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His Limping Badly (Urgent Advice)

5K views 41 replies 16 participants last post by  ChingazMyBoy 
#1 · (Edited)
Today I went out to see Chinga and he liped over to me, the weather has not been great so naturally I though he'd loosened yet anothe shoe. I took him up the top and tied him up, then went on a hoof pick hunt. I got out my hoof pick and had no problem all his shoes were in perfect place and tight. So then I felt his legs. One place on his front left leg was slightly warm so I iced it for half an hour. Then i got him to do three strides of trot so I could actually get a look at him moving and see if i can pick it up. To me it looked like the limp was in the actual leg. So i fed him and then iced his leg for another 20 minutes. Before I had to go, so now if he has not improved or the limp is still the slightest bit there I will be getting a vet out for sure! But i was wondering if anyone could shed some light on what may be going on and what i can do untill the vet arrives. Also have i done the right things?
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#3 ·
Thanks Sarah, its in the leg for sure. When I watch him its like his limping in the leg, not the foot? If that makes any sence. I'm hoping that its nothing serious but if he hasn't improved at all by the morning the vet will be getting a call because I am really worried! I sat with him for half an hour crying, I'm so worried about him.
 
#5 ·
Thanks Sarah, its in the leg for sure. When I watch him its like his limping in the leg, not the foot? If that makes any sence..
How does one tell it is the leg causing the pain and not the hoof?

Most acute lameness with out an obvious cause is a hoof abscess. An abscess can cause the leg to swell.

Your best bet is to call your vet. In your original post you said you were having the vet out for sure. In your second post you said if he is not better you will call the vet...... If it truly is a leg injury then I would think getting the vet out sooner is probably for the best.
 
#4 ·
Did you feel up and down his leg for any abnormalities? Is he pastured with other horses he could have gotten a kick or sprained it playing in the field. Whereabouts in the leg is the swelling? Is it hard/soft? Ice is good for swellings so keep icing him twice a day for half an hour each time. Does he have to stay out or can he be stabled?
 
#6 ·
Im on my phone so I cant really reply but what I meant is that if his not 100% perfect the vet will be out. Actualy eaither way the vet will be out. As for the pain in the leg not foot it looked like he was limping in the leg not the foot, i cannt explain this it was just the way it looked. Maybe because his limp was so big!
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#9 ·
I am just saying that it looked like it was the leg from the way that he limped but then I added in that since it was such a large limp thathe was limping differently to he usually does (when he throws shoes). Although that too would be from uneven footing and not pain. This is the first time I have delt with something like this and I was just trying to give as much detail as possible. Sorry for the confusion.
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#8 ·
He stays out, there is no swelling (I cant see where I mentioned that?). His leg looks/feels completly normal apart from the small amount of warmness (fetlock). Untill I can get the vet out (hopefully in the morning). I will be making sure I check his leg as much as I can and icing it until it eaither cools down or I get futher advice from a vet.
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#10 ·
hoof abscess can make a horse appear broken-bone lame. Sometimes they won't even bear any weight on it. I have seen horses with fractured knees walk better than a horse with an abscess about to blow. And yes, it can cause swelling in the leg. Is their heat in the leg, and if so where? Is there heat in the foot? Compare heat in the lame side with heat on the sound side. Pay special attention to the heels. You mentioned that he had issues keeping shoes on, so it makes me think there might be something in the foot like a quick nail, gravel etc.
Anyways, good that yiou are having the vet out. Hope it goes ok and it is nothing major.
 
#11 ·
Thanks I too hope he is okay. He throws shoes when its muddy mostly or when he just about needs new shoes (not sure if this is helpful but I am just giving more detail.) . As i mentioned above the heat felt to be in the fetlock (although it was very faint). I am going out to check on him again soon so I will update with what I know.
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#12 ·
It's not out of the ordinary for a horse to sprain a leg in a muddy or even a wet pasture but it is better to be safe. As your experience broadens, you will not need to call a vet every time your horse goes off, but that come with experience and time.

When I had a vet out early in my horse ownership, I asked as many questions as I could so that I would be more prepared the next time - that wa sway before the internet!
 
#14 ·
Thankyou for your advice I have noticed this with colic (he use to colic alot, even on non-colic stuff.) I noticed that every time he had signs of colic I could judge if he was just laying down or if he was actually sick. Of course the vet was still contaced and if I had any doughts the vet was oout. Can anyone give me an idea on how long he will be out of work with a sprain (not that that is the most important part too me)
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#13 ·
So I just went out and checked him it was pouring rain and I did not want to risk asking him to move incase he slipped but what I could go by was that there is no swelling (still) the heat seems to be there still but slighlt less (although his legshappened to be damp from the rain) as much as I tried to dry them off. He seems settled and not distressed. He is just standind around in his rug resting it slightly. I tried to bother him as little as possible but I made sure I did yet another really good job of his feet. The vet said that if he is settled to try and leave him be as much as possible and that she will be out in the afternoon (but if someone cancles)ends early she will come and see him straight away. Overall his condition seems to be he same. I will most likely update again through out the night. But if anyone does have any advice or suggestions on what it might be. Please do not hesitate to suggest it. To those who have already offered advice i have taken great notice of it and I am very thankful.
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#15 ·
Wait i thought he was gone to a trainers?? Eh he will need 3days off once he becomes sound definitely then depending on ground surface and him maybe about 5 then bring him back in gently using common semse once he is sound is usually the best as each horse is different
 
#16 ·
Well things are not always as they seem.........I put one of my horses out on pasture last summer for a couple hours......when I took her out she had no problem walking when I brought her in she could barely walk to the point we thought maybe she had hurt her stifle, broke her hip.......called the vet immediately she came out and said it was an abcess....found a spot in her hoof that looked like and entry point for a foreign object.

