Splints - Advice Please

[vicm2509]

I know ive posted about them before but just wanted further advice as to when I can bring him back into work properly.

Baron developed a small splint just over 3 weeks ago (it will be 4 weeks on thursday). There has never been any heat in it and he has been sound since I noticed it. I gave him 2 weeks off work but contiued to turn him out, initially with splint boots on to prevent it being knocked but now hes out without them. I cold hosed it every day from the knee down and applied a cool gel.

I brought him back into light work last week, 20 mins either riding or lunging in walk and trot only. Still no heat, still sound and no change in the splint. Also take into account he is in quite a large field with lots of horses so has no doubt been galloping and playing around.

The splint just feels like a very hard lump and feels like its litratrally on the cannon bone (sorry for being vague but I havnt experienced a splint before so im not sure what its supposed to be like). I have not had the vet out to look at it as it doesnt seem to be causing him any problems at all. I got the YO to have a look and he said it looked like a fully formed splint, but im sure it wasnt there before, could I have missed it forming maybe?

This is what it looks like, as you can see its not very big.

So my question is, when can I bring him back into work properly? i.e when can I canter, jump, hack out etc etc. and most importantly start my lessons with him again.

 

[not_with_it]

When my mare got her splint it developed so quickly I never noticed until someone came to try her and they pointed it out to me

(I must be a bad mummy) She was never lame on it but she had a few days off then was back in work.
If he isnt lame then I would continue as normal. It never did my horse any harm.

 

[ihatework]

No heat, no lameness, and if pushed really hard you don't get any sort of reaction from the horse .... sounds like its fully formed to me.
I'd ride as normal.

 

[vicm2509]

No I get no reaction at all, he just happily muches his hay. I thought it might be fully formed but it was wiered as I didnt notice anything until the hard lump appeared. What do they feel like when they are forming?

I have had quite a few people on the yard look at it and they all said to keep him in work, but I got a few replies on my other posts to say to rest him. So I thought better safe than sorry and took him out of work.

So he should be ok to hack and jump etc? Obviously im not going to rush him back into it but will start canter work and light hacking this week maybe?

 

[eventergirl87]

If not heat, hes not sore and 100% sound no problem bringing him fully back into work.

Yup starting with the canter work and hacking like you've said.

 

[Lucy_Ally]

If he's not lame and there is no heat in it, it will have settled down by now so I would start riding normally again, obviously bring him back from his time off slowly but I wouldn't worry about the splint - its a very little one! Avoid to much concussive work (i.e working on hard ground) but he should be pretty much able to return to the level he was at before quite quickly.

 

[4whitesocks]

My boy was in exactly the same boat - when it formed first he was fine....seemed to actually come during a week when he was having a rest anyway, he was fine no heat or anything so he stayed in light work....then it got bigger and he got a little tetchy on it so we rested him for two weeks (but he was still cavorting like a loon in the field) and at the weekend, bizarely, I checked it and it's gone down loads....(even though it felt pretty solid the whole way through) all of this has been over about an 8 week period...he'll let you know if it's bothering him and the ground is much softer now so you should be fine to work him on it....

I'm considering splintex for Sid

 

[bellgave]

what is splintex? will it reduce the size of the splint?

 

[vicm2509]

Im so glad all the replies have been positive, im really looking forward to getting him back into work. We have lots of fields on the yard we can use and a nice soft menage so I will keep clear of the roads for a little longer until im sure its not going to get any worse. Thanks for all the advice

Ive heard some good and some bad reports about splintex. A girl at my yard was using the silver on (for splints under 60 days old) and said it was brilliant, saying that the splint had only been there 2 weeks so it may have just gone down naturally?

If Barons hasnt gone down in 60 days I may have a go at the gold one. My YO said the gold one tends to be better.

Here is their website
http://www.splintex-horsesysinc.com/

You can get if off ebay though.