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Lame :(

4K views 21 replies 9 participants last post by  farmpony84 
#1 ·
:-(I had my lesson yesterday and it was a hard one... :-( When we were finished I put Riley on the trailer. He was fine, then when I got home and took him off, he was fine again but when I put him in the stall he turned on his hind end and kind of jerked his back foot up like it hurt. But then he was fine. This morning he is LAME. I can't remember protocol on it.

I was going to give him bute but this last time I ordered the powdered kind instead of the tubes, and it didn't come with a measuring cup??? So I have no idea how much to give, so no bute this morning.

There was no heat or swelling although when I poked and prodded it seemed like there was pain just below the hock. I couldn't remember do you leave them out with no heat or swelling or lock them up? UGH. Then I can never decide if I should give it a few days or call the vet immediately. I know everyone usually says wait a couple days. I'm going to call the vet in about 30 minutes (when they open) and ask about the measurements on the bute and then go ahead and leave a message to speak to a vet but I was just looking for thoughts and opinions....
 
#2 ·
I try to avoid Bute for all but the most intense pains, and even then, I'm pretty skeptical. I just get Equispirin [aspirin for horses]. I think too many people baby their horses and fill them with painkillers when in most cases, they CAN walk it off. I can't say the same for everyone, but I know when my horse really needs attention or can walk it off.

That being said, put him out, movement helps circulation helps healing. Just don't let him out with enough room and friends to freak out if you can. Cold hose for the first day, keep an eye on appetite, energy level, etc and make sure it doesn't change. Chances are he just tweaked it a bit and is sore. It could be swollen this morning by resting it all night and it stocked up.

Here's wishing a speedy recovery. =]
 
#3 ·
I left him out all day and it's really swelled and hot now. I did slip him some bute (I have some tubes left). I called the vet and they told me to stall him so I'll put him in tonight. I cold hosed him and put him in my round pen for now (it's grass). I'll go back down afer dinner and cold hose him for another 20 minutes.

I can't tell where the pain is. I thought it was up near the hock but then when I poked and prodded I thought maybe it was along the let but I just don't know. He's three legged lame now. The vet is coming tomorrow at 1. Geuss this weekends two-day show is a no go... next weekend was the 3-day QH show... probably down for a while....

Sad now... :( He does seem chipper though....
 
#4 ·
hosed him again... still lame. I was somehow hoping that in the 2 hours it took to cook dinner he'd get all better... :(
 
#5 ·
Did you check his hoof and make sure he didn't step on anything? Often a nail in the hoof will cause swelling further up the leg.
 
#7 ·
Kevin, I picked his hoof out thinking that maybe it could be an abscess? I honostly don't have a clue. I'm not real good on stuff like this. I'm scheduled for a 1:00 visit from the vet, hopefully they'll bring the x-ray "stuff". It seems like the entire leg from the hock down is swelled. He acts like the hock hurts on either side or if I "wiggle" it and then he acts like the lower leg hurts when I poke and prod. The felt lock is the most swollen part but it doesnt seem to bother him. He will set the entire foot down flat but when he walks, he's on his tip toe.

Chella that does help. Thanks. I took a pen and pushed around the powdered bute thinking the scoop was burried, I don't think there is one... :(
 
#8 ·
It sounds like an abscess to me. Tiptoe walking, but will set it flat. Probably isn't weighing it then. Had a mare who would get an occasional abscess. Once was 3 legged lame until the farrier(who showed up as scheduled, great timing) poked it and relieved the issue. Sometimes you can feel where they are and sometimes not. She also swelled the abscessed foot/leg all the way up her cannon bone. Not unheard of. I would wrap both front legs(she always abscessed on the fronts), and pack the sole with a drawing agent(betadine scrub/epsom salts) and wrap that into a boot as well.
 
#10 ·
He has shoes on the front and is barefoot on the back. The back left is the one that is bad. I'm sitting at the house waiting for the vet now. She should be here anytime. One of the reasons I am so worried is that he fractured his pelvis when he was a baby, maybe 6 months? So anytime there is a rear issue I worry that it's related.......
 
#12 ·
I would keep cold hosing for sure. Might want to hold off on bute if you're thinking abscess as it can keep it from blowing out. But FWIW, giving anti-inflammatories isn't "babying" your horse, often it can prevent more serious tissue damage from occurring due to the inflammatory process. They should be used judiciously for sure but asking a horse to toughen up isn't always the best way to go.
 
