Hi, no, it's far more likely the original splint was done from too hard work too early, not just playing in a paddock. 'Splint' bones - the 2nd & 4th metacarpals - are not firmly attached to the 3rd metacarpal(canon bone) at birth or in young horses, but they ossify with the canon as the horse matures. When a horse is worked too hard, too young, the connective tissue can tear away.

Yeah, icing & wrapping, anti inflams in the short term, then just resting the horse for 4 weeks or so, until the damage can ossify is good. Once he's healed though, full time turnout with mates, for him to get lots of regular play/exercise is best for growing strong, sound bones, along with other reasons. How old is he now?

If you want any feedback on his hooves, feel free to post some hoof pics(see link in my signature line before you do) & further info on diet, nutrition, lifestyle, etc, in the hoofcare section.

 

Standing wraps, not polos. Polos have too much stretch and will loosen and twist over time. Can give a bandage bow. Standing wraps distribute pressure better and don't stretch.

Not much beyond that. When my horse popped a splint he was never lame. Turned him out Sunday, caught him Monday and he had a big bump on his leg. Was never hot or lame.

 

@loosie - sorry for the misunderstanding, I got a bit rambly. I imagine the original one most likely happened around the time he was on the track, and, seeing the size, may have even been the reason he was let go. Being that he couldn't have resumed the level of work they demanded for quite a while, if he was already not quite pulling his weight, they may have just popped him into the field and said goodbye. Not a paddock, 70+ acres with natural trees, ponds etc, no human contact or human items (halters, blankets, shelters) and 30-some other horses. Currently the only turnout available are 30'x40' dirt lots. He does go out in the indoor arena on occasion, so that's probably where he managed to hurt himself as they don't supervise him when he's in there and he takes that chance to have a roll and start a party with the horses who's paddocks back the arena wall. He's going on nine at the end of this month.
@ApuetsoT He already busted the standing wraps, which were of course my first choice. I don't plan on spending another $40 for a new pair. See: "it was obvious he had chewed on the wraps" in my first post. :/ He got one polo off overnight, the BO found it in the corner when cleaning stalls this morning. Although she did say the leg looked less puffy than yesterday, so it may have done some good. Although if he's getting them off I don't want 10' of fabric in there for him to trip on. I imagine he will be difficult, if not near impossible, to keep wraps on. I have these boots: Horze Advanced Pro-Tec Boot Support Would those do any good? If not for support, then for protecting the area from any bumps and bonks as he gets up and lays down, etc? He has loads of hay in a slow feeder, two toys, a mineral block, and a puzzle/treat/toy ball to keep him busy, so I don't think he's messing with the wraps out of boredom. Seems he's just not a fan (as mentioned, he hardly ever is wrapped up, just the hard boots for 50 minutes or so during work). The BO said she had a pair of standing wraps she would "sacrifice in hopes of his benefit" (lol) and I told her to go ahead and wrap him up this morning. I'll be by around noon today and will take them off, ice, and maybe walk him some in the arena (stop and go for maybe 10 minutes) to relieve his hinds, which the BO said looked a tad stocked up. I'll re-do her wraps before I go to work, then be around to repeat the process at 7 or 8 tonight. *sigh* Unfortunately both the BO and her husband have declined any offers to help me out with icing/wrapping on a regular basis. I said I would add 15% to next months board if they changed their minds, and left it at that.

 

Not a paddock, 70+ acres with natural trees, ponds etc, no human contact or human items (halters, blankets, shelters) and 30-some other horses. Currently the only turnout available are 30'x40' dirt lots. He does go out in the indoor arena on occasion, so that's probably where he managed to hurt himself as they don't supervise him when he's in there and he takes that chance to have a roll and start a party with the horses who's paddocks back the arena wall. He's going on nine at the end of this month.

Not sure I understand - I think you're meaning he has not got a paddock now, gets no real turnout bar alone in an arena for a short time? So can you(after a few weeks rest) put him back in that 70 acre paddock with other horses to play with?? That sounds ideal & far preferable than being kept cooped up & solitary - he's also more likely to hurt himself trying to frustratedly sociallise over fences, especially if he is sedentary for the vast majority of time, than if he lived naturally with a herd too.

 

Don't bother wrapping.

Ice and if you see the vet get something like Surpass.

I wouldn't wrap anyways unless the vet said to and if he's taking them off don't bother, it's not a huge deal and just another thing to do.

My friend's mare popped a splint and as she was not lame the only thing we did was ice and maybe Surpass and some time off from work (but regular turn out). I remember well as we had a bad winter and it was - temps without windchill and 5' snow without drifts that month...and more snow practically every day (pretty close to literally!) My friend was freaking cause there was no way we could treat it in that sort of weather, even hot water would freeze pretty close to instantly. Well at my suggestion we put like 3 blankets on the poor thing and parked her in the snow bank until the shivering got too pathetic. Of course we had to take turns holding her in the snow bank which was less fun!

