Well the vet's been.. and he has an idea of what is wrong..

charleysummer

charleysummer

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'Windgall' he thinks, of the ligament in the fetlock- i wasnt there as i was at school but my mum said he pressed on the fetlock and she about went through the roof- she got a lot worse again today and the vet said her lameness was severe. Has anyone had experience of similar situation? she's going in for scans possibly tmorrow but for now shes on box rest and bute and alot of hay to stop her getting bored!

certainly box rest for two months, and potentially six. =/ but this isnt certain, scans will show up more.
 
my horse has small windgalls but movement has always helped to keep them down, if he stands in the stable the fluid builds and they swell. bandaging helps also. never heard of box resting because of them. i think field rest in a small pen would be ideal so she cant run around as concussion can make them worse but so shes moving enough to keep all the fluid moving.
but then im not vet so could be talking guff! ;-)
 
That is exactly what i thought.. i dont know its all very confusing- she's going to horsey hospital monday morning for further tests so i guess more will be revealed then, at the minute she is much happier on bute and as long as she is happier thats good enough for now- then monday i'll have to think about the bigger problems :/
 
Windgalls generally don't require box rest so I would imagine that this is not the main issue. I would be very very careful of box rest. It is all too quickly prescribed by vets that don't know your horses personality. Putting them in a small pen instead of box rest is far better. the horse doesn't go stir crazy, muscles stay stronger and reahbbing is easier. If you do 2-6 months box rest and then your horse blows a gasgit you will be right back at square one which completely defeats the object. Just think very carefully before doing it. Good luck
 
I think the clue is in your title "he has an IDEA of what is wrong"!!!

I'd go back to the drawing board and get another opinion, I've never heard of windgalls making a horse really lame, nor requiring box rest. Very strange.
 
charleysummer said:
'Windgall' he thinks, of the ligament in the fetlock- i wasnt there as i was at school but my mum said he pressed on the fetlock and she about went through the roof- she got a lot worse again today and the vet said her lameness was severe. Has anyone had experience of similar situation? she's going in for scans possibly tmorrow but for now shes on box rest and bute and alot of hay to stop her getting bored!

certainly box rest for two months, and potentially six. =/ but this isnt certain, scans will show up more.
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Sounds like a tendon sheath strain to me. I think injections, box rest and stable bandages will sort it very quickly. Sounds like your vet in erring on the side of caution. However, if it is a tendon sprain/tear then this is potentially more severe your horse may well need six months box rest, and inflam injections and possibly remedial shoeing to build up the heels and take the pressure off the tendon.

Here is a link http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/horsecare/article.php?aid=102457
 
Andalucian said:
I'd go back to the drawing board and get another opinion......
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Me too. Windgalls aren't exactly hard to diagnose so if he's not sure and is still ordering (costly, no doubt!) tests and exams, I'd ask another vet in pronto.

As for box rest for almost all injury - please don't do it. Shoes off if possible, then out in a small paddock with friends nearby, hay and the ability to move about a little more freely. Sedatives if needs be, but not boxed up and slowly going mad. I've seen too many horses ruined for life with that unjust method.
 
HazellB said:
As for box rest for almost all injury - please don't do it. Shoes off if possible, then out in a small paddock with friends nearby, hay and the ability to move about a little more freely. Sedatives if needs be, but not boxed up and slowly going mad. I've seen too many horses ruined for life with that unjust method.
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OP please go with your Vets recomendations, sometimes Box rest is very necessary & a route to fixing the horse not ruining it.

Im quite offended by above post tbh, i have a horse on Box rest atm we've completed 7 weeks now, i cannot T/O at all & i dont feel the need to go into his injury but it's serious. We tried a Small paddock for quite a while & it didnt help the injury at all.
My horse is doing brilliantly mentally on Box rest & certainly will not be ruined by it, if anything it will save his life i don't know how you could say it's an unjust method.
 
