OH SH** - Massive Splints

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moneypit1

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Got my 2yo in today for annual jab and noticed massive splints that wern't there yesterday on both front legs. They are the size of 10p pieces. My vet confirmed they were splints and said they normally form if horse is pidgeon toe'd (which he is not). He was running around like a loony on very hard ground yesterday and fell over at speed so can only imagine that is the cause. Was so shocked did not ask implications although he is sound and seemingly untroubled. Any info/advice appreciated, gutted as you can imagine.
 
what did you want to do with him? No real implications unless you want to show. Even if they go slightly lame for a start they soon come sound again. My horse fractured his splint bone and now has a big lump on it, but he is fine now. I wouldn't worry about it. Maybe try and stop him charging around like that again though....
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mines a bit pigeon toed but has no splints!!

as he;s young they should settle without complication, just keep an eye on him charging around as they can fracture, but as long as he's sound don;t worry too much, lots of diff advice on what to put on them, post a few days ago in vet section i think.
 
Splints are just excess bony growth on the splint bones caused by either concussion from uneven weight bearing on the front legs, or from a direct knock.
Get your farrier to check his foot balance, in case that contributed to them, try to stop him running around silly (not easy
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) and make sure he is getting the correct balance of calcium/phosphorus in his diet..
If it cheers you up, they usually shrink a lot over time, and sometimes even disappear entirely. My 2 yo got one too (after a knock) and it's shrinking.
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A 4 yo I had a while ago got massive splints prob at least the size of half a walnut. He was slightly lame so I was stuck with 6 months of walk (got his lateral work started tho!) & by that time they'd shrunk til you wouldn't notice them unless you were looking for them. They went hard & cold & weren't any more trouble.
 
Dont worry, they look unslightly, but do go down and repair in time, on their own. My horse threw a massive one as a three year old, it stayed about a year and gradually disappeared.

If your horse is not lame, and the vet's had a look all should be well. Dont be upset, they all get them.
 
They mend and are very common. My boy got them as a 5yr old on the front legs as he was hoolying around on hard ground, was gutted at the time but 3 years on they have shrunk and you'd have to look hard to see them. I kept him in very light work with lots of turnout with a calm older horse as felt he would stay calmer than on box rest. He was lame for a while but I did carry on with a little bit of work as it kept his brain and body with something else to think about. Over the course of a year we had a couple of times when he got sore on them and we reverted back to the same regime as when he was diagnosed and gave him bute to ease the soreness and inflammation.

He is now fine - has had lots of other problems which possibly caused/contributed to the splints but he is sound and working well.
 
My girl got one as a youngster - again from galloping around like a loony on rock hard ground in the field. It seemed pretty big at the time but now has totally disappeared!
 
Hi,

My horse is on box rest at the moment with a splint. They aren't usually a problem. here's what masses of research has told me though so hopefully some of it might be useful.

True splints are on the inside of the leg between the splint bone and the cannon bone and involve the interosseous ligament. This tears and reforms as bone in all horses until there is no 'ligament' left just bone. They can be lame when it is here and box rest is necessary because there are all sorts of other structures nearby, including tendons, which you wouldn't want a splint interfering with. These true splints are usually caused by twisting and turning on hard ground.

Splints on the outside of the leg are usually down to conformation issues or poor shoeing and are less common. Can also be caused by direct trauma to the leg such as a kick. Less likely to be lame if here.

On the whole splints are nothing but blemishes and a fact of life and only occasionally a problem - heat, swelling, lameness etc - requiring you to do something different i.e box rest etc.

Where are the splints on your horse? Would you benefit from talking to your farrier about his leg conformation and hoof shape? Good luck
 
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