How should I treat my lame horse?

Question

The ligament between his front right fetlock & knee is only slightly warm & not particularly swollen.
He is 23 years old and is living out at the moment and is not being ridden.
He is still able to move around his field happily and his lameness is only really noticable when he attempts to trot.

Answer 1

Well.....u could always bring him to the vet?

Answer 2

I'm sure you are aware that the hock is on the hind leg, not the foreleg.
Unfortunately with the weather we've been having the ground is rock hard. When we do get rain its not much, the top surface becomes greasy and its easy for a horse to slip. When the ground dries out again it can be uneven if it has been cut up, so check the surface of his paddock as well as his feet.
Make sure he sees the farrier so that his feet are the correct shape and won't aggravate the lameness.
If he isn't lame at the walk then I'd agree, a cool poultice and rest is all you can do. I wouldn't ride him at all while he's lame, and try to turn him out somewhere he's less likely to gallop around, perhaps with one quiet companion rather than a herd of youngsters.
You can hose his leg down a couple of times a day, there used to be a boot you put on them that you fill up with cool or warm water, you can do it during his daily grooming session if you can borrow one.
You're doing well to have him fit at 23 so don't be despondent.
Arthritis tends to affect the joints and is best treated with warmth.

Answer 3

when you say the ligament between his knee & fetlock, do you mean his tendons on the back of his cannon bone? if so then it sounds like he may have tandon damage. I would strongly recommend you get a vet out as this is a serious injury & will need to be properly monitored by someone with more experience of this type of injury. If is is a tendon your horse has tweaked then with bit of box rest & some painkillers followed by controlled exercise your old horse should be fine to have a good quality of life in retirement in his field. in the meantime i would suggest box rest & cold hosing to rest the injury & bring the swelling down

Answer 4

Strained tendon is not uncommon, if it's not highly swollen then I expect it is not bowed.
Cold water treatments for 5-10 minutes at a time 1-2 times daily should help reduce the inflammtion. Hose it or ice pack it.

I also recommend BL- buteless solution, it is over-the-counter
and has some anti-inflammatory effects. It is sugary and very palatable, but if your guy has insulin problems then a different herbal might be in order.

If it continues to give him trouble or swelling increases, your vet might want to check it and give you a recipe for a sweat poultice.
Right now I think you can do this yourself no problem.

Answer 5

Hi - I also have an older horse and he has bone spavin in his hock - I treat him with Danilon - a kinder alternative to bute, but I would strongly recommend taking your horse to the vet or calling him out to look at him -better to be safe than sorry

I have looked this up for you - hope it helps

SUSPENSORY LIGAMENT SPRAIN

The suspensory ligament is attached to the back of the upper cannon and knee (in the front legs) or hock (in the hind legs), runs downwards close to the back of the cannon and divides into two branches each of which attaches to a sesamoid bone, at the back of the fetlock, before ending attached to the upper pastern. The suspensory ligament supports the fetlock and protects it from hyperextension (i.e. dropping too low) at exercise.

What signs indicate damage to the suspensory ligament?

Signs of injury vary with the site of the injury and the severity of the damage. Some horses show lameness which becomes worse with exercise but improves with rest, others show persistent lameness or none at all. There is usually thickening of the affected region of the leg with warmth and tenderness present. If the ligament is ruptured, the fetlock will ‘sink’ towards the ground, fully or partly, depending on the completeness of the rupture.

Can my horse make a full recovery?

In many cases the answer is yes. Minor damage to suspensory attachments, body and branches will usually repair given sufficient time off work. This usually means box rest initially with physiotherapy such as cold hosing to reduce inflammation. A period of walking only exercise follows, the duration of which depends upon the initial amount of damage. In cases of complete rupture or where a fragment of bone has broken away with the damaged ligament (avulsion fracture), the outlook is much worse, even with several months rest, and euthanasia may be required on the grounds of incurable suffering.

What can be done to diagnose the injury and follow the repair process?

An initial diagnosis is based on the results of clinical signs, i.e. heat, swelling and lameness, nerve blocks, radiographic (x-ray) and ultrasound examinations. Ultrasound scans are the most useful way to follow the healing process. Depending on the degree of damage, follow-up scans should be performed at one and three months and certainly before any significant increase in exercise level. Any increase in exercise should be made gradually to avoid over stretching the incompletely healed tissues.

