Splints - what's your view on treatment?

monikirk

monikirk

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I think my friesian has developed a splint - there seems to be several contradicting views on treatment. Some people recommend rest - others say after initial few days of soreness start walking out and commence light trotting when level.
Interested to know what others do with their neds.
 
im really careful on road work with my eventers, i hardly trot on the roads, mainly walk work and only canter on good ground so splints here luckily dont happen very often but im blessed with facilities and hacking.
My xrace has had a few splints though, i use alot of car, day and martin ice blue and use that in the morning and a few times again after work and i cold hose. I stick to light walking on the roads and lightish schooling work as well until the heat has gone from them, luckily all my have always gone down.
I do have a mare here though 17 yrs old and she has the biggest splint i have ever seen on her leg due to the previous owner hammering around the roads for up to 4 hours at a time. i have had her 6 months and occasionally it still has a little heat in it but it is settleing down nicely.
 
Thanks for advice - he had one a couple of years ago which subsided. He's quite a big lad but I don't do any hard trotting - one thing he does do is a ground shuddering startle when he jumps at monsters! I will just keep the walking up and watch out for any heat. :)
 
My Friesian started developin a splint after he was backed , it was at the end of summer going into winter time , I cold hosed it or put a press on it then gave him rest for the whole winter , luckily it has gone down and
He is being brought back into work but very slowly and absolutely no hard work so no trotting etc on hard ground
 
Years ago we used to use DMSO on splints.....is it still available?? Managed to reduce one the size of an egg once and horse went on to win in the show ring big time.

Agree though, prevention is better than cure, but to be honest, unless they are sited anywhere near a tendon/lig they are generally just cosmetic IME, so for hunters nowadays, no longer really worry.
 
I'd always rest it until it has settled down and is completely cold all the time before I even thought about working it. Most subside with time and are purely cosmetic; if that matters to you the DMSO was always good but novices need to take extreme caution when using it and it shouldn't be used willy-nilly either.

Don't think that hard work on hard ground is the only reason for them; youngsters can get them easily in the field, it could be a blow from another limb or it could be the horse pushed beyond its limits before it is fit enough which happens all too often now most people only use schools; why do you think hunters do their six weeks of walking on the roads before they start doing anything too strenuous? - it's to harden up their limbs and tendons, just the same as any horse/human should if it's going to be asked to work hard doing any repetitive work for any length of time.
 
My 4 year old came in witha small ur to back leg, which then developed into a large spilt , I left well alone and now 3 months later cut all healed up , but large splint there but does not seem to bother him at all, I only walk on roads any way and always would.
 
None of mine have had them, but if they had id have used DMSO and rest if the splint is still soft, when the splint hardens as long as theres no lameness, id start walking out gradually building up work.
 
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