Thick skin like leather around stifle

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Butterbear

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My old boy has done some damage to his pelvis which has left him a bit uneven behind and very stiff through his off hind. He's been seeing an osteopath who has made some great progress and has seen the vet who has examined him really well and diagnosed an amount of arthritic changes predominantly in that leg. He is having danilon each day to ease the discomfort whilst we straighten out his pelvis and then will see how he goes from there probably continuing it when the weather is cold as those are the days he struggles to get going a bit more.
When I fed him a short while ago I was giving him a really good massage around his quarters which is when I noticed that although the muscles and ligaments are all very tight throughout the stifle region on both sides, his skin is harder and thicker than anywhere else on his body. It isn't any tighter than I would expect with what's happening but even when I pull the skin loose to get some good skin slack, the skin itself is thicker and tough like leather, not soft or pliable.
Does anyone have any ideas as to what could be going on? The skin appears outwardly healthy, no hair loss or any kind of soreness or discomfort.
I'm at a bit of a loss and was wondering what you all thought please?
Thanks in advance x
 
Not something i have heard of before..if it is causing no issues id just let it be for now. Have you been given massages and stretches to do?
 
Thanks Equi. No, I haven't been given any stretches or massages. I'm only massaging through my own instinct and taking him for gentle walks around the field (as advised by osteo) to encourage a bit more movement although he already moves lots with the herd, some days are better than others. The biggest challenge at the moment is getting him to be able to pick up his hind feet. He can only lift one for picking and farrier, he's very uncertain about weight bearing on the other leg and so can't get his foot of the floor for anything other than walking about.
 
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