Possible broken leg

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springtime1331

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I got to the yard tonight to find my mare very sore on her near hind. She was able to move but wasn't weight bearing. She had some grazes on her hock so I assumed she has been kicked. I called the vet out who suggests it could be a fracture. She has been left in cross ties to minimise any movement. I then rang the head girl who brought her in, who confirmed that my mare had been messing around with another before bring brought in after lunch. She said my mare came in like a steam train, completely sound. Does that mean it is unlikely to be a fracture? I'm desperately hoping that if it was fractured she would have been lame and sore straight away? Please give me some hope, I recently bought her after having to retire my horse of a lifetime aged only 12. My new girl is only 4 and seems so young to potentially be in cross ties for months :(
 
just wanted to say I've got fingers crossed for your girl. This and colic is the stuff of worst nightmares.

Is the vet coming back to do X ray's? Is she insured?
 
Your vet has sensibly given you the worst case scenario, so that you can minimise any possible further damage by cross tying.
I would be hopeful it wasn't so bad, if she walked in sound. X rays needed, but lots of good wishes for a happy result.
 
Thanks Victoria, the vet will be coming to x ray later in the week. She did say that some fractures don't show initially so she will have a second lot in a fortnight. Luckily she is insured for vets fees, £5000 per incident so hopefully can have any treatment they think will help. Poor baby, they said it will be a fortnight tied up and just a waiting game :(
 
Thanks ozpoz, her walking in sound is my glimmer of hope at the moment. Just dreading what I might find in the morning. She's such a good girl though and even with a fireworks display behind the yard she stood beautifully for the vet. So proud of her, my retired mare would have been a shocker!
 
I had the exact same thing with my boy after 3 days of having him. Got a call to say he'd been kicked and was so lame it took 3 people to convince him to walk in from the field. Vet thought fracture. After 2 days cross tied and on bute he trotted up sound and xrays were clear. Turns out he is just a pathetic wimp, hopefully yours is the same! X
 
My OH's horse was found in the field with only three legs useable, hind leg was totally non weight bearing, it took four of us to coax him back to a stable, hind leg was so swollen, vet gave pain relief and had to wait for the swelling to go down, unfortunately, a week later, just when he was starting to bear weight on the leg, he came down with colic, vet said it was pain related colic, his gorgeous big heart gave out during the colic attack and we lost him, but he was 18+, look after your girl,time passses so quick
 
A horse i knew a few years ago slipped and fell in the mud. He came in a bit stiff but wasnt lame, he was an old boy so we though he had been quite lucky. Unfortunatly he had a hairline fracture on his shoulder, and when he was turned out the next day the fracture just ruptured and he had to be put to sleep :(
Could be nothing but better safe than sorry in this type of situation. My old mare was kicked badly in the shoulder and wasnt weightbaring and couldnt walk. Called the vet out thinking its got to be a fracture .. Nope just bruising! Bloody wimp of a horse :p just shows how different horses cope with different pain levels so better to be over cautious.
Hope its nothing serious x
 
One of my horses broke his leg (front cannon) about 6 years ago. His rider rode him home with the broken leg (he didn't know) as he appeared sound, however a few hours later it was clear to see that something very traumatic had happened as the horse was very lame. The injury was one side of the top of his o/f cannon had snapped off. The horse did come about 95% sound eventually but then a couple of years ago he was being a fool in the field and came up lame again. I had his leg re-xrayed and it showed that the calcified part which had previously been holding the snapped off bone in place, had also snapped. This meant that the new calcification that occurred was further reaching than before and he has never been mechanically sound since. He's quite happy to still act like the clown out in the field though :rolleyes3:
 
Bonny - it's not strange. A horse can appear entirely sound after a fracture, only for it to become evident days later. It happened to one of our livery horses. He fell - in front of me - trying to turn tightly at full gallop while fooling around. I rang his owner immediately who came over. We trotted him up and all the usual things. We gave him a Danilon as I said that he MUST have bruising somewhere. He remained sound for over a week. Mercifully for various unrelated reasons he was not ridden again. I went out to check on the horses one midnight and he couldn't move. Called the owner, called the vet who diagnosed a fractured hip- an awful night ensued, and he was put down in the morning poor love. The vet said he had almost certainly fractured it in that fall.

And like Spring Feather, my own mare had a previous injury where 3 years later the leg fractured at the precise point where it had been injured. In the meantime we had done long distance and all sorts of thing.

But this is all gloomy, so think positive, like your vet. All the very best of luck.
 
Everything crossed for you. I had the same experience, how I got him in from the field I will never know. He had fractured his elbow from a kick. It took a long hard recovery but we are there now and you wouldn't know anything had happened when he is in one whizing round the field.
 