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I think without telling you what to do... Listen to your vet, not people who do not know your horse or you.
If you are paying someone to look at your horse and they advise box rest, then its up to you to do it or not.
Wingalls are sometimes the sign of other issues, so err on the side of caution.
Hopefully your horse will be fine, keep us posted.
 
Ditto the people who say tendon injury. I've seen loads of windgalls and they have never been associated with pain on palpation, let alone lameness. Ask your vet if he is trying not to scare you by saying tendonitis, tendonosis or tendon strain. If he says that he really means windgalls, get a second opinion because his use of the term windgalls in that situation might suggest that he is not an equine vet and might not be the best person to advise you. Is he a cat and dog vet who does horses as a sideline, or does he only do horses?
 
Windgalls generally don't cause pain as they are just a small leak in the tendon sheath and generally go down with exercise.

I've never had problems with horses on extended box rest, they do eventually resign themselves to it. Initial turnout though should be controlled in a safe smallish area and under sedation.
 
thankyou for the replies, i have made a small pen for her on the grass to help her mental health- although she isnt out on it for too long, i couldn't really shut her up 24/7 as shes been living out for ages- the vet did say i could let her out in a small pen.

I thought it would have been tendon but when the vet came he closley looked at the tendons- and we've had a physiotherapist examine them and they seem fine, but when the vet pressed the back of the fetlock just above the hoof she about hit the roof- but the scans etc will be done on monday to investigate. but if anyone has any idea what else it could be i'd love to hear
 
You are doing absolutely the right thing, follow your vets advice to the letter & go for the scan on Monday, then you will have a diagnosis & can move forward with a treatment plan. Pain in the area you mention could indicate a tear in the DDFT or annular ligament problems, or both. This would present with a wndgall type swelling. You are right to restrict movement, if she has some type of tear you do not want it to worsen. Good luck with the scan, let us know on Monday.
 
kizzywiz said:
You are doing absolutely the right thing, follow your vets advice to the letter & go for the scan on Monday, then you will have a diagnosis & can move forward with a treatment plan. Pain in the area you mention could indicate a tear in the DDFT or annular ligament problems, or both. This would present with a wndgall type swelling. You are right to restrict movement, if she has some type of tear you do not want it to worsen. Good luck with the scan, let us know on Monday.
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thanks, and do you know what the outlook is for a horse with this problem? and also what may have caused it.
 
Straightforward thickening of the annular ligament is fairly common, it gets tighter & tighter round the tendon, causing build up of fluid & lameness, they can operate to cut the ligament & remove the constriction, it is straightforward keyhole surgery with good prognosis. Tear to DDFT sometimes happens along with the annular ligament, or on its own. The outlook for this is not so favourable, my pony Kizzy has not come sound following annular ligament/DDFT surgery a year ago, I have however had 3 legs operated on for annular ligament on 1 pony, she came back really good & competed till she was quite old. Kizzy had the surgery on her back leg & came back well, it was the front leg injury that didn't go well. Just wait & see what they say on Monday, PM me if you want any help & support. xx
 
Thankyou :) i'd like that, it is very difficult at the minute i've never had a horse injured before. i'll post what they say on monday. Glad yours made a recovery- luckily shes taken quite well to the box rest and seems to quite like it, she's always keen to go in- i suppose haynets, licks and various yummy things are quite tempting!
 
Hi Charley,

My horse had a windgall come up at the beginning of the year, it got larger and firmer during the summer and then around august time he didn't feel quite right on that leg whilst schooling. I got the vet out and she suspected it was something to do with the tendon. We took him in to be scanned and it showed the tendon sheath was inflamed. He had it injected, bandaged and he was put on box rest. The bandage came off 2 weeks later and the windgall had gone. He's still on box rest, had bandages on at night and is doing 5 mins inhand walking twice a day, increasing by an extra 5 mins each week. Got another 2 weeks to go until his next check up. So far everything is looking good although the vet did say that if it comes back he will need the opperation.

Fingers crossed that it all works out for you xxxx
 
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