windgalls - hoping its nothing more sinister? vibes please

[gingerthing]

My TB came in from the field the other day with a couple of small swellings on his hind fetlock which were fluidy to the touch but there was no heat and he didnt mind them being touched. Also happy to weight bear too. Prior to this all I was doing was light schooling and hacking.

vet came out today and she has confirmed that they are windgalls, he pulled up 3/10 lame in trot on the same leg after a flexion test. have been advised to ride him just in walk over the next fortnight and if they still have not gone down then they may need investigating further

Really hoping it is nothing more serious, as he is such a lovely genuine horse and having just had a baby I was hoping to built his fitness back up

 

[Kenzo]

I wouldn't panic, plenty of horses have windgalls and carry work on as normal, you can get different sorts of windgalls, depending on where they and what could be causing them, most of them don’t cause any problems (lameness) and may not anything to worry about, more cosmetic than anything else, although in hindsight it’s better find the route of what’s causing it and because your horse is coming up lame to a degree, then indentifying the problem as soon as would be best, which could mean xrays, also they can be drained but is likely to build up again.

Cold hosing after work and bandaging can help reduce the swelling (for cosmetic reasons) as well as trying magnetic therapy (magnetic boots) although not tried that myself.

They tend to flare up more in hot weather too.

Exercise can also improve them (if there filling due to stiffness) but again you'd need to find out the type and the cause.

Being overworked on hard ground can cause them or youngsters that have done too much work (why they are common in race horses/hunters).

Apparently if you feed clivers (it’s a herb you can buy on the net) its very good for horses that suffer from windgalls and filled legs, acts as diuretic, tonic, useful for supporting and toning the lymphatic system as its rich in silica.

My little TB has them in her hind legs when I got her but she's never been lame with them but I'm also careful not to do too much with her neither.

 

[gingerthing]

Fingers crossed. the windgalls themselves are only very small, he was raced previosly also had very restricted turnout the other week due to all of our fields being sprayed and the ground had been hard due to the lack of rain. He has OCD in the stifles but if regularly worked then he stays sound and doesnt get stiff/locked stifle.

If i was to bandage the leg and worst case it was a problem with a tendon, would this affect it further? ie make him more lame?

 

[joe_carby]

try and massage them with goose fat it has something in it which draws fluid out. very good for tendon sheaths that are swollen and capped hocks aswell.