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The Resident Destroyer of Liberal Logic
  
Location: PNW | Story: We went on vacation for two weeks over Christmas, my horse was boarded with a trusted/loved friend. He unfortunately had to be kept in a stall 90% of the time and he ended up kicking at the walls. The night before we picked him up, December 30, he kicked the wall apparently very hard, and his lower leg (half way up his canon down to his hoof) swelled HUGE. It was still swollen on December 31 when I picked him up - I mean HUGE.
I started him on bute, cold-hosed, iced, wrapped, poultice, EVERYTHING. He was totally on rest for three days and the swelling went away like 90%, with a little bit of residual edema in his pastern. I rode him Sunday and Monday, lightly. On Monday night when I pulled him in from the pasture, his leg was swollen again. Not HUGE, but definitely swollen. Mostly in his pastern/fetlock area. He hasn't taken a single lame step, although he is stiff from the swelling. I can poke, prod, massage, etc. the entire area and he never gives any sort of pain signal.
On Tuesday January 6th I took him to a reputable equine hospital (three hours away) to be x-rayed (injury was one week old at that point). X-rays came back totally clean, he has phenomenal legs. He showed no signs of lameness in the exam, he was flexed, lunged, trotted out, trotted back, the whole nine yards. The vet instructed me to keep on a bute regimen, keep doing the standing wraps (yes, I know how to properly do them), gave me a stronger poultice to use (EPF-5), told me that turnout was alright, light riding was alright, but no strenuous activities like barrels. Fine.
IT IS STILL SWOLLEN. Literally NO CHANGE. I can get the swelling out of everywhere except his pastern. He still isn't lame. He bucks and runs and acts like an idiot in the pasture. I wrap him/poultice him at night, in the morning the swelling is gone from everywhere but his pastern. He then gets turned out for the day. When I bring him back in at night, the swelling is back to its original locations canon->pastern. I am so frustrated. I know it hasn't been long, but I just feel in my gut that we missed something and that I might be doing something wrong.
Question: would you seek a second opinion? It is a five hour drive for me to get him to another lameness vet. Should different diagnostics be done? MRI? Ultrasound? Ugh. |
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  Sock eating dog owner
Posts: 4553
Location: Where the pavement ends and the West begins Utah | Did you X ray the hoof too. My gelding broke the front of his hoof but he was definitely lame. Try green alcohol mix with Epsom salts , apple cider vinegar and water. Apply to the whole leg. |
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The Resident Destroyer of Liberal Logic
Location: PNW | cow pie - 2015-01-10 3:38 PM
Did you X ray the hoof too. My gelding broke the front of his hoof but he was definitely lame. Try green alcohol mix with Epsom salts , apple cider vinegar and water. Apply to the whole leg.
Yes, we x-rayed from his hoof to his hock. Nada.lol
Can you post the measurements/parts proportions for your concoction please? lol |
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The Advice Guru
Posts: 6419
 
| Could be a fractured cannon.
Had one similar took him to local vet xrayed vet cleared him said I could ride him.
Sent xrays down to regular vet, no visible fracture horse not lame passed flexion test day no 10 post injury anyway vet seen something out of alignment in sesamoid are to cause concern.
Hauled 4 hrs to get second opinion.
Better X-ray machine one day later then previous
Even I could see the spiral fracture.
Vet said I was very lucky I didn't ride him as if the horse made one turn hard his leg would have snapped off.
If this was my horse I would get another opinion with a better X-day to confirm no injury or prove there is an injury then go from there.
I also don't ride any horse if they have any swelling anywhere, inflammtion means the horse is not alright
Also sometimes it takes 14 days for the decalcification and the fracture to appear
Edited by cheryl makofka 2015-01-10 3:45 PM
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The Resident Destroyer of Liberal Logic
Location: PNW | cheryl makofka - 2015-01-10 3:44 PM
Could be a fractured cannon.
Had one similar took him to local vet xrayed vet cleared him said I could ride him.
Sent xrays down to regular vet, no visible fracture horse not lame passed flexion test day no 10 post injury anyway vet seen something out of alignment in sesamoid are to cause concern.
Hauled 4 hrs to get second opinion.
Better X-ray machine one day later then previous
Even I could see the spiral fracture.
Vet said I was very lucky I didn't ride him as if the horse made one turn hard his leg would have snapped off.
If this was my horse I would get another opinion with a better X-day to confirm no injury or prove there is an injury then go from there.
I also don't ride any horse if they have any swelling anywhere, inflammtion means the horse is not alright
Also sometimes it takes 14 days for the decalcification and the fracture to appear
We took x-rays at every angle possible, it is a very high quality digital x-ray. I'm not super concerned about having missed something on the x-rays. Just concerned that maybe additional diagnostic images should have been taken.
I haven't ridden him since last Monday, when the swelling popped back up again that evening. He has only been turned out to pasture during the day, and in his stall at night.
Absolutely not a single sign of lameness or pain.
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| I would give him time off, and let time do it's thing. If you don't want to do that check for soft tissue damage (ultrasound or MRI depending on how much you want to spend). If it were me I wouldn't be leaving the vet without an answer lol |
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 Georgia Peach
Posts: 8338
Location: Georgia |
I would get a second opinion. Take to different vet and start over. Their legs dont just swell for no reason. Something is going on. I definitely would not ride him until you get a definite answer. Good luck. |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 600
Location: Oklahoma & Texas | Sounds like soft tissue is inflamed...possible too maybe has a bone bruise/contusion although that would likely have shown on an xray....I'd keep cold hosing 20 minutes or more at least once a day..twice if you can...i wouldnt wrap it...but just keep hosing and if you have some liniment maybe a light rub down after hosing...some liniments will cause swelling with the increased blood flow too just fyi...but if xrays are clear and he's not real sore on it I'd continue with the hosing and maybe some bute for the inflammation. ..sounds like a strain to me...just takes time to get the irritation and inflammation out. If you are real worried or it gets hot or he gets lame I'd definitely go for a 2nd opinion though.
Edited by BBrewster 2015-01-10 9:45 PM
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Expert
Posts: 1409
Location: Oklahoma | If you go for second opinion I would also do the ultra sound. My horse had a tear in suspensory and never took a lame step. hopfully not the case for you. Im surprised that your vet didn't suggest an ultrasound especially since the xrays were clean unless he was trying to save you money. |
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Sock eating dog owner
Posts: 4553
Location: Where the pavement ends and the West begins Utah | I use a full bottle of alcohol I think it's 16 oz. 1/2 cup epsom. 16 oz vinegar and 2 cups water. |
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Member
Posts: 31
| Your horse might have a bone bruise. I know on me they take as long as 7 days to come to the surface. Depends on how hard I hit it. |
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Expert
Posts: 1409
Location: Oklahoma | for some reason I thought about your horse today and I had forgotten what I went thru. It could be that he bruised his tendon sheath. and when you turn out that is when it flairs up again. I had to keep mine in a stall 24 hours for a week or two and then I could turn out. My horse swelled like what you are describing. How is he? |
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 Take a Picture
Posts: 12838
| You need to remember that gravity pulls the swelling as low as it can go. The problem could be way up above where the swelling is. |
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Pastern/lower leg swelling.... second opinion?