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  Discussion on How long is a horse lame following shin splint...
Author Message
New Member:
landj

Posted on Thursday, Jun 25, 2009 - 5:15 pm:

Hi, about 2 wks ago 4yo mare received injury to outside hind leg (looks like a kick or hit pen). I was unaware of it until I saw her slightly limping at a walk in her pen, then I was told by a person who was working with her that the vet had seen her told her to give her 1/2 gr bute for just a day and run cold water over it. Swelling has gone down and is not hot, does not seem lame when walking in pen but at trot on soft ground in round pen she has a head bob. Is this normal? I do not care about her having a bump on her leg, just the soundness. What is a typical time frame for a horse to become sound again? Do you think I should continue to bute her and run water on her at this point since it's been 2 weeks? How often should I trot her to check for soundness?
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Friday, Jun 26, 2009 - 9:07 am:

Welcome landj,
Let me help turn your thinking a bit to look at this correctly.

"Still lame" is normal for your horse with this degree of injury and the treatment you have given. The question that you need answered is, "what parts of my horse are injured and how badly". Only with this information can you then accurately answer the questions treatment and prognosis you pose. A image of the swollen area might help us narrow down the rule out list.

If you believe this is trauma to the splint bone the article associated with this discussion covers the various possibilities and common clinical presentations.

If you remain uncertain of the exact nature of the injury yet a veterinary call is not part of your plans I recommend you consider our recommendations at Diseases of Horses » Lameness » First Aid for the Lame Horse which covers your issues of continued NSAID use and exercise.
DrO
New Member:
landj

Posted on Friday, Jun 26, 2009 - 10:37 am:

Thanks! I will try and get a pic but it will be another story to try and post it! Day before yesterday the vet was out to float her teeth. As he was leaving I remembered it and told him. He came over,looked at it , ran his hand over it, said it was a shin splint probably caused by a kick or hitting on pen (there is a small amount of hair missing) He said it wouldn't affect her soundness. That night is when I put her in the round pen and saw the bob at the trot. She is fine at the walk now. So I was wondering is this typical 2 weeks later to have a head bob and how long before it goes away?
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Saturday, Jun 27, 2009 - 9:27 am:

I have my head in my hands landj, I failed miserably in my previous post. Let me try again.

There is no typical because the amount of injury to the horse will vary remarkably from case to case. Do some horses with traumatic injuries to the splints stay lame 2 weeks? Absolutely. The article gives typical resting times for splint injuries but these are generalities, every case is different.
DrO
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