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  Discussion on Soft Tissue injury
Author Message
Member:
Gardener

Posted on Saturday, Mar 26, 2005 - 7:13 pm:

My horse became slightly lame the beginning of February. The pasture was extremely icy, and I assumed he slipped, but no one saw anything. Towards the end of Feb. he got worse, and I took him to the vet. In the 5 days before I got an appt. he got much better, and was only slightly lame when I took him in. Not noticiblely lame when trotting straight, only with left to the inside, is he lame. The vet "blocked" the leg, (front left was lame) and with the first injection at the bottom of the leg, we saw improvement when trotting in the round pen. So, because it was low in the leg, they x-rayed the hoof, and everything was good. So, I was told it was a soft tissue injury and to give him 6 to 8 weeks rest. That was about 3 weeks ago. He is still the same. Very slightly lame when trotted with the left to the inside of a circle. No heat or swelling. I am just letting him rest in the pasture. I am wondering if there are any special exercises that I should be doing with him. Nutritionally, is there anything I should be giving him? I do have him on Glucosamine and MSM. I am wondering if the hand walking as outlined in the article would be good for this injury?
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Sunday, Mar 27, 2005 - 9:15 am:

Hello Samantha,
The problem is we do not know the nature of the injury Samantha so there are no specific recommendations. However there are no exercises you can do that will come close to the exercise in the pasture, so if this is what the vet recommended then I don't think hand walking is indicated. Note that in the article during the hand walking stages the horses are on stall rest.
DrO
Member:
Gardener

Posted on Sunday, Mar 27, 2005 - 4:24 pm:

Thanks for your response. I will leave him in his pasture for now, and wait it out.
New Member:
firefly

Posted on Sunday, Jan 28, 2007 - 11:28 pm:

Hi Dr Oglesby,
Approx ten days ago my gelding kicked my mare on the lateral lower end of the hock that caused a laceration. No lameness at that time. Yesturday, after a night of cutting, she was lame at the trot, not heat, mild swelling below the hock but above the laceration where she was kicked, approx 6 inches, that is really only noticeable from the front end of the mare. I've now got her turned out in pasture and noticed intermitent lameness at the trot.
Should I leave her out in pasture? Or should I be more aggressive? Any ideas as to what the injury could be?
Thank you,
Michele
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Monday, Jan 29, 2007 - 11:57 am:

Hello Michele,
Without knowing the exact location if would be difficult to guess and even knowing the location there are different disease processes possible (infection, soft tissue injury, hairline fracture, arthritis as some examples) that will require a exam to differentiate. Because the cause is unknown you should review the article Diseases of Horses » Lameness » First Aid for the Lame Horse as it discusses your concerns. Always when pain develops several days after an injury, infection is to be considered and this may be an emergency if it is in the joint itself.
DrO
New Member:
firefly

Posted on Monday, Jan 29, 2007 - 9:02 pm:

DrO,
Thank you for responding so promptly, I'm impressed! I'm a new member and very pleased I found and joined your web site. Can I e-mail a picture I took of my mares leg for your opinion? Would you recommend x-rays and radiograph?
Thanks again,
Michele
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Tuesday, Jan 30, 2007 - 6:30 am:

We don't take emailed photos Michele but you can upload your image here, for more on how this is done see, Help & Information » Uploading Images and Files Into a Posting. I recommend a good examination and from there decide what the next step might be.
DrO
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