But honestly splints are not uncommon and like I said the above mare wasn't lame and the vet was honestly very unconcerned. My gelding may have had a splint pop and he's older and not in work. He just had a random bump I don't remember being there. Stuff happens.

It's good the vet is coming soon for a check up anyways and if need be he can always come sooner. Just let him heal up and he will be good to go!

 

@Yogiwick Yea, at this point he's just getting destructive. Both legs have inflamed areas now, as of my visit tonight. :/ I figure I'll just keep icing and resting him. He did keep the BOs wraps on until I got there at noonish, and were on at 8 tonight after I rewrapped them and left them, but I don't want to risk him ruining her things so left him naked tonight lol Never heard of Surpass, but after some googling found this "Many have also used topical Surpass (diclofenac) cream to assist in reducing inflammation. Another popular treatment is DMSO gel applied topically" which I have some DMSO from a month ago or so, and plan on starting that tomorrow. That quote can be found here (just fyi): Splints Happen | Horse Journal It's encouraging to hear that your experience with splints has been a quick breeze, not any long drawn out issue. I plan on phoning the vet on Monday to set up an apt for (ideally) the first or second week of March.
@loosie Agh, sorry I'm not being very clear lol I'm a terrible historian! The life story: He was at the track till he was three (somewhere in my state), then went to 70 acres from age 3 to 6 (around 4 hours south of where I live) and is now a 9 year old, and stays at a barn with 30' by 40' paddocks available, and is around 15/20 minutes away from my home. The 70 acres, although MUCH more ideal, is not an option. I only got my horse because the gal was having to shut down, so all the horses were $500 flat, take it or leave it. I think they ended up building houses on it The first splint he got, the one he came to me with, and the one that makes me think he's prone to splints, I assume he got on the track or on acreage. The one he has now (which looks like actually two, one on each front leg) he either got in his paddock or in the arena, which is where he goes for about 2 hrs a day if the weather is just too awful to stick him out all day to get soaked. He usually goes in his paddock from 5 am to 5 or 6 pm, but it's been soooo wet here they've had to take a few days where the horses just get shifts in the arena. Normally he's fine free lunging and being out unsupervised, but the arena is such a large, dry, easy space for him to get up speed that I imagine it's more likely he hurt himself in there than outside. Although with the mud I wouldn't be surprised if he tried to play around and got kicked or even slid into the fence (it's been known to happen; he does lots of dumb ****). He (of course) loves to go bezerk when given the opportunity, but is not one to go mad when kept stalled. He had a nasty injury in december 2015 and had to go on stall rest for 2 months; did totally fine, no fits, no cribbing, no weaving, no screaming: nothing. He's never left alone. He can always see other horses, either out his stall, through the wall, or is around them in turnout (arena or paddocks) to socialize and groom. Obviously if I take a trail ride he's alone with just me, and has never been herd bound or anything (thank god). I even haul him with a buddy if he needs to go out to the vet or is going on a long trip.

 

Hi, going a bit OT here, but I do think his lifestyle is relevant to his problems...

Of course, we sometimes don't have any options, but I find it hard to understand how a 30x40' space can be called a 'turnout paddock' - it is a yard! He is probably not even able to run much in it, assuming he was motivated to do so. I presume he's also turned out there alone, so no other horse to motivate play either. Therefore turnout in the arena is preferable to that. 2 hours turnout a day is just not adequate(especially if only in a solitary yard), and regardless whether he has coped with it without developing 'stable vices', it is still not good for him to have so little exercise. And he may well be 'prone' to splints & such, because bone density is one thing that suffers greatly from lack of exercise - if you don't use it, you lose it.

And horses having 'company' only over fences is not ideal either - they can't play or socialise or groom eachother much, and far more likelihood of injuries if they try to play over fences. All in all, I'd be looking for a much better place for him, if that's the best they can provide where you are. If that's not an option, he needs to be taken out for long walks, given a lot more exercise daily.

 

Around here paddock would be the appropriate term. Small is paddock and large is pasture (and pasture's have grass but sort of by definition anything large will have grass around here lol).

Agree that's a tiny area though. My mare has a significantly larger area and I always feel like it's small!

I don't know anyone in the US who says "yard" though a barn I worked at said "hack" which isn't really a term here either lol.

 

Agree with @loosie. Hopefully in Washington you should be able to track down a better living situation that is healthier. I'm down here on the OR coast, so we get at least as much rain as you do but the horses go out every single day. I've been at similar barns where they are designed poorly and have more horses than acreage or dislike having the horses tear up the ground. But for the horse's health, hopefully you can find something like I have. Our horses have shelters in the pastures so between that and rain sheets, they can be outside every day. Even without shelters you can sometimes find places that have evergreen trees to provide enough shelter. Keeping the grass from turning into a mud pit means having less horses per field and having proper footing where the horses may congregate for awhile. We only have 2-3 horses per large pasture. One of the TBs was lame and sore all the time but now that she is out moving 24/7 she is a different horse.

Hopefully your vet can see the horse and give you some good advice. I would be concerned about his soreness on both legs and wonder about his hoof balance, and overall health.