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  Discussion on Swollen hocks and stiff fetlocks
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New Member:
Jlmule

Posted on Wednesday, Sep 11, 2002 - 11:49 pm:

I just purchased a QH stud colt which I found was newly weaned at 2.5 months. He was shipped from Utah to Indiana and apparently traveled 48 hours in a slant load trailer without getting out or having the opportunity to lie down. I was told he was fine when the trip started but when he arrived, I found his back hocks to be somewhat swollen. I thought a little rest, cool soaks and bute would be all he would need. One week later his hocks remain swollen and I have noted that when he walks the fetlock area seems to "jerk" when the weight is put on the back foot. I am concerned this may be a contracture the etiology of which may not be from trailering. He walks ok but I have yet to see him trot. We were told he was eating grain well and has had a voracious appetite for it as well as hay. I have just in the last day changed him from sweet feed to Foal-Lac pellets. Does this sound like anything familiar?

Thanks,

Leslie
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Thursday, Sep 12, 2002 - 6:53 am:

Hello Leslie,
Without seeing the horse it is impossible to give accurate information and until you see him trot you will not know if there is some lameness present or not. Flexor contracture can cause the ankle to slightly subluxate then as it takes weight it pops back into place but there can be other reasons for this popping appearance.

Your plan for mild bilateral swelling in the hocks not associated with lameness sounds OK but I think you need to have your vet evaluate the conformational issues and have the foal evaluated for any lameness issues. You should be very careful about rapidly changing the concentrate, horses can be weaned at 2 and 1/2 months without complications.
DrO
New Member:
Jlmule

Posted on Friday, Sep 13, 2002 - 9:01 pm:

Thank you Dr. O. The vet has already been called and hopefully can make it out in the next day or so. I have watched this colt closely the last day or so and his back hocks actually "pop", somtimes audibly. His pastern/hoof angle is definitely more upright than what I perceive as normal. Until the vet arrives, is it unwise to maintain him on Foal-Lac and good quality hay? I am concerned he could be "over-growing" his tendons as discussed in the above article on contractures. Should I remove all the sweet feed and perhaps change him to a slightly less fortified hay? I believe at the time of weaning he was placed on sweet feed and alfalfa.

Thanks,

Leslie
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Saturday, Sep 14, 2002 - 4:12 pm:

Hello Leslie,
What is unwise is to switch concentrates rapidly and it is not clear why you thought moving him back to Foal Lac pellets was a good idea.

Certainly your descriptions increasingly suggest flexor tendon contracture but until he is examined and diagnosed I am slow to give any recommendations but if you decide to change him back to grain this should be done slowly. How old is this foal?
DrO
Member:
Jlmule

Posted on Saturday, Sep 14, 2002 - 10:30 pm:

Thanks again, Dr. O. I guess I felt that, if the contractures were a result of too rapid growth from perhaps pushing this 2.5 month old colt onto sweet feed and alfalfa hay then reverting back to a feed source more like Mom would be wise. I thought the Foal-Lac would provide a more nutrient-balanced substrate which would allow adequate but not too intense growth. My thinking, perhaps not correctly, was that puppies should eat puppy food, kitties should eat kitty food and foals should eat foal food. And, because math is not my forte, it is easier for me to calculate cups of Foal-Lac/body weight and age than to figure out the calcium:phosphorus ratios of the sweet feed + hay. Since his previous owners assure me he was not like this at birth (and I have no choice but to believe them) I have to assume this was an aquired defect. And, if I know what he was eating before I got him then I guess I have to assume that it could have been at least partially to blame for the defect (although as your article mentions, no one knows with certainty just what causes the flexor contractures). I know there are those that feel it is fine to wean at 2-2.5 months. I believe this would be most appropriate only if the mare had been providing the foal adequate nutrients prior to weaning and that the foal was appropriately nourished. (I would never dream of putting an orphaned foal directly on sweet feed and alfalfa.) I am afraid this foal, born in the DrOught-stricken West and sold because they were nearly out of pasture and hay may well have been hurried onto sweet feed and alfalfa which then induced a sudden growth spurt. I also bought a mare from the same place whose foal had been weaned just prior to her being shipped to us. When she arrived, she was way too thin and I suspect my colt's dam looked much the same. Anyway, that is my reasoning which may be way off base. I am very open to your suggestions. I know that in our German Shepherds (which we also raise) we have to be very careful about them growing too quickly in order to reduce hip problems.

Leslie
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Sunday, Sep 15, 2002 - 4:16 am:

I see your reasoning but it ignores an important fact: we think this occurs or at least is exacerbated from over-nutrition and the Foal-lac has more calories and protein on a weight per weight basis than what you switched him off of. Of course regular feed can be overfed also so it is not really so much, "which feed he is getting" as it is "how much is he getting" and you are right mineral balance is important.

I am not a proponent of routine weaning at 2 1/2 months but one of the first things you do with foals who are continuing to contract while nursing is wean them so that you can control their nutrient intake. You can do this with Foal-Lac pellets, if young enough, just as well as grain but in both cases you must feed a restricted diet and there must be supplemental hay to make up for the low volume. The article provides some calculations and guidleines that you could apply to a feeding regimen using Foal lac pellets. Forage changes should be made slowly also.
DrO
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