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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 387
 
| My mare cut her leg pretty good in sept.
the cut is almost 100 percent healed, and it healed very very well, most of the stitches held so it was a smooth sailing for healing wise - which im very thankful for
I have been talking with my vet - sending her pics of her leg now, she tells me not to worry
she had her leg wrapped the entire time, and obviously some fluids from leaking and products were on her leg, most of the time her leg was wrapped in the minus 20 Celsius so i couldn't always hose it off. I did however give her leg a watered down betadine wash to keep bacteria away if i couldn't hose
anyhow, her leg is still swollen - looks stocked up, but its fairly hard. there are some smaller cuts on her leg, I have been washing and scrubbing her leg when i can, but the swelling wont go down. her leg looks very healthy otherwise, and she is not sore on it at all, and her pen is a very good size to get lots of movement
why would it still be swollen??
knock on wood - for all the years I've had horses I haven't had to deal with any large cuts before, so I'm just not sure if this is a normal part of the healing process
I thought I would also add that she never (so thankful) cut any of her tendons while he cut her leg!
Edited by zansbeunogal_2268 2018-01-15 11:17 AM
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 Namesless in BHW
Posts: 10368
Location: At the race track with Ah Dee Ohs | Do you have any pics? |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 387
| first pics of when it first happened to now - if you zoom up you can see the smaller like scabs
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Namesless in BHW
Posts: 10368
Location: At the race track with Ah Dee Ohs | In the hock area like that you may have to deal with this forever. Not sure by looking if that will ever go down to normal size. Are you still wrapping? And what are you using on it to heal it? |
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Veteran
Posts: 233
| sometimes when tissue heals, it makes adhesions. the area will be larger and harder. sometimes massage can help, but I wouldn't try it on a newly healed area while everything is still tender. Think of it like a cut from a kitchen knife; even though the area might have healed over on the outside, it's still got some internal restructuring to do before it's as normal as it's ever going to get. Does she have full range of motion in the joint or is she still off? |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 387
| I find most of the swelling is down at her fetlock, and when I run my hands over it, it feels rough, like little scabs over her cannon bone and fetlock
her hock area where the cut is, it fine! I would say minimal swelling and full motion - shes not sore on the leg at all. I dont scrub or touch the area where the cut was! I leave it be, Im not wrapping it now
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Veteran
Posts: 233
| Is the swelling at her fetlock soft like stocking up or hard? If it's soft, I'd check with the vet about maybe increasing walking load or a bigger turn out, if she's stalled. If she's already turned out I'd just roll with it. Some bag balm or something similar might be nice on the raw hairless parts if it's cold or windy, but I wouldn't lose sleep over it. The puffy wet style inflammation means healing is still going on. It looks really good, given the original injury. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 387
| The swelling is fairly hard, I have consulted with my vet and she told me not to worry, and gave me the okay to start riding her, she is turned out all the time in a large pen, she gets lots of movement
I am curious if there are some products i can help ease the swelling, or continue to wash it? there are quite a few small scabs at the fetlock/cannon bone - almost like scratches, but its not scratches.
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 My Heart Be Happy
Posts: 9159
Location: Arkansas | Bump |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 534
Location: Ohio girl moved to PA | have you considered an atlernate therapy? maybe like PHT or BOT? depending what you prefer/what works better for your horse, those things would help speed up the process. If you havent id talk to a rep from each company and see what works better for you. it cant hurt! |
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 Expert
Posts: 1857
| Maybe it's not related to the injury and she has scratches. Has it been wet or high humidity lately? Being wrapped and the drainage could have also created the perfect storm for scratches. Do you see actual scabs and redness? |
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 Miss Laundry Misshap
Posts: 5271
| Usually cuts like that make scar tissue. Scar tissue is usually thicker and more hard than regular tissue.
I wouldn't worry about it, especially if your vet gave you the ok, and she's sound.
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 Born not Made
Posts: 2937
Location: North Dakota | Having dealt with cuts like this 3 separate times (on the same horse, mind you  ) , it just takes some time. The swelling should continue to come down some more with time ... BUT be prepared for the scarred area to simply be a little bit larger than it used to be. Unavoidably, you are going to have some scar tissue that just won't "lay" the same as normal tissue.
I would tell you to STOP washing and scrubbing so much. You don't want to overdo it. And you don't want to scrub granulation tissue at all (if there's any left) as that just encourages proud flesh growth.
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 387
| the swelling ISNT where the cut itself actually is, its near the bottom of the fetlock, and I'm not scrubbing the cut, im scrubbing the scabs on the fetlock where the swelling is, the scabs came from wrapping the leg or the swelling.
and the swelling feels like a gel like fluid, its hard! not soft like a normal stocked up leg.
I'm asking how I can deal with that?? is it from the scar tissue up above where her hock cut is?? or is this a separate issue?
in the one pic you can see how her fetlock is thicker than her other fetlock. |
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Expert
Posts: 1857
| More than likely its just gravity... the swelling from the injury and gravity have pulled the fluid down into the lower leg. It happens. Even with a large pen, she more than likely isn't moving enough to work the swelling out and absorb the extra fluid. If its not sore, warm to the touch and she's not running a fever I'd say it's safe to say it's not inflammation from infection or another injury.
I'd try liniment, poultice, and exercise and see if the swelling reduces or if you start to get heat and lameness.
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 You get what you give
Posts: 13030
Location: Texas | I'd follow your vets recommendations. It will probably take a long time to heal, and its possible her leg got blistered if it was wrapped with topicals on it for a long period of time. Also when you bandage a wound for a long time then take the bandage off, they will get swelling when they no longer have the compression. |
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  Neat Freak
Posts: 11216
Location: Wonderful Wyoming | Nateracer - 2018-01-16 9:32 AM Usually cuts like that make scar tissue. Scar tissue is usually thicker and more hard than regular tissue.
I wouldn't worry about it, especially if your vet gave you the ok, and she's sound.
this is my guess. My show horse nicked his hind leg when he was about 2. It puffed up and healed over and still has an ugly hard knot. I tried a few things to try and get the scar tissue down but no luck. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 387
| Thank you!! I plan to start riding her more often!
would you apply pht or back on track on this? if so which product would help to reduce the swelling better? |
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 Expert
Posts: 3815
Location: The best kept secret in TX | Had a horse with the same type of cut. His was a little higher. He had a HUGE scar on his leg for about a year. The "Swelling" Never seemed to go down. I started stretching him from the ground and started rubbing coconut oil on it to massage it and get the blood flowing. Hair grew back after about two years and the "swelling" went down as well. It takes time. |
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Member
Posts: 30
| Something like that may always be a littler bigger. I had a similar injury on my colt. As the wound goes down his leg does get smaller. I would highly recommend if you have one in your area is finding a vet with a Class IV laser. It can really make a difference. I used it on my colt on his wound and leg swelling and plan to give him another treatment once the wound heals completely.
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 Can You Hear Me Now?
Location: When you hit the middle of nowhere .. Keep driving | Nateracer - 2018-01-16 10:32 AM
Usually cuts like that make scar tissue. Scar tissue is usually thicker and more hard than regular tissue.
I wouldn't worry about it, especially if your vet gave you the ok, and she's sound.
This. I had one that cut her front ankle last January at the trainer... she healed and is good on it but the scar tissue has made it bigger then the other side. Now its just cosmetic and fugly but hey she's sound.  |
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