Morning update - dolly is able to stand on the leg which is a massive improvement from last night. However, it is very swollen - from above the hock down to half way down the cannon bone. Bless her though, I was dreading what I might find but she was standing right where I left her, and had eaten up well and drunk. Gave her some sedalin to keep her calm when the others go out and will discuss the swelling with the vet later, I'm particularly worried about the cannon bone swelling as it ends so abruptly. Thanks for all your kind words and stories, i has been so helpful.
 
I have seen a horse walk home four miles from hunting having been kicked , once it was in its stable it stopped wieght bearing.
Vet was called and gave it anti inflamm by injection .
Next morning horse walking round stable vet called in advised turnout my friend turned it out as it turned to walk away to graze the fracture displaced ,I held it for until the vet got back to PTS
Be cautious .
I hope every thing goes well and it's probally not a fracture this horse had a femur fracture so high up.
 
A fracture is possible. We had two at work last year who were ridden back into the yard to be untracked and unable to walk to the wash box. Very strange but vets said it happens.
Both are absolutely fine :)
I'd imagine if you see an improvement this morning though a fracture is unlikely.
Hope she's ok xx
 
Best of luck. From my experience I would think that the fact she was sound coming in from the field is in your favour. My mare got a few fractures in the field when she was about 7 or 8. It took ages for her to hobble in. She's still with me at the age of 19 although not rideable
 
We found my gelding on three legs in the field some years back, it was his front leg just would not walk took us ages to get him to his stable, I was convinced he had broken something the vet said it was possible, his shoulder swelled up like a balloon, we were also told to cross tie over night he had pain killer and two days later he was fine walking almost normal,he had badly pulled his muscles in his shoulder we think he may have gone over in the field, so it may not be a break I will pray that its not please keep us updated on her progress.
 
My boy has had a fracture twice and both times been sound in walk and once only slightly lame in trot. His leg was also very swollen for some time at the site of the kick.

I hope it's more positive news for you and he recovers quickly!
 
Guess it's about how you define a broken leg, these stories about how horses were sound, out hunting etc are a world apart from the 2 horses I've owned who broke their legs, one with a vet at hand who shot the horse straight away and the other who was found dying of shock and certainly wasn't going to walk anywhere.
 
Couldn't come away from this thread without saying that I really hope your boy recovers soon, and that it isn't anything serious x
 
Thank you all so much for your wishes, it must be working because the vet came to see her whilst I was at work and said she felt things were going well. Dolly's swelling is moving down her leg and she is much more comfortable on it. She's still cross tied, anyone got any tips to stop her ropes dragging in her hanging over the door water bucket? I'm so thrilled with her patience, despite only bring 4 and only having her for a few months she has behaved perfectly. I can't wait to be able to untie her, I know it's for her own good but I hate the thought of her being unable to lie down and eat hay off the floor.
 
My old horse had a fractured cannon bone.....he was never lame and I rode him several times before xrays confirmed a fracture.....I only called the vet cos he had a cut following a kick that was very small but not healing.
10 weeks box rest and he was fine...came back to full work.
 
springtime1331 said:
Thank you all so much for your wishes, it must be working because the vet came to see her whilst I was at work and said she felt things were going well. Dolly's swelling is moving down her leg and she is much more comfortable on it. She's still cross tied, anyone got any tips to stop her ropes dragging in her hanging over the door water bucket? I'm so thrilled with her patience, despite only bring 4 and only having her for a few months she has behaved perfectly. I can't wait to be able to untie her, I know it's for her own good but I hate the thought of her being unable to lie down and eat hay off the floor.
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Has she been xrayed?
 
A similar thing has just happened to my 17 month old pony. He was kicked on forearm 2 days ago. I spent most of yesterday waiting for 2 different vets, one xrayed and said unlikely to see anything for 2 weeks so must cross tie till then and potentially for 6 weeks altogether, so I got out with screwdriver and saw to set all cross tie hardware up. He has tie rings above his wither height, one either side of stable door so he can see out and not get so bored. Haynet attached to one of them. Then because he can't quite reach the door hanging bucket if it is on his door I have installed a door width slip rail for it. Quite the handy woman! Does anyone have any ideas to keep him amused? His friend is free range so they talk and touch over the stable door (and he grabs a sneaky mouthful of hay!). Vet also said twice a day let him eat hay off the ground for half an hour so all snot can drain or it may drain into lungs giving him a pneumonia :O good luck. I will keep you posted if you do the same for me!
 
So sorry to hear that, seems even more awful when they're young doesn't it. My girl is tied up at wither height from either side of the door but I'm finding that her ropes constantly drape in her water bucket. Not sure how to stop it. Your set up sounds fab though, and I hope your pony settles ok.
 
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