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  Discussion on Heel bulb bruise
Author Message
New Member:
hailey

Posted on Wednesday, Mar 30, 2011 - 7:08 pm:

Hi,

I have a question regarding a heel bulb bruise and low grade lameness. When I rode my horse yesterday he was fine when trotting to the left but when I switched to the right, he was ever so slightly short in the turns but was fine on the straight sides and eventually seemed to work out of it. When I finished my ride I noticed a bright purple bruise up high on the inside heel bulb of his right front leg. The bruise was no bigger round than the tip of my pinky finger. My trainer rode my horse today and he was the same as yesterday. Slightly short to the right in the turns, fine on the straight sides and then seemed to work out of it.

So my question is could a small bruise on the heel bulb cause that type of lameness/shortness of stride in the turns?

Thanks!
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Thursday, Mar 31, 2011 - 12:46 pm:

Welcome Deborah,
The bruise indicates some sort of trauma so yes this bruise might be associated with lameness. Does the area seem sore when finger pressure is applied?
DrO
New Member:
hailey

Posted on Thursday, Mar 31, 2011 - 1:39 pm:

Thanks for responding to my message!

When I first pressed on it he didn't seem to react that much but when I pressed a little harder, he did try and pull his foot away from me. It is hard to say if he was reacting to pain from the bruise because he is cranky by nature and is very fidgety when you are picking feet, grooming etc.

He caught his heel bulb once in the past and actually cut himself. He was initially sore on it but after a couple of days he was fine. From that point on, I started using bell boots whenever I ride. Unfortunately I can't use them when showing and I am guessing that he got this bruise when I showed him over the weekend. I found it on Tuesday night but he had a couple of days off after the show so I am not sure when it appeared.

I am going out to see him tonight so I will push on it again and see how he reacts.

Assuming that the lameness is a result of the bruise, how quickly should it resolve? I am trying to determine if I should call the vet if he is still slightly short in the turns tonight since this is day 3 since I found the bruise. I just don't want to attribute this too quickly to the bruise and miss something else.

Thanks again,
Deborah
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Friday, Apr 1, 2011 - 6:41 am:

How long a bruise is painful will depend on how badly bruised the tissue is and to some degree what tissues are bruised. We cover this issue of when the vet should be called for a lame horse at HorseAdvice.com » Diseases of Horses » Lameness » First Aid for the Lame Horse.
DrO
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