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  Discussion on Soft Tissue Swelling - lower hind leg
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New Member:
flywheel

Posted on Tuesday, Jan 11, 2011 - 10:54 am:

Hi -

on 12/30 my 15yo 16.1H gelding developed some swelling on his hind leg. It occurred after a pretty long day in the Texas HIll Country which has quite a bit or rocks and steep inclines declines (Bandera). He is very fit as we ride 80 - 120 miles a month on varying terrain. His shoes / feet look good. (not sure what caused the actual swelling as they had a pretty crazy day in the mud a couple of days prior - slip marks all over the ground from after the first rain in 3 months...)

Anyway, the next morning I noticed the swelling and headed home.

The swelling is on the right rear leg, on the back side, half way down and is pretty hard to touch(not soft or puffy). THere was some heat with it but not extreme. There appears to be no soreness when palpating and he is not lame at all. In fact - if I had not noticed it by feel, then I would not have even known about it. It is visible and about 2-3 inches long.

I brought him to the vet and she saw nothing abnormal with him (lameness, soreness, disposition) and so we did an ultrasound. The tendons all looked like they should, but the soft tissue had the swelling.

I have been giving him Bute and hosing once or twice a day - but i feel like I should be doing more as I do not feel the swelling is going down fast enough. It has been about a week and a half and I was hand walking him which really helped it go down at first, now I have him turned out - which he normally is. In the mornings the swelling looks noticeable as I have him penned up at night but I think it is because he is not moving as much.

Vet told me to just take a couple weeks off and he would likely be fine - I am planning to go back in the next day or so.

What can I do more to assist in getting the swelling down? If I need to wrap - I will need to find out how to do this properly as I hear I could do more damage than good.

How long does soft tissue take to go down?

Is there anything else I need to be concerned about.

Thank you.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Wednesday, Jan 12, 2011 - 8:09 am:

Welcome John,
Your statement "The tendons are OK but the soft tissue is swollen" is confusing. In medicine everything that is not bone is "soft tissue". Specifically which soft tissues were swollen and if there is a discreet swelling what were the characteristics of the swelling on the ultrasound. Also when you say "half way down the leg" do you mean half way down the cannon? Or is this really in the area of the hock which is about half way down?

While we get this straightened out you can read about bandaging for swelling at HorseAdvice.com » Diseases of Horses » First Aid » Pressure Wraps, Poultices, Cold and Heat Therapy for Swelling in Horse Legs.
DrO
New Member:
flywheel

Posted on Wednesday, Jan 12, 2011 - 1:26 pm:

Hi Doc -

Thanks.

The swelling is halfway down the cannon bone and on the rear between the hock and fetlock.

From the ultrasound, the vet had no concern with any tendon damage - but the tissue that exists between the skin the tendon was inflamed.

I asked about sheath damage and while I don't recall the exact answer, that was not a concern (either there is little or no sheath there or it was not affected.

Yesterday she told me to continue the cold hose 2x/day and 1gm bute per day. She also said if I want to wrap, that would be fine but I am not comfortable enough to wrap as I could cause more damage. I told her I would come in and she could show me the proper way to wrap and she said to just see how he does over the next 2-3 days. If it does not go down further, they would take another look.

Any input would be great - again, I am interested to know more about this and how long this usually takes to go down and if there is anything else I might be able to do. Like most folks 0 just want to make sure I am doing the best job so we can get back at it safely.

Thanks again,

John
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Thursday, Jan 13, 2011 - 8:29 am:

Yes this could be edema say from trauma to the spot. Also a burst blood vessel resulting in a hematoma might present this way. Once a clot forms it will pit like edema does. I have seen one such occurrence in this area.
DrO
New Member:
flywheel

Posted on Thursday, Jan 13, 2011 - 8:49 am:

Thanks Doc,

Besides hand walks, hose and bute - any thing else?

Are there any liniments or dressings that will help with this?

Thanks,

Joihn
Member:
vickiann

Posted on Thursday, Jan 13, 2011 - 10:07 am:

John,

There are topicals that will help reduce swelling if rubbed on vigorously a couple of times daily.

I had pretty good luck using Witch Hazel as an aid to help improve circulation when a horse of mine had long term swelling in his hind legs.

Once the swelling is there it can be very hard to get it all out.
New Member:
flywheel

Posted on Thursday, Jan 13, 2011 - 10:21 am:

Thanks Vicki -

I'll double check with the vet then look around and see what I can get.

Thanks for the input.

John
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Saturday, Jan 15, 2011 - 9:42 am:

JohnL, still being a little uncertain as to what is going on I am loath to give specific advice. If this is edema, massaging the area should help but as to topicals it depends on whether this is passive or active edema. This is discussed in the article I reference above and the link in that article to the topic Counter Irritation as Therapy in Horses.
DrO
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