Tuesday, June 9, 2009

I don't Like Leg Troubles







Just like I said it, I don't like leg problems in horses. Hard to detect, difficult sometimes to recover from. About 3 weeks ago maybe now 4 weeks I have noticed Roany constantly resting on his hind leg. When he trotted off you could tell he was off on his steps. Looked like he was just dragging his leg a bit. I waited a bit and then we went to see the vet. He couldnt see anything and when you palpated him he didnt budge or flinch. I did notice that he had a small puffiness on his fetlock (ankle) seemed bigger than on the other foot. I told him about it and he (vet) seemed to see a tiny bit of swelling. So we decided to do a week of therapy I guess you would call it. We did a sweat wrap for 12 hours and then off for the night with a hosing down. Plus butte twice a day. By the end of week no change. Well I dont know what it could be. I was thinking windpuffs, windgals or a sprain of some sort but I just dont know. I guess here soon I need to take some slides of it. I just hope it gets better. Decided to stay off of him completely and have him stay in a smaller pasture (with his babysitter of course) for about 2 months at least and see if it changes. I'll tell you..it sure doesnt stop him from doing what he wants. He can still run and kick and buck and chase his friend if he needs to but as soon as he stops he instantly rests that foot. That is what has been going on for us this past month. I'll tell you this, I have been giving him fat supplement oil with his grain and he has gotten so shiney this summer. I think.

8 comments:

Paint Girl said...

I hope you can figure out what is going on with Roany's leg! I also don't like leg troubles! They are not fun! And it can be so frustrating!!! Hopefully with him being on "bed" rest will help!
I think he looks very shiny too!

Blackfeatherfarm said...

Ugh, thats one of those things we hate ! Somethings wrong but if you can't figure it out, how do you fix it ? Hope he improves with rest. Good luck !

Pony Girl said...

Must be frustrating, to not know what is causing it! Especially when it's not obviously a wound or really swollen. I hope the rest helps and you can figure it out. I feel your pain as I am frustrated with my horse's sarcoid right now. It's to the point I need a biopsy so that we really know what we are dealing with.

Shirley said...

Roany looks like he is in good body weight to me.Just a suggestion, but if you aren't riding him because of his ankle problem you may want to change his diet. Horses really don't need alfalfa hay, a good grass hay is more suited to their digestive tract.(You can always get your hay tested for nutritional value) Also,cut back or eliminate the grain- if you're worried about his weight, make sure his teeth are good, he's dewormed, and if you can, just have him on pasture. I have seen horses who aren't being used get killed with kindness. Also your idea of bringing him to an equine chiropractor is a really good idea.

yui said...

Hi! I'm behind you.
Good luck!

Linda said...

Joints are complicated areas,twisting galloping jumping all take a toll. In England we are a great believer in 'Doctor Green', which is when you can't find a problem rest them turn out to grass, like you have.
I was also told by a very exspensive vet. that any swellings benefit from hot and cold treatments, but that ice pack 30secs, warmer pack 30secs,continue 20mins at a time. He said keeping it on longer is useless as the rapid hot and cold treatment get new blood to the site of injury(hot), and the Cold takes it away kinda cleansing/healing the site.Wingalls are usually just above the joint and palpitate on pressing, these shouldn't make a horse lame,or have the effect you are getting. Polticing or any applied heat to a joint is usually best avoided as you can cause more harm than good to the joint capsule. Frequent cold hosing wouldn't do any harm, we are lucky here as we can go down to the sea which is great..He looks great, hope you find out what up soon. Lindax

Linda said...

PS. You can stand in foot in a bucket of water, if hes quiet enough, not to waste water. Lindax

Donnie Smith said...

That is cool that you have horses. My boys always beg me for one, but I just don't have the time to take care of one. They can be a lot of work.