This is an archived Horseadvice.com Discussion. The parent article and menus are available on the navigation menu below:
HorseAdvice.com » Diseases of Horses » Lameness » Leg Swellings » Hot & Painful Legs »
  Discussion on Hives and hot, painful muscles in low back and haunches
Author Message
Member:
scrupi1

Posted on Friday, Sep 28, 2007 - 9:26 pm:

My 3 year old warmblood cross has had hives for the past 2 days, they have not been severe, I am not sure why he has them, my other horse is fine, and today I brought him out of the field to brush him down and lunge him and he was severly sore over his right lower back and in the muscles of his haunch. These muscles were definitly warmer than his opposite side, felt tighter, and caused him to flinch and move away from the touch, he had no warmth, or tendancy to move away on the opposite side. I hosed these areas off with cold water (which he did not like) and gave him 2 grams of bute. We are very short on money and I do not want to call the vet out for nothing if this is something that will resolve with rest, bute, and time. He is only very slightly off at the trot (you almost can not even tell, even when he is turning with the right leg on the inside. He has never been this tender or responsive to that light of a touch. I did not put him on stall rest since he is walking without pain and they do not tend to run or act up in the pasture. Is there anything else I should be doing (he is eating just fine but I have not checked to see what his temp is and there is no apparant injury that I could see, no single raised welt or abrasion)?
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Saturday, Sep 29, 2007 - 8:01 am:

Hello Susanne,
First let me make a few comments about your conclusions: because of the hives you cannot judge the muscles underneath. The skin maybe hot and painful and this prevents you from accurately assessing the muscles as you cannot palpate them without touching the skin. If you really do feel your horses muscles are painful however you should contact a vet and this may be a serious disease.

We have an article on hives that should help you with both first aid treatments and what to expect if you do need a vet, see Diseases of Horses » Skin Diseases, Wounds, and Swellings » Bumps / Nodules / Warts / Tumors » Hives, Wheals, and Urticaria in Horses.

But in order to help you assess whether this is a serious disease you need to assess your horse's vital signs, for more on this see Diseases of Horses » First Aid » Taking Temperature, Pulse, and Respiration.
DrO
Member:
scrupi1

Posted on Thursday, Oct 4, 2007 - 6:55 am:

Thank you Dr. O,

I took his vitals after reading your post and everything was within normal limits, I also read the article on hives. I stopped giving him the bute but continued to cold hose. The hives did not seem severe, I could see them on his barrel but not on his haunches which was why I didn't realize the tenderness could be coming from the hives. 2 days after the severe tenderness he is fine, no tenderness, no lameness, and no hives. The article said that they could return so I will be on the look out. I did decrease his beet pulp by one cup (had recently increased it) on the off chance that that could be contributing to things. It is very very dusty here as we have not had any rain but that is rather hard for me to control. Thanks again for your help! Susanne
Home Page | Top of Page | Join Us!
Horseadvice.com is a BBB Accredited Business. Click for the BBB Business Review of this Horse Training in Stokesdale NC