Splints

[Ginger Bear]

My boy was on/off lame over a couple of weeks & so I gave him 2 weeks rest with turnout in a small sick paddock where I can keep my eye on him, after 10 days a friend noticed he has a bump appear on the outside of his off fore, quite a decent size bump at that! He was due his jabs last week & so I got the vet to check it over, he confirmed a splint & advised me to carry on resting him & turning him out in the small paddock as I had been. It has been another 6 days since he has seen the vet, I trotted him on a loose lunge in the soft sand ménage tonight. He is sound on the left rein but still on/off lame on the right, although there is an improvement & the splint has reduced in size.
Does anyone have any experience with splints, how long they take to settle etc?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Birker2020]

Lameness can still be apparent up to two weeks, but in some situations can take a couple of months to go away whilst its in the acute phase of inflammation and new bone is laid down. Once you can apply hard pressure to the splint and the horse is not reacting then you can continue work.

The splint will reduce in size although it will always be present.

The vets used to put DMSO on a splint with a brush but not sure if they still offer this treatment. You have to be careful with DMSO and it should be applied wearing rubber gloves to prevent human absorption and possible side effects.

The area being treated should be thoroughly washed and dried prior to application of DMSO, to avoid carrying un\wanted drugs or other substances through the skin. In particular, any liniments or rubs, particularly iodine or mercury compounds, should be removed thoroughly. DMSO will carry these through the skin and cause a severe inflammatory reaction.

Other treatments are the application of ice, through ice boots, ice cupping and cold hosing. Pressure bandaging to support the legs are recommended.

Splint are caused by poor conformation, work on hard and uneven footing and unbalanced feet and sometimes horses can kick themselves and develop a splint.

 

[Ginger Bear]

Thanks for your reply applecart14, will be ringing the vet tomorrow to see if he thinks I should just give him more time.

 

[Birker2020]

Thanks for your reply applecart14, will be ringing the vet tomorrow to see if he thinks I should just give him more time.

No probs. I am a great believer in ice, ice and more ice! I really do think it works wonders in some situations.
Hope the vet gives you some positive news x

 

[Blimpy]

Definitely lots of icing to minimize the inflammation at the initial stages. I've had splints rumble on for up to 6 months before. I think the most important thing is not to start back work when the splint is still active. Its needs to be consistently cold and feel solid (like bone) before its settled. It also depends where its located. Sometimes they will never be lame with a splint at all and it will cause no issues.