Would you call the vet...?

[chungalung]

Just wondering what you'd do if you were in my situation -

Horse has came out of stable a couple of days ago with a slightly filled/swollen foreleg. It's filled/swollen from just above the fetlock to the fetlock. There's a TINY bit of heat on the outside. However, there is NO lameness. The swelling is disappearing completely in the day, but returning every night (stabled from 4:30pm - 9am at present).
Would you call the vet now / would you have called immediately or would you wait?
He has windgalls on both back legs, so at first i thought it was something to do with maybe developing it on this fore leg?

Any ideas?

Thank u!

C. x

 

[Seahorse]

I had the same problem with my horse and phoned the vet who advised me over the phone.
He said that horses were very bad at getting rid of fluid that builds up in their legs. The best thing to do is ride and turnout as much as possible and bandage overnight. As long as he wasn't lame of course then it would be a different thing altogther!

Is yours the sort of vet that would come out or would they advise you over the phone?

My horses legs are now fine and I no longer need to bandage him now as his legs stay down when stabled!

 

[faerie666]

I probably would get the vet out with this, especially if there are no cuts or scabs etc to be found. The area you describe would fill if the horse had damaged it's annular ligament, which wouldn't necessarily show any lameness.

 

[only_me]

my pony used to get filled legs when he was in the stable, and he was only 9, so i just assumed that he stood in one place for most of the night. he had no lameness in all the time that i had him (including half a year when he threw a splint- still wasnt lame), and the filling went as soon as he got a walk around outside.

i never got the vet out, as assumed that he would just think that it was caused by standing in one spot for a while - like humans. so left him be and was fine!

if there was a lot of heat i would be slightly worried, but if the filling disapears during the day then i would just assume that its because he was in at night and didnt move around a lot... like people's feet swell up when its hot

but this was in my case, as its really up to you whether you call the vet!

 

[Shilasdair]

A couple of thoughts
1. Many horses suffer from filling in all four legs when stabled overnight, especially elderly horses or those who have been in hard work. Exercise usually means the filling disappears.
2. In the OP's post, it specifically mentions one foreleg with heat on the outside. As it is only one leg, with a specific area of filling and heat, I suggest this is much more likely to be injury related rather than due to lack of circulation. It is quite difficult to ascertain the level of damage particularly within tendons and ligaments (the likely suspects in this area) without your vet and/or using diagnostic equipment to scan the leg.
If the horse were mine, I'd probably get the vet to make sure I wouldn't damage him/her further by riding...
Sorry as this isn't what you want to hear

S

 

[cellie]

I agree with the last post.My horse wasnt lame but I was concerned ,turned out to be a tendon but because I had caught it early and it was diagnosed it prevented serious further damage.My 10% tear could have gone to a 30% plus tear or worse.In 13 weeks he has made a full recovery could have been so much worse without calling the vet for a expert opinion.Even a phone call for advice could save your horse from further discomfort.Good luck

 

[chungalung]

Had the vet out yesterday. She ummed and arred for a while - decided on either the formation of a splint or some sort of damage (eg. very minor fracture) to the splint bone. She said to either box rest & cold hose for a week and see how that goes, or take him straight in for an xray. In the end we've opted for the box rest. The swelling hasnt been up at all since 2 days ago, so we're hopeful it's nothing serious.

Once a splint has finished forming, is it likely to ever cause any problems?

Thank you everyone. Glad i called the vet now.

C. X

 

[only_me]

no, the splint shouldnt cause a probs... it depends how close the split is too the knee

 

[Shilasdair]

[ QUOTE ]
Had the vet out yesterday. She ummed and arred for a while - decided on either the formation of a splint or some sort of damage (eg. very minor fracture) to the splint bone. She said to either box rest & cold hose for a week and see how that goes, or take him straight in for an xray. In the end we've opted for the box rest. The swelling hasnt been up at all since 2 days ago, so we're hopeful it's nothing serious.

Once a splint has finished forming, is it likely to ever cause any problems?

Thank you everyone. Glad i called the vet now.

C. X

[/ QUOTE ]

Splints are quite common in young horses....although you didn't say how old yours was. Generally, apart from a bit of swelling and unlevelness initially, they settle down (and often shrink a bit) and don't cause further problems.
Hope all goes well
S