swollen hind legs puzzled !!

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charlie13

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have just been up to do my horse this morning and went to put his t/o boots on and well they would fit round his hind legs .
his back legs are like balloons ther is no heat at all and can't find any cuts ect. he ha sufferd from mum feaver in the past but not for the last two years. have put him out and hoping they will go down. any one have the same problem dont know if he has had it over the last couuple of days as friend has turned out but haven been swollen getting in . is it worth putting stable bandages on him ??

:)
 
I would agree with happy hunter. My lads back legs get a bit puffy when he stands in too long. It improves if I give him a snack ball as he moves around his stable much more during the night.
However after a short while out they go straight down.
 
My boy always swells over night in the stable so he has stable bandages on every night when he lived in, problem solved.
Just a fluid build up form not moving all night, horses are designed to be on the move all the time, not natural to be living in a 12x12 for hours!!!! You'll find after an hour of being out they'll go back down.:D
 
My horse has recently had this and even one of his front legs started to swell. I had changed his feed a few days earlier so thought maybe it was that?? I asked the vet when his front leg started to swell and he agreed it could be allergy related but said it could also be a number of other things. He checked him, temperature was up a bit so due to this we decided to give him antibiotics and they went down. Vet isnt one to give antibiotics willy nilly but said I could wait to see if they went down if due to feed but if it was anfection then it could get worse.
I did stop the feed too although he has had it before in the past so I suppose I will never know what did cause it. Main thing its gone :)
 
Probably just filled legs. Bandaging will prob keep them down, or you could try magnetic wraps.

If they haven't gone down when you bring him back in, though, it'll be something else. Possibly mudfever or cellulitis, or an allergic reation to something. Check for any scabs/weeping etc.

:)
 
Stable chaps! Have helped my lads legs a lot as he was swelling with the change from out 24/7 to stabled overnight, I originally though it was an allergic reaction to something I’d put on the mudfever… Legs are much better now and stable chaps are so quick and easy to use, plus they come up like new after a spin though the washing machine :D
 
My old girl gets it every year when she's first stabled night, it's just fluid build up due to being in all night, they always go down quickly when she is turned out or ridden, with her I just put it down to age she is 24. I wouldn't recomend magnetic boot unless you are willing to by the really expensive ones as I tried some last winter and my mare who is hardy and never reacts to anything ended up having to be on box rest for about 5 days as they burnt her legs and I couldn't turn her out for fear of infection, she had skin burns down her back legs where the wraps had been and the ones that I bought were middle range about £60 so not the cheap nasty ones, would never use them again.
 
Bovril said:
My old girl gets it every year when she's first stabled night, it's just fluid build up due to being in all night, they always go down quickly when she is turned out or ridden, with her I just put it down to age she is 24. I wouldn't recomend magnetic boot unless you are willing to by the really expensive ones as I tried some last winter and my mare who is hardy and never reacts to anything ended up having to be on box rest for about 5 days as they burnt her legs and I couldn't turn her out for fear of infection, she had skin burns down her back legs where the wraps had been and the ones that I bought were middle range about £60 so not the cheap nasty ones, would never use them again.
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Bovril, would you mind PMing me (if you don't want to post) with details of your boots? I was thinking of getting some magnetic wraps, but have never heard of them burning the horse! Sounds dreadful! Thanks :)
 
This happened to my horse about 2 years ago. Just came up overnight when my horse was in livery at the time. I didn't see it straightaway the morning after, but YO said legs swollen, not heated, exactly as you say. I came up that evening and they were still a bit swollen. Bandaged overnight and next night, but it has never happened before or since. No obvious cause, horse not uncomfortable, nothing out of the usual routine. My horse was just 5 at the time, out all day, stabled at night.

On the same yard was a 16 yo horse, who was bandaged every night due to lymphangitis, but my horse's swelling was just a `one off'. I never did find out what the cause might be, so watching with interest for ideas!
 
re: magnetic boots, I have heard they can burn and I think on the packet mine came in (incidentally, my horse really did not like them and so I never use them now) it does say not to leave them on for more than a length of time eg overnight and not to exercise in them - definitely would take care!
 
thanks everyone have put his stable boots on back legs as they where alot better but still bit puffy planing on clipping him out as legs are just too tooo tooo fluffy and carnt see any thing. hope they stay down :S

have got some magnetic pads so could try that too :)
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There can be lots of causes of swelling in the legs, from cardiac problems to allergic responses to insect and plant stings, or an infection causing lymphangitis. Unfortunately, 'filled legs' are not the harmless condition they're frequently described as, but an early stage of the disease lymphoedema. Horses have evolved to be constantly on the move and their lymphatic systems are very dependent on this. If they have healthy systems they can usually cope with being kept in for periods, but many horses have small problems with their lymphatic vessels which aren't an issue until they are forced into immobility by stabling, at which point the system fails to work adequately and oedema develops. Putting stable bandages on to control this may seem the answer, but the lymphatic vessels are very fine and vulnerable to pressure and the apparent success of stable bandages is an optical illusion. They limit the flow of fluid bringing nutrition to the lower leg tissues, and prevent toxic waste products from being removed. Over time this causes further damage, the oedema becomes worse and the horse may be more prone to conditions like lymphangitis. For more information visit www.equinemld.com
 
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