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  Discussion on Old splints back to live or new splints or else?
Author Message
Member:
Lindsey

Posted on Tuesday, Jan 31, 2006 - 8:09 pm:

I'm a bit worried, I brought my boy in from his little winter turnout paddock today, brushed off the mud and noticed quite some heat on the inside and front of his right hind cannon bone. I also felt 2 little lumps above each other. They were both solid & hard, but very hot.
I immediately trotted him up. But he did not come up lame and is not sore when touched or poked on those lumps or cannon bone. Also no swelling whatsoever, just a lot of heat. Hock perfectly ok.

My husband thinks these lumps have been there for ages. I honestly don't know if they were or not.

He's currently only worked in a sand/rubber arena and goes out in a muddy paddock (wet winter). So no hard surfaces.
He is however the type of horse that loves to jump around and buck for several minutes when turned out. So it is possible he kicked himself or some interference took place.

Just wondering can old splints re-vive and cause heat again? And in case of new splints, would they already be that hard from day one? If I understood it correctly splints are soft to start with?

Obviously I'll boxrest him. But should I think along the lines of a hairline fracture perhaps or would that present swelling & pain?

How long can I give him before I call the vet. I was thinking of boxresting him for 3 days and if still heat present then call for an X-ray. Or would I be waiting too long? (- unless of course the leg does start to swell or he shows pain-)

I read the articles on 'diseases of lower limb' and also came across the bucked shins, -but him not being a race horse and this being on a hind leg-, it would be very unlikely for him to have bucked shins, wouldn't it:-(? He's 10 yr old DWB dressage horse.

Thanks for any ideas.
Patsy.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Wednesday, Feb 1, 2006 - 8:38 am:

Without swelling, local sensitivity, or lameness the finding of heat is of questionable significance and may simply be the skin trying to regulate its temp back to norm, or a irritant on the skin. Were these areas covered by the mud? By itself it probably does not indicate the need for stall rest.

It is unclear what the nature of these lumps are so difficult to say much. Are they on the splint bone and is your husband's observations about the horses usually reliable? Bucked shins are very unlikely in your horse.
DrO
Member:
Lindsey

Posted on Wednesday, Feb 1, 2006 - 11:41 am:

Well, this morning it was a bit different. No more heat. The little lumps are still there, but no heat and still no swelling.
I did find a little crust with some dried up blood this morning just below the lumps, which with the cold hosing yesterday I didn't notice.

My husband will ride, brush him etc once or twice a week and he's so convinced he had felt them before but didn't think any of it or wouldn't have thought of this as a problem. They are very small the size of 2 peanuts and are really as hard as bone. They are about 3 fingerwidths down from the hock on the inside of his hindleg, I'd say on the splint bone, having looked at a splint bone picture.
You can very difficulty see them with the eye, you need to feel them basically.
I trotted him up once more this morning and fine.
So hopefully I got into an unnecessary panic.
I'm still keeping him in today to make sure the heat doesn't come back.

Could he have badly knocked himself once in the past and that resulted in lumps and now just hit himself in the same spot? Or is that rather uncommon.
You asked if the area was covered in mud, well, yes, his entire legs up to knees & hocks were covered in mud from rolling and fooling around.

I was also wondering, I've always been told it's best to leave horse's legs uncovered when turned out, but in his case could he be better off wearing a splint boot on his hinds whilst out. Especially since the farrier DrOve in some small borium studs in his hindshoes to prevent him from slipping in ice, which I can't take out. He comes in every day so I can take the boots off and hose his legs if they were to be too hot underneath the boots. Would that sound like a good idea?

Thanks for your advice Dr O.
Patsy.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Thursday, Feb 2, 2006 - 9:29 am:

Well it looks like you have found the source of your heat. I would say with the finding of a small wound that it is almost certain he banged himself on something and not an indication that he needs to be kept rolled in bubble wraps. If he starts doing this every week you can reconsider.
DrO
Member:
Lindsey

Posted on Thursday, Feb 2, 2006 - 11:43 am:

Haha bubble wraps, I like that word :-)
Yes, I understand. You are right, let's see how often he hits himself. And indeed the little wound explains why there was heat.
It's hard not to overreact sometimes when you love those animals SOOOO much that they mean the world to you. I wished I could wrap them in cotton wool daily, but then they wouldn't be allowed to be horse anymore. At least children you can tell them what to do or not to do, but those sweet & silly horses, you can often only watch them fooling around holding you heart in your hands hoping they'll be ok... :-) Why is an animal like a horse so strong, but yet oh so fragile?! :-(
Thank you for your help!!
Patsy.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Friday, Feb 3, 2006 - 7:12 am:

Your thoughts remind me of taking down the christmas tree. We have lots of horse-themed ornaments that get wrapped oh-so-carefully when put up. But the following year they are so high strung when first unwrapped! They really do best when we let them be horses.
DrO
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