Resting one leg/raised digital pulse & some heat but no lameness?

TotalMadgeness

TotalMadgeness

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I noticed my big guy has been resting his right hind foot a lot over the last 2 days. Being hypervigilant as always because of the risk of laminitis I check his digital pulses daily (he is negative to EMS/Cushings but is managed very carefully with grass as can put on weight VERY easily) & I have noticed his pulse is stronger in that leg only - other legs normal (can't feel a pulse). There is no heat in the hoof (normal temp) and no reaction to calipers. This morning the outside temp was pretty cold and so as well as the normal checks I felt his leg and noticed it was warm compared to the other 3 legs which were cold. Can't feel any swelling though - the leg just feels warmer than the others (entire leg). Outside temp this morning was probably -1 / -2.

I noticed yesterday he'd developed two thin cracks running parallel from coronet to bottom of hoof on the outer wall. Also noticed a small round bruise on the front. He's had stuff like this before and not been affected but I don't know if this time it is a sign of something going on. Might just be a red herring.

His weight is good - he's not fat, he's in good spirits, moving nicely in the school & there is no pottering/reluctance to move on hard ground. Today I'm going to get non horsey OH to trot him up for me on hard ground & turn him on a circle to see if I can spot anything amiss.

He has bone spavin in both hinds - although he's been great since his osphos injection (last November?). I can't see signs of stiffness and judging by his muscle tone he's still using his right quarters well (he used to be very flabby on the right hind side and muscly on the left).

The only thing that's different than usual is that his soles/frogs are very dry - there has been so little rain for weeks (I live in Scotland so no rain for this length of time is practically unheard of). So his frogs are more dried out/cracked than normal but other than that I can't see / smell anything weird.

Is there anything else I should be checking/doing?

Thank you if you made it to the end!
 
Gosh, you are a very vigilant owner, well done. There might be something brewing, but until there is something more in evidence it would be hard to know where to pinpoint. OK, I'm not a vet, but just thinking it through .......... Ultimately the vet is the person to consult.

A raised digital pulse with no lameness could well indicate pre laminitis and mean that you would in a position to prevent it getting worse by prompt action. But normally laminitis first presents in front hooves. Otherwise it indicates that there is "something" going on like an infection.

I think I would soak the foot in water with a handful of Epsom salts or just ordinary salt. This would soften the foot, give it a good clean and let you inspect it and if there was something in the crack maybe get it out. You could perhaps poultice the foot and see what happens? Get some Red Barn field clay which is slightly antiseptic and can go into the frog and cracks in the hoof wall.

I'm not worried about the hoof being very dry, horses live in dry places very happily, it is just that we are not used to it.
 
Orangehorse said:
Gosh, you are a very vigilant owner, well done. There might be something brewing, but until there is something more in evidence it would be hard to know where to pinpoint. OK, I'm not a vet, but just thinking it through .......... Ultimately the vet is the person to consult.

A raised digital pulse with no lameness could well indicate pre laminitis and mean that you would in a position to prevent it getting worse by prompt action. But normally laminitis first presents in front hooves. Otherwise it indicates that there is "something" going on like an infection.

I think I would soak the foot in water with a handful of Epsom salts or just ordinary salt. This would soften the foot, give it a good clean and let you inspect it and if there was something in the crack maybe get it out. You could perhaps poultice the foot and see what happens? Get some Red Barn field clay which is slightly antiseptic and can go into the frog and cracks in the hoof wall.

I'm not worried about the hoof being very dry, horses live in dry places very happily, it is just that we are not used to it.
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Thanks! I am hypervigilant because my neighbours' horses have had so many laminitis / colic scares (colic caused by the grass) and both my horses are so prone to rapid weight gain I just can't take the risk. The big guy also had a thankfully brief experience of laminitis in the past (very quickly dealt with and very distinct with bounding pulse in all 4 legs, plus footiness & reluctance to move).

Funnily enough I have some of that clay somewhere and a hoof cleansing spray... Mind you I've had it for a few years so it will be well out of date!! I was thinking of soaking his foot yesterday mainly because it was so dry & cracked but wasn't sure if it was the right thing to do. After his trot up today I'll treat him to a foot spa and get my hubby to hold up his foot so I can inspect it properly.
 
I'd be more inclined to suspect an abcess brewing than laminitis given it is only one leg but either way, the only thing you can do is just keep an eye, if it gets worse hopefully it will become more apparent. Tubbing the foot would be a good idea although, if he is not lame, I would not expect any abcess to be ready to burst.
 
I would think abscess also. Although not unheard of i wouldn't expect laminitis to present in the hind feet first.

Especially if there are cracks in the hoof wall, he could have a bit of gravel or infection. I would hot poultice it for a few days with epsom salts if you have them and turn him out.
 
Yep he's definitely not lame. I had hubby trot him up & down the road at lunchtime and video'd him in slo mo. Tracking up, no nodding, equal footfall, just a nicely balanced straight trot. He's still resting the foot and has a pulse though. The ground is so very hard/dry at the moment and this is extremely unusual so I just wonder if he can't cope too well with it. His right hind is the one most affected by bone spavin too, and it is the one he is most likely to drag/not use effectively. When you turn him in a circle he never crosses it as well as the left hind either. So its a problem leg I guess!
 
UPDATE

My boy suddenly went lame in canter when ridden on Monday - he was going fine up until that point. Vet out Tuesday, reckons it could be tendon sheath/suspensory ligament branch. So he's being booked into the clinic for investigations.
 
TotalMadgeness said:
UPDATE

My boy suddenly went lame in canter when ridden on Monday - he was going fine up until that point. Vet out Tuesday, reckons it could be tendon sheath/suspensory ligament branch. So he's being booked into the clinic for investigations.
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Ah, that's bad luck. Mendable though, hope all is well.

I once had a vet out to mare with swollen leg below the knee. She had a prod and a feel and said tendon, box rest for 6 weeks. So I wrapped up her leg in stable bandages. When I unwrapped the bandage the next morning there was a nice splodge of pus - so luckily for me and the horse it wasn't a tendon but the tiniest, tiniest little cut under her knee that had become infected and her leg swelled up terribly. She was fine the next day.
 
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