#14 ·
I would keep cold hosing for sure. Might want to hold off on bute if you're thinking abscess as it can keep it from blowing out. But FWIW, giving anti-inflammatories isn't "babying" your horse, often it can prevent more serious tissue damage from occurring due to the inflammatory process. They should be used judiciously for sure but asking a horse to toughen up isn't always the best way to go.
I agree.

Sadly my new horse has very crappy feet. I knew this when I bought him becuase in every other way he is perfect for me and just what I wanted.... he gets hoof lotion applied when needed and supplements daily now; but it will take a while for things to get better.
He lost a shoe a few weeks back, and in the process of this he chipped/wore wayyyy to much of his hoof away. His foot is a bit stumpy/too short now and of course he is on and off again sore becuase of this.
We reshoed him to allow his hoof to grow. Without shoes I really think he would be unrideable and have no feet left... once the supplements start taking effect I might try him barefoot but that is a long time away.
Anyway my farrier told me it was very important to keep him turned out and keep riding him even if he seems a bit sore. He MUST keep moving around and not be allowed to stand still in one spot all day (he is a HUGE wuss). So that means using pain killers if the soreness gets really bad... lucky for me he seems ok so far!
 
#15 ·
Cellulitis! I geuss, since we had just come home from our lesson and it hit so fast I assumed that it was a strain or something was torn or ripped. I'm kind of happy I geuss? By the time the vet got here his leg had swollen all the way up to the hip and it was sore to touch everywhere. She put him on SMZ's (12) twice per day (for 2 full weeks) and bute twice per day (for the next 3 to 5 days and then we can go down to once per day). Cold hose at least twice per day, keeping him stalled for about the next 2 to 3 days and then hand walking until the swelling is gone. He should feel better in about 2 days, if not, the vet will be back........
 
#16 ·
How did he get that? I got it in my leg a few years ago from a cut that I had stitched up that got infected. Did he have an open wound?
 
#18 ·
We searched his leg for booboos. We cound some MINOR scrapes (normal ones) and one really tiny spot that might possibly be a puncture wound? I was pretty surprised, I mean, I've seen scratches before but he had minimal marks on his legs. The vet said not to be too surprised if a spot on his leg busts open and puss oozes out, although she didn't see anywhere that looked like it was going to do that.

There is that ONE spot on his fetlock that MAYBE might be a puncture? It's a tiny scab, we picked any scab we could find on the leg, there might have been three? TEENY ones, very superficial....?

I just don't know how he got it???
 
#19 ·
I got cellulitis in my hand after being bitten by a feral cat. It is nasty- surprised he didn't give IV antibiotics to your horse.
 
#20 ·
I had IV antibiotics 3 times a day for two weeks. The doctor told me that 5 years ago I would have gotten a shot and some oral med and 5 years from now I would probably have to stay at the hospital because antibiotics are losing thier effectiveness.
 
#21 ·
I had to do the same- IV antibiotics, 3 times a day. I think mine were 3 weeks long because I was undergoing chemotherapy at the time and was immune compromised. I just accessed my port and did the treatment myself.

My doc told me the same thing- we are creating superbugs. Pretty soon, most antibiotics will be ineffective.
 
#22 ·
They gave him a shot of bute when they were out but just the oral antibiotics. The difference is amazing. Yesterday was his first dose of antibiotics, the leg is already down to half the size it was and he's walking with a minimal limp. I honostly thought he had something severely torn or maybe even broken as much pain as he was in. She told me he would feel much better in just a couple days but that the swelling would take a while to go down. She has me hosing twice a day to minimize scar tissue.

As I've been hosing I've noticed that there is something peeling from the lower legs. (on both back legs). At first I was thinking it was a fungus, you can't see it by looking at him, it's as the hose hits it. I took my fingernails and scratched it out and it almost looks like stingers? Could he have been stung a bunch of times? I don't know... could be anything.

He is feeling much better though.

My son is on Pennicillian twice per day. He's been on it for a little over a year and will probably remain on it for quite a few more. He had a post-viral movement disorder. He had strep throat and then what they diagnosed as the flue (which they now believe was Rheumatic fever) and then an ear infection. The penicillan is to keep him from getting strep again. His neurologist said there have been a number of studies on the effects of long term use of penicillan and as of yet there does not appear to be an adverse side effect to the immune system. (with this type of drug...)?
 
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