Swollen tendons half way up one leg.. Which factor is to blame?

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Annsboroughlady

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Hi, a week ago my mother and I bought a mare from a woman we know, the mare's feet were in bad condition (too long and cracked) and she was on a 14 acre paddock with youngsters being used as a nanny. Before we got the mare, named Kikki, the lady rasped the rough edges off her feet (but they still need done by the farrier) and we took her to our livery (just a walk down the road) this was her first time out of her field in two years.. the past 2 days her tendon on her right front has been swollen but only half way up the leg. She lives out with the herd on about 1/2 - 1 acre of paddock and comes in for a couple of hours a day just to be messed with. We are doing sessions of ground work that last less than 20 minutes and its either in the rubber and sand school or a paddock but the ground is fairly hard, we are only walking but she does run around in the field which isn't too hard but not exactly soft either. Her tendons were hosed last night. What do you think could be the cause of the swelling?
Our thoughts were: Moving around less (grasping at straws but you never know)
Walking differently since her feet have been rasped

Today I was thinking about wrapping it with vet wrap and some cooling gel for a bit while she is in the stable. Although there is no heat, the cooling gel is just for the anti-inflammatory properties. I was also thinking of giving bute for the same reason plus, although she isn't lame she is very tender footed on the stones.
Sorry for the long question I just really want to get this mare sorted out, she is amazing- not been out the field in two years and she hasn't put a foot wrong! Thank you in advance
 
When she took her feet back was the mare before rasping sitting back a lot on her feet or were they only slightly long? May I ask to see a photo of her feet :) we had one go lame after having his feet taken back a lot and turned out was an infection in the wall of the foot. Very long shot though but he showed tendon swelling.
 
I will get a picture tonight for you and yeah, they were pretty bad, she still has 2 cracks in her foot.. That's what I forgot to include, I thought the swelling was due to the crack right up her right front hoof up to the coronet band. When we saw her, her hoof had gone into toes and everything.
At the minute, basically her toe is way too long and her heel, too short.
 
I looked after a mare a while back who had similar and sound too, think vet said it was her check ligament, though may be confusing her with another! Anyway it was due to her hooning about on hard ground. We were told to cold hose and do gentle work for a week.

I would get vet if it doesn't go after a few days, just in case its something more sinister.
 
That's what we were thinking, just to do what we can and if it doesn't go get the vet out. Would you wrap it for a bit or just hose it? I was thinking wrap for compression but don't usually deal with swellings
 
Annsboroughlady said:
That's what we were thinking, just to do what we can and if it doesn't go get the vet out. Would you wrap it for a bit or just hose it? I was thinking wrap for compression but don't usually deal with swellings
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The fact that you are considering wrapping this kind of swelling with vetwrap indicates you do not know enough about what you are dealing with. Get a vet and farrier. She has feet trouble, a swelling in a very delicate part of the the leg and I would guess actually is lame. Maybe not hopping lame, but lameness that a trained eye would see. Do the right thing by the horse, get the vet and for heaven's sake do not wrap it with vetwrap.
 
She is not lame at all, I trotted her: sound, she then cantered (of her own accord): sound. A friend had the physio out and when she was trotting, I asked her if she was sound and she said she looked fine. The farrier was contacted earlier in the week about her feet before the swelling occurred and is coming on Friday. I see no point in the vet coming just to charge me £35 call out and £15 examination to tell me her leg is swollen and to keep her moving. She isn't in pain as she is a vocal mare and would have shown signs of pain- which she hasn't. Her leg was hosed and checked when she came in and she is back in the field. If her leg hasn't gone down in the next few days or she becomes lame I will call the vet but it has already gone down some after we went for a walk.
 
Annsboroughlady said:
She is not lame at all, I trotted her: sound, she then cantered (of her own accord): sound.
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Mine did the same 2 years ago, completely sound too (experienced lameness vet agreed). Didn't mean he didn't have extensive and serious tendon and ligament damage with a very poor prognosis indeed. I was lucky, he has (just) come back into work.

I'd be box resting, doing intensive cold hosing/icing and calling the vet out to scan. Hope it is nothing serious but 'not being lame' doesn't mean that there isn't a serious injury. Unless you are an expert bandager I would strongly advise against bandaging, it's not worth risking further damage.
 
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is not lame but is tender footed?

we have one at work that both flat and jumping instructor said was sound, the rider and myself said was lame-vet agreed was lame 1/10th, nerve blocked, scanned and xrayed has damage to the suspensory (minor damage) 4 wks box rest then re scan with a view to 6 wks walk work, re scan and hopefully keep increasing work, but because the scans were delayed by at least a week as people kept saying she was sound there is a fair amount of fibrous tissue where the ligament has tried to heal but has not been rested this makes the prospect of a full recovery less likely.

i agree with other get the vet-swelling over a tendon is never good, do not put vet wrap on it
 
She is only tender footed as she was on too much grass when we got her and it was really short so pure sugar plus, she isn't used to walking on stones (she's barefoot) as when she is on grass or in the school she is fine. If the physio said she is sound and said to leave it then I am not spending £45 because the vet will just say to keep her moving. We have been cold hosing and it has gone down so going to continue for a few days as a preventative. There really is no need for the vet.
 
