Strange reaction - leaking pus type liquid on hind quarters

[Troggy]

Got home today and Toffee had strange wet patches all over her hind quarters that were dribbling orangey/brown serum type goo down her legs, she was very hot and also couldn't hold her balance when I picked up her feet. She was fine in herself but I was very concerned so called the vet, who came out.

He gave her a steroid jab (did warn can trigger laminitis, so now I am very worried as she is a bit porky...but he did say it is unusual...), an antibiotic jab and took some blood to test. Also given me a weeks course of antibiotics. Will get blood test results tomorrow.

He said it could either be something she has eaten or inhaled, any ideas? NEVER seen anything like this before, even the vet who is from an equine practice had only seen a few.

It was probably last week as on Saturday she was very slow when hacked, I could barely get her to trot but she is naturally lazy and it was very muggy so it's hard to tell when something is wrong. What concerned me was when picking out her feet after my hack she fell/collapsed. I assumed something made her jump and she lost balance but it now looks like it was part of this reaction, I feel very bad. She had a gentle walk hack on Sunday and was fine but still lacking in beans, again I assumed as muggy and she was in season so can be sluggish.

Any ideas what could cause this? She is out in field now, he said to keep her normal routine (out at night, in at day), just need to keep her weight down without any exercise until she is better...

 

[Thistle]

It sounds like some sort of horrid allergic reaction, could she have rolled on a red ants nest and been bitten?

 

[Troggy]

It's a possibility, he said it definitely wasn't fly bites and did say he thinks it was eaten/inhaled but it could be anything.....

 

[sonovadressage]

Hello!

My horse suffered from this about 5 years ago, exactly as you describe. The vet said it was an allergic reaction which had caused lymphangitis (hope that is spelt right!) He was very sluggish and there was so much of that liquid leaking out of his skin and his hind legs swelled up completely!

We discovered that the only 'new' thing introduced was haylage, so that was cut out immediately and he has never had it since! He got over the episode quicker than I would have expected - just make sure they don't get dehydrated.

You can get 'prick tests' done on horses for allergies just like for humans, but not that many places do it - I think there is a scheme called 'R.E.A.C.T.' or something close to that. But I would try and see what is 'new' - has saddlecloth been washed in new detergent? New feed? New fly spray etc. My horse had a later and much milder reaction to Cribox (the stuff to stop them chewing wood) so it can be anything!

Good luck, hope everything is back to normal soon!

 

[Troggy]

Thank you for your reply!

I haven't changed her feed, her hay is always from the same place (our neighbours) but will change the bale just in case. Don't think I have changed any of her "clothing". Hmmm.
She did have a new bale of bedding on Friday (Megazorb)? Has been on that for years though...it's so hard...Just don't want it to happen again!

Will rack my brains and see if I can think of anything else.

How long did it take for your horse to get back to normal? It's quite scary!

 

[Dressagebabe]

Was the serum coming from the inside of the skin on the legs or did it look like it had dripped down her legs from her Vulva area?

 

[Troggy]

Not it was on her actual hind quarters/the outside of her legs/stifle area too which makes a change as she spends most of her life in season!

 

[Dressagebabe]

Oh ok, I wasn't thinking of it being a season, I wondered if she was suffering from Azoturia! Horses when suffering from this in mild form are sluggish, lazy and a little staggery& stiff, when it gets worse they pee out brownish stained urine (this is the muscles wasting) it can be more common in exsessive heat as they get very hot and sweat too much which produces too much lactic acids. Just a thought!

 

[sqippa]

My boy had a very alarming reaction which sounds similar to yours. Got back from a ride and his legs lilterally swelled and started seeping in front of my eyes. They swelled up to the knees and hocks and were wet and sticky to touch. Luckily he was already on steroids for a respiritory condition otherwise the reaction would have been much worse. Vet thought it was something he had come in contact with and all we could think of was that the fields we had ridden through had signs that they had been sprayed with 'round-up'. It took a good few weeks or couple of months really for it to settle down. It would just flare u[p again without warning. Got the holistic vet out in the end as I really did not want to keep pushing steroids down him. He gave me some homeopathic remedies and some emergency packets to keep in the tack box. Touch wood he seemed to just clear up then. Not sure if it was a fluke but either way that was 4 years ago and we've never had the problem again.

Hope that you can get tp the bottom of what triggered it or if you can't, then that you at least don't come across it again. It is quite alarming!!

Sqip.

 

[H's mum]

Oh no poor Toffee!

The brown stuff seeping through the skin sounds like Lymph fluid to me - She's probably had an alergic reaction to something (nettles? Maybe even a wasp sting)- you may find that the fluid will drain further down her legs - It always reminds me of Ghee floating on top of your take away curry! yeeewww!!!

Hope the medication works quickly -I'm sure it will do!
Kate x

 

[Troggy]

Thanks for that, it does sound similiar but I think it may be a reaction although I will mention this when the vet phones with blood test results.

 

[Troggy]

On Wednesday part of our hack was through a crop field (on a track!!) but she does try and grab mouthfulls

so it could have been sprayed? I always stop her when possible and pull it out of her mouth if she manages to succeed.
Interesting about the alternative treatment, thanks for the info

 

[Troggy]

Lol that ghee description is spot on

Vet said nettles first but then wasn't sure as she is symetrical with her swollen bits on her hind quarters and there wasn't really a "rash" with it. She has rolled in nettles before and got a typical nettle rash all over. Plus they're only round the edge of the field at the moment

He seemed more to think it was something eaten/inhaled

She was less hot this morning and no more leaks but I still couldn't pick up her offside feet without her losing balance

Still an improvement though

 

[the watcher]

This skin reaction can be an allergic response to something ingested. It started with hives or bumps (you might have missed this stage) then plasma leaks out from them.

The kindest thing you can do, if your vet agrees, is to give anti histamines and cool sponge your horse several times through out the day to reduce temperature. Try not to use anything other than water.

 

[henryhorn]

Sorry to hear about this, the gooey stuff will be serum which is released when something really irritates the skin.
I would feed her aloe vera in good amounts in her feed to help calm it all down as well as the vet treatment.
It sounds like a reaction to some sort of insect bite, you didn't have hornets about did you because we had a horse with a similar description and found the hornet returning time and time again to attack again.
Was there any blood on her coat even a small amount?
I've also seen this serum leaking from legs that had bandages left on overnight, whether it was the dye or the heat I don't know.
I would expect the medication to sort her out quite quickly but I would go and check for bite marks on her just incase..

 

[Troggy]

She has improved a fair bit now so will investigate later but she is still very touchy about it and still wobbles/loses balance so may have to wait a few more days. The vet was convinced it was something eaten/inhaled but now it has reduced a bit, she is more more sore on her off hind and has "ridges" down the front of her leg, whish is only on that once side. If she lets me I'll see if I can have a look but I may have to wait for the next time the vet is here....!
Luckily the leaking has stopped and the heat has reduced but it's still quite noticable. Vet is coming back out on Tuesday to make sure all is ok so will suggest the hornet route to him but I haven't seen any about. Plus it started off as a slight reaction at the weekend as she collapsed/fell then, she didn't get her full reaction until Monday?

It's all most odd but thankfully she seems to be on the mend

Thanks