Pastern swelling Mystery! PLEASE HELP!!

[aspen1991]

Hi guys my new horse (I've had him 3 weeks) has windgalls on his back legs which I know are common he also has equal pockets of fluid on the back of each pastern... Now they have no heat, no heavy pulse, he is not sensitive with them and is not lame or short... They are squishy and you can poke them in and they come straight back out. I am getting his shoes done this week. I can't work out what they are.. Can windgalls extend to here? Maybe it's his confirmation? They cause no issues so maybe just not worry and keep an eye on them? Bad shoeing? He is worked about 5/6 times a week schooling and hacking and jumped once a week he is 8 yo kwpn.

Thank you

 

[Wagtail]

Windgalls, bog spavins and swellings like you describe on the pasterns are indicative of joint aggravation, and are cause by leakage of synovial fluid that the animal is producing to help lubricate the area. It does not necessarily mean the joints are painful or arthritic, but I do believe they are an early sign that there may be problems there in future.

 

[aspen1991]

Thank you for your reply Wagtail, that's what I was thinking! I will just keep an eye on them to see if they change in size or gain heat ect. My farrier is coming tomorrow I will mention this to him, he has fairly long toes also with his current shows so maybe this is causing a small amount of discomfort. I have started giving him MSM and Glucosamine twice daily and may get some magnetic boots to try and bring the swelling and fluid down. I understand from reading online and from other peoples experience that you cannot completely get rid of them but you can kind of manage them and they do not normally affect performance!

I am a very paranoid horse owner and the slightly lump or bump makes me worry haha