can settle into the routine.

No news from mum but she is in a work meeting all day and YO is looking out for her. Hoping no news is good news. Barely slept last night

 

[Charmin]

Okay vet thinks abscess or nerve damage in her shoulder. Slight heat in foot and raised pulse so crossing fingers for abscess. Slightly less tenderness in shoulder. But also sounder than yesterday.

She's on bute and now in outdoor pen so essentially outdoor box rest and she's settled and happy in sight of others. Vet and farrier coming at same tomorrow morning to assess and bringing all x-ray equipment and scanning to double check shoulder as well.

All symptoms seem in line with abcsess - sounder on soft ground etc. Vet ran out of light to have a dig around today so is coming bright and early. She's settled and grazing happily, the others keep saying hi. Being sounder today is not in line with that though, but could also hint towards muscular? Not sure, shall see what vet says.

 

[Tiddlypom]

Will the vet do nerve blocks tomorrow? Would soon rule the foot in or out..

 

[Tobiano]

hey Charmin - only just seen this but sending massive vibes. Poor you so far away! If you happen to be in Liverpool you can PM me as my daughter is there and will understand the 'its not just a horse' bit if you want someone to talk to. Thank goodness it sounds a bit more positive today so major vibes all is well. xx

 

[Tash88]

Thinking of you and your horse and fingers crossed it is "just" an abscess, pleased it sounds more like that and less like a fracture now. Hope you can get some sleep tonight, Tash x