In cases where the damage is localised to the cannon bone attachment, injection of anti-inflammatory drugs (such as corticosteroids) may be used to reduce inflammation and allow exercise to continue for a specific purpose. This approach carries the risk that further, more serious damage may occur and is not recommended.

Is the injury likely to recur?

Ligaments are made up of fibres which run along their length in a regular, well-organised manner. When ligament fibres are damaged some heal in a criss-cross pattern rather than lengthways. Therefore, the healed tissue will always be a little weaker in the healed areas than the original ligament was. However, if the horse is given sufficient time for repair and a careful and sensible approach is made to re-introduction to exercise, re-injury is less likely to occur.



Good luck

Answer 6

same w/ my horse. my horse is lame and hes 13. he is lame in the same spot as your horse except there isn't any heat. 1 of the horses at our barn was swollen a little above the Hoof and we soaked it every 15 minutes w/ cold water. the next day he was fine. my horse has arthritis because he is an older horse. that may be what u have, i don't know.i would suggest putting that medicine stuff for lameness. when i found out my horse was lame it was the day before an horse show.when we were walking him before the show, he started bobbing his head when he put his outside leg down. so we put some of the medicine stuff on his knee and hes been lame for 2 weeks now. he is getting better but we give him baths and put cold water on his knee. sometimes he is really sensitive there so we always have to be careful. best of luck to u and your horse!!!

Answer 7

I would wrap his leg in a poultice, soak his feet in epsom salt water for about ten minuets each day, and if you are not feeding him any supplements, try giving him glucosamine cookies. We fed my mare the cookies and she was a milion times better. The horse gets one cookie in the morning and one cookie in the evening. They cost about $30 for a bag of 60 ( one months supply) and are one of the cheapest supplements that you can buy and are incredible. Have your farrier look him over to see if maybe he isnt being supported enough and he can help you work out something there. If you can afford it, have your vet do an x-ray on his lower legs and see if maybe he hasnt sprained something and you just dont know it. Hope this helps.

Answer 8

i assume you have checked his hoof for rocks,sharp objects, etc. if otherwise sound, hose down the limb several times a day. you could make a poultice using an old towel soaked in white vinegar, or something specifically made for the problem. you could use DMSO. if not in tack shop, see pharmacist. rub on twice day. his age makes me think it is slight arthritis. don't jump him, flat riding ok. lunge him to limber up before riding. slow but steady at the trot. it may take a while or you may have to live with the problem . good luck !

Answer 9

Horse hock
In the horse, the hock consists of multiple joints, namely:

Tibiotarsal or Tarsocrural joint
Proximal Intertarsal joint or Talocalcanealcentroquartal joint
Distal Intertarsal joint or Centrodistal joint
Tarsometatarsal joint
Talocalcaneal joint
In the horse, the hock consists of the following bones

Talus
Calcaneus
Central tarsal bone
3rd tarsal bone
3rd metatarsal bone
4th tarsal bone
Fused 1st and 2nd tarsal bone
[edit]
Equine disease states
Horses may suffer from "capped hock", which is caused by swelling of the calcanean bursa, a synovial sac beneath the skin which protects the bone. Capped hock is usually caused by trauma such as kicking or slipping when attempting to stand. In the absence of a wound, it does not require immediate veterinary attention and is usually only of cosmetic significance. On the other hand, a wound into the calcanean bursa is a serious preoblem. A capped hock is extremely unlikely to be a cause of lameness, even if severe.
An increase in the synovial fluid of the tibiotarsal joint is called bog spavin.
Degenerative joint disease of the tarsometatarsal or distal intertarsal joint is referred to as bone spavin.

Answer 10

Firt of all, have a vet check him. I'd use liniment and Vet wrap to see if it helps. However,it could be arthritis or something age-related. How long has he done this? If the leg is hot, running cold water from a hose over it will help too.

Answer 11

Use cold hose 15-20 min a day, twice a day and then just let him be. Probably just old age but also have a Vet look at him to make sure it is not more serious.