That's a very big risk you are taking and I hope for your horse's sake it is worth it.

I'd say £45 for peace of mind that my horse didn't have a potentially serious injury is an absolute bargain, personally. If I didn't, and I hadn't called them, then I wouldn't have a live horse now.
 
She is fine now though and plus our TRUSTED physio agreed with what I was saying that basically the vet was gonna come out say: "Her tendons are swollen. Keep her moving." I asked if the physio thought she needed any treatment as she said she had a free slot and she came in, felt the tendons messed with her leg said to continue as we were and leave her out.
If I thought she needed the vet I would have got the vet, if her tendons swell again I will call the vet but I was just asking the question to get other people's opinions on what caused it not to tell me to get the vet- if I thought it was necessary I would have done.
 
Few years ago my horse had a swelling. Not lame in my, quite experienced, opinion. Took him to dressage as was already planned as he was a big wuss of a horse and I assumed he would let me know if he was hurting in any way. Came 4th in a big class, 7 for paces ... Swelling still there so a few days later vet was on yard for something else and had a look. Recommended scanning ... Suspensory ligament was badly damaged. Any more damage and he'd not just have been lame but also hound fodder. Through his rehab he never took a lame step, but scanning showed the healing. All good now :)

The swelling can be nothing, or it can in fact be something serious. Pain is an odd thing with horses, not always predictable/.
 
I've heard a few stories similar, I'm very sorry to hear about your experience. The mare is not in ridden work and her swelling has gone down. She was new in the field so did lots of running around, the lady we got her off took too much off her feet too soon. The farrier will be here on Friday to check them properly and before anyone says to get him earlier, we can't he lives far away and can't get in touch with the next best.
 
Physiotherapists are not qualified to diagnose or offer advise on veterinary treatment. What's more, the physio should not even touch your horse without your vet's consent.

And to recap... Swollen tendon = vet. It's as simple as that.
 
amymay said:
Im wondering what the purpose of this post was.....
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Me too .... Like so many posts, I suspect the purpose is to get to justification for not doing the right thing - In this instance calling the vet for a damaged tendon, as it is 'a waste of £35'
As an aside, would like to meet a vet who said to keep a horse with a swollen tendon moving. Bizarre.
 
Bestdogdash said:
Amymay is spot on - get a vet and stop talking rubbish. Not sure you should have a horse if you know so little.
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I'm not talking rubbish thank you very much. A professional as looked at her agrees with what we are saying. I've had horses for years and all well looked after: everytime the vet, farrier or physio/osteopath come out they say how well our horses are doing and looking. I came on here to ask what people think the CAUSE may be- not rant on at me to get the vet and insult my horsemanship. I have admitted that we don't have much experience with swellings that is why I asked the physio for advice on what to do and she said to leave her out and cold hose. There was no heat, no lameness (even to the trained eye) and she is still showing no signs of pain to be touched or messed with around where the swelling was as she is not moving away, lifting the leg unless asked to or shutting down and the swelling has gone down completely. She is happy to walk, trot and canter of her own accord so stop giving me abuse about getting the vet, the farrier is coming on Friday if it swells again or she becomes lame before then I will get the vet. I love my horses and always have their best interest in mind hence why I am prepared to put the time and effort into this mare so that she can have the best life possible.
 
TwoStroke said:
Physiotherapists are not qualified to diagnose or offer advise on veterinary treatment. What's more, the physio should not even touch your horse without your vet's consent.

And to recap... Swollen tendon = vet. It's as simple as that.
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She had vet consent as she has seen her before and she was looking at her as a friend as we know her well. To anyone who is telling me this is a useless post or to get the vet, please stop. Unless you have a genuine comment about anything in the actual post like the two things I think may have cause the swelling (WHICH IS GONE!) please don't bother.
 
That your physio thought he/she was qualified to diagnose a lower leg problem, really just indicates they are incompetent.

I am always keen to avoid unneccesary vet fees, but have sufficient experience to have a good guess at the cause of swellings, you clearly have no idea. If the tendon is swollen you get the vet & put the horse on box rest immediately - end of. It is you who claims the tendon is swollen - such a bizarre attitude.
 
Op, you ended your original post saying you wanted to get the mare sorted. This can be achieved by getting a vet. Every poster has told you this. What aren't you getting?
 
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