It is entirely possible this it is an abcess.

Super Nova
 
#17 ·
Thankyou for the newest advice :) I played around with pressure all over the bottom of the foot and had no issues (not sure if he would react to this). The trainers had to be put on pause for reasons on behalf of the trainer. It is 4 am here, mum just went to check on him as I finally fell asleep apperantly he is still in the same condition although mum is unsure of what she is looking at. I am going out at 6 and I will try and give you a nice long, detailed update before I go to school. Mum said that he was generally relaxed and in a good contion stress wise. Although he was up near the feed shed (meaning he had moved from his pprevious position. ) this is good as he has walked on it and feels that its not too bad, that he can walk on it confidently.
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#18 · (Edited)
Because he moved does not mean much other than he is a horse and they are a prey animal and even when in pain they will move.

Is the vet still coming out?

Did you use hoof testers on his hoof when you were looking for sensitive spots or just your hands?
 
#19 ·
As was mentioned, it's most likely an abscess. Whenever a horse comes up mysteriously lame, most every horse owner/person I know will soak the hoof in warm water and epsom salt. If it is an abscess, he will not react to pressure from using your fingers to poke him. You need hoof testers.

If it's not an abscess, my next guess would be he stumbled and tweaked his fetlock. In that case, cold hose or ice it for the next day or two [remember, 10 minutes on, 10 minutes off, 10 minutes on, etc, NOT thirty straight minutes] and give him some time off. When he's sound again, wait a few more days and then start him back in work.

I'm sure he'll be fine, but it's good to have the vet out anyway. As iride said, with time you'll learn when you need a vet and when you don't, but until then, it's best to call one out. =]
 
#21 ·
When I have a lame horse with no obvious cause I call the farrier first and if the farrier thinks it's not in the hoof or can't solve it then I call the vet. I have never actually had to call the vet. 90% of the time if there is no sign of injury the problem is in the hoof. I had a mare that was so lame she wouldn't bear wieght on one front foot so I took her to the vet and they cut out the abcess and wrapped her foot. I had to saok the foot in epson salts and change the dressing every day for a week. The bill was over $100. A week later the same horse was lame on the other front foot but this time I called a farrier. He came out and gave me a bottle of hoof dressing to put on the sole of her hoof. He charged me $10 for the ointment that I applied once a day and the next day she was walking sound on it.

That's just my experience though.
 
#30 ·
I agree. For a non-obvious lameness problem, I would always have an experienced farrier be the first contact. To be honest, they just see/work on more feet everyday than a vet ever would (and a good vet will tell you that, too).
 
#22 ·
Thanks for the advice guys, I did take some pictures of his leg, fetlock, ect and I will try and upload them although they are on my phone. I went out this morning and spent an hour with him, he still has a limp. Seems to be there around about the same amount, I did call the farrier and he can't make it out for two days so its the vet this afternoon. I don't have a hoof tester (put I used a hoof pick and tapped around -- making sure I didn't damage the foot). I did happen to find this morning a small sore on his fetlock, this I had not noticed the night before as it was dark and actually quite difficult to find. Its not deep, nor is it bad. It actually looks like he's just taken a tiny bit of hair off -- no blood/skin -- so I'm wondering if he did trip? Only because this sore is there and indicating that his tripped, I couldn't find the right words for that sentence. Sorry. But hopefully everyone will get what I mean :)

I think the vets out around 4-ish ((Earliest she can get out)). I'm off to school but mums going to keep checking on him and will text me threw out the day with how he is going.
 
#25 ·
One of our horses was lame on the front and we could not find the problem. Full vet check tons of x-rays ugh. The problem turned out that his hoof was not balanced correctly. This is before I had a natural trimmer. Anyway it was an ever so slight imbalance but it caused him soreness in his shoulder and caused him to be off slightly. Expensive lesson. Just a thought for you to check that out.
 
#27 ·
I rung the vet again this afternoon, she is in surgery with a VERY sick horse. So I couldn't really get a chance to talk to her about what to do. But she will be calling back as soon as possible. We are also on the urgent list for appointments as it has been over 24 hours since we first contacted a vet.
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#28 ·
Maddie, whats the scale of his lameness? 0 (being undetectable) to 10 (not bearing weight on that leg at all)
I'm thinking because of the weather it might just be a strain, but with the heat in the fetlock, it could be an abcess. Check around the coronet band for swelling, pus etc. Could you upload these photos? We might see something that your missing.
 
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