self diagnosis

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PaintboxEDT

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do you do this or call the vet every time ?
not talking about minor cuts ect but bigger things !

my boy has been lame for the last 3 days and has a couple of lumps just above his fetlock at the back his front leg,hes bandaged up and on box rest for a couple of days,he has been out as i wanted to see if hed walk it of and didnt want him getting stiff and swollen in the stable,no change but no worse so have surcome to box rest of which he doesnt like !! im sure hes pulled something running around like a loon,i will call the vet if its no better soon
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what do you do ??
 
i know what the vet will say,box rest and bute or danilon,he is on cortaflex anyway,hes more than happy munching away and pouring the ground wanting to go out !!
its catches him more when turning or on uneven ground not so bad walking on the flat
 
Personally I think it depends on your own knowledge and experience.

If I was pretty sure I knew what it was and thought it did not need vetinary attention I would not call the vet. But after a week I probably would just to be sure.
 
I always call the vet I have learnt my lesson with that in the past as I my old horse went lame and everyone said give it a few days it will be fine...anyway it wasnt it turned out she had a restricted anular ligament and everytime she moved it was damaging her tendons. Luckily she recovered from it but it could have been much worse if I had left it for a week or so like some of my friends suggested! Also I think I would rather have a £50 vets bill to be told its nothing than £1000 one because I had left something to get worse
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Sorry to be negative, but sounds similar to my mare and she has now been off since November as she had actually injured her annular ligament and SDFT! She was barely lame, not much swelling and I thought box rest, but called the vet when it was no better.
 
thought splints were on the front of the leg ?? sorry to sound stupid,hes 21 and has been a carriage horse all his life his legs are as strong as an ox and never had splints before !
 
Splints form below the knee, can be halfway between knee and fetlock. If the swellings are just above the fetlock they are probably windgalls and most likely mothing to do with the lameness.

Have you checked for heat in the foot?
 
in this situation i would call the vet if its been three days and no improvement, as the horse is on loan i would call the owners and say i was worried and would like to ask the vets opinion even over the phone as i have done a number of times that way they could say leave a day or two and then get them out or the horse needs looking at now.
 
if he is lame on the turn/uneven ground that could suggest foot pain..
as you have already box rested him for a few days and it has not helped i would get the vet to look at him ASAP...
 
If he's not improved after after the first three days, I'd be calling the vet. I might wait a bit longer if he was getting better.
 
as ive said i already called owner he told me to wait and see in a couple of days,its his first day of box rest today il see how he is in a min when i go to muck out,there is no pain in the foot or heat just the 2 lumps,he is a 17hh gelderlander and doesnt like being in much hes a heavy horse so its bound to hurt a bit !!!
 
I also would call a vet at three days ish. My horse went lame last year, I poulticed and box rested for a week then she was sound. I started riding and she went lame again, and I called the vet two weeks after the initial lameness. Turnes out she'd torn a tendon, and I can't help thinking that if I had called the vet earlier I could have been doing so much more to help her and she may not now be written off. Cuts etc. fair enough, you can tell what they are, but anything unknown I would call a vet - that's what they're trained for, and I don't see how anyone can say "I know what the vet will say..." unless you're one yourself!
That's a difficult situation though, as the owners have said to wait - if the horse is in pain then I would be inclined to ignore the owner and get the vet anyway, it's you who is in charge of looking after the horse, and if the owner hasn't even seen him... one of my "charges" went lame the other day, just slightly, and was worse yesterday so I called the owner straight away who went over to see her and decide for herself. If she hadn't been able to go over I would have got the vet, better safe than sorry with someone else's horse!
Fingers crossed for a splint which resolves itself quickly!
 
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