young stock experience, warm growth plates advice please

ycbm

ycbm

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Friend's three year old has enlarged and warm growth plates this morning, at the top of the radius just below the elbow, equal on each side. From googling, it's the proximal radial physis. Not appearing to be feeling any problems with them. I have suggested for the moment that she avoids hard food, is that correct, and is there anything else she should do? I've had plenty of youngsters and never seen this myself.
 
Bring in on box rest or better still a small crew yard and cut out hard food at least(maybe more). It is an unusual place to get a problem usually shows at knees first. The grass is a bit super charged at the moment at least around here ,not much growth but very high concentration of sugars etc.
Personally unless it doesnt cool down on these measures after a few days, a vet visit wont achieve anything short term as they will only advise the same.
 
I've had this happen with knees on fast growing warmbloods. I put them onto restricted turnout and no hard feed. It has always resolved itself.
 
They do generally resolve with restricted exercise and food cut, but if it goes wrong you need to intervene quickly. Depends on your friends attitude to risk, personally I would have a decent vet check. A friend of mine lost one due to limb deformity from physitis
 
Restrict movement and stable on a deep bed at once ,restricted diet .
I would feed old meadow hay and not a lot else if the diet is already restricted she could do to soak the hay .
I would be speaking to a suitable vet as well.
 
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ihatework said:
They do generally resolve with restricted exercise and food cut, but if it goes wrong you need to intervene quickly. Depends on your friends attitude to risk, personally I would have a decent vet check. A friend of mine lost one due to limb deformity from physitis
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The reason i say not is because they cannot do anything different . The sooner you cut out the grub and stop them hammering around the sooner it resolves you dont wait for a vet to tell you especially with a weekend coming up. The issue comes when most inexperienced owners will not cut food enough. my youngsters never see hard food until they are in work unless they have a special need.
 
Thank you very much everyone. Horse will be restricted onto a small area with little grass and a chat will be had with our very experienced vet. Hard food is already the bare minimum of speedibeet to get minerals into her, and a haylage that has seen my own Shetlands and cob lose weight this winter even though fed ad lib. I've never had the cob do that on any other food.

Really appreciate your help.

For your own information, since I've had a lot of three year olds and never seen this, the mare is ConniexIDxTB, half Connie and looks well grown already for her age at about 15.2/3. A big loose mover with a lot of room at the elbow, which I love. But the bony feeling lumps that have come up will fit neatly into the palm of my hand and are noticeably warmer than the rest of her legs. She has also started resisting having the off fore lifted, presumably because it or the other one is hurting .

I'll let you know if things don't calm down.
 
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