What do you do if your horse has a swollen fetlock?
Treatment for this condition involves rest, in combination with joint injections. Low dose corticosteroids in combination with hyaluronic acid (a joint ‘lubricant’) are very effective in controlling the inflammation within the joint and alleviating lameness.
What do you do for a horse with a swollen ankle?
The area should be bandaged overnight to provide counter pressure against further tissue swelling or internal bleeding. You can apply a relieving gel such as RAPIGEL® to minor leg swellings twice daily for the first few days after an injury to soothe the legs and help reduce the tissue swelling.
Can a hoof abscess cause fetlock swelling?
If a hoof abscess has worsened over time, it can cause inflammation and swelling that extends into the pastern and even further up the leg past the fetlock joint. The pastern or heel bulbs and the coronary band may also be swollen.
What causes swollen fetlock?
Usually caused by a penetration wound from wire or a kick, it can happen when any foreign material enters the sterile area of the joint capsule. The pain is so severe that the horse will hardly bear weight on its leg. The fetlock will be swollen, hot and painful, and a small cut is usually visible.
Should I bandage a swollen fetlock?
Supportive standing bandages can also help to push the swelling out of the lower leg when your horse is stabled. Be careful, however, not to wrap the bandage unevenly or too tightly, which can damage tendons. Always apply at least a 1-inch-thick layer of quilting underneath the wrap.
Why is my horse’s ankle swollen?
A horse that has significant swelling in all four legs may have some type of systemic illness. This could be a sign of heart trouble, liver or kidney disease, or a bacterial or viral infection. It’s defintely a situation that calls for a veterinary examination.
Should you give Bute to a horse with an abscess?
We do not give “bute” for pain relief, we do not lock him up with food and water at his feet. We do leave him out with his companions as normal. The anti-inflammatory bute will slightly shrink the abscess and reduce the pressure in there. That doesn’t remove the infection but only serves to delay the rupturing of it.
How do I know if my horse has a hoof abscess?
Usually, seeable wounds or swelling aren’t present. Severe abscesses can lead to swelling and infection that goes up the leg. The pastern or heel bulbs and coronary band may be swollen. Often, the hoof wall is warmer, and you can feel pulses near the pastern.
How do you ice a horse’s fetlock?
Using Soft Ride Ice Spas make icing your horse’s leg easy….Procedure:
- Fill cups with water, and freeze them.
- Lay the ice against the affected area without exerting any pressure. Slide it all around the area, in a circular motion.
- As the ice melts, peel away the cup material to expose more.
Is it normal for a horse’s fetlock to swell?
Swellings around or involving the fetlock are common. In the horse world, swellings here are often known as “wind puffs”, “wind galls” or “road puffs.” In performance horses, benign swellings develop over time and are usually not cause for worry.
What causes a broken fetlock on a horse?
Disorders of the fetlock and pastern include conditions such as fractures, osteoarthritis, osselets, ringbone, sesamoiditis, synovitis, and windgalls. Horses’ legs are complex and easily injured. Fractures of the long pastern bone (first phalanx) are not uncommon in racehorses or other performance horses.
What is a fetlock swelling?
The fetlock is an extremely dynamic and sensitive joint- a very high-motion, critical component of the intricate mechanism of the lower limb of the horse. Swellings around or involving the fetlock are common.
What does it mean when a dog has a swollen fetlock?
Your vet recognizes specific swelling patterns that may suggest involvement of the fetlock joint, flexor tendon sheath or other important structures in the area. The degree of lameness and response to flexion are important indicators of the nature of injury.