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Discussion on Is it stocking up?
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New Member:
Ripsa
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Posted on Tuesday, Feb 7, 2006 - 3:23 am:
Greetings,
I am interested in buying an Irish mare, 10 year-old, show jumper (130-140 cm). However her owner told me that she has had a minor problem in her back left leg. The leg (above the hoof) gets swollen if the mare stays in the stalls for long hours. There is no sign of pain or any limping, on the contrary, she is an excellent jumper and I've seen her jumping in competitions many times. The minute she gets out of the stalls, the swollen area disappear completely in seconds. My questions are:
1. Is this problem considered stocking up?
2. How serious is it and how to treat it?
3. Will it affect the mare's ability for jumping in the near future?
4. Is it risky to buy this mare?
I would appreciate it if you could give me any of your professional advice.
Best regards,
MDG
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Member:
Canter
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Posted on Tuesday, Feb 7, 2006 - 7:59 am:
Michel,
It sounds like stocking up, but the only way to know for sure is to have a vet examine the horse, which I would assume you would want to do anyway, prior to buying her. My mare occasionally has the same problem with stocking up. The best medicine is to prevent it in the first place--if you can, keep the horse turned out as much as possible. In the case of my horse, when she does stock up, I wrap her legs and continue to work her (the swelling goes down almost immediately) and it has not affected her performance at all.
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Member:
Canter
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Posted on Tuesday, Feb 7, 2006 - 8:01 am:
Let me just add one thing, though, as I don't know if it has any relevance: we don't jump, we ride dressage, so although the stocking up hasn't hurt her performance, I don't know how it would affect her if we were jumping fences.
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Tuesday, Feb 7, 2006 - 8:02 am:
Welcome Michel,
Without examining the mare Michel, we cannot really answer these specific questions about your mare except the one about risk. Buying horses is always a risky proposition.
It sounds like stocking up however the article associated with this forum describes stocking up in detail so that you should be able to recognize it and answers your questions about prognosis. The easiest way to get back to the article is clicking on » Stocking Up » on the navigation bar above.
DrO
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New Member:
Ripsa
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Posted on Tuesday, Feb 7, 2006 - 8:48 am:
Greetings to all,
Thanks indeed for your advice.
A vet has already checked the mare and told me that the swelling is not affecting the mare's ability for jumping at all (YET). He said that this problem is very common among horses and that it is more of an inconvenience than anything. However I got worried when I red in the article associated with this forum that: "moderate or prolonged stocking up can cause a further loss of elasticity".
I therefore wonder whether or not this loss of elasticity will slowly affect the mare's ability for jumping in the future. Besides, can one prevent this loss of elasticity by keeping the horse turned out as much as possible?
Best regards,
MDG
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Tuesday, Feb 7, 2006 - 12:56 pm:
That's a good question Michel. I have seen two hunters whose problem was progressive. Over the years the problem worsened so that pressure bandaging was always needed even when turned out. Whenever worked the bandages came off but had to be put right back on. It never prevented the horses from working but did require the extra work and limited turn out because it is hard to keep bandages on when out. Why these 2 horses were this way I am uncertain, they came into the practice that way.
However that is 2 of 100's of horses that I have known that stock up and by itself I would not rule out a good show horse. If you keep the swelling out the problem should not worsen unless there is some undiagnosed coexistent problem like a propensity toward recurrent cellulitis (inflammatory disease of the tissues of the leg sometimes of unknown cause for more see Hot Painful Legs). Perhaps reviewing the past veterinary records on the horse would help with this.
DrO
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New Member:
Ripsa
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Posted on Wednesday, Feb 8, 2006 - 1:00 am:
Thanks DrO for your information,
I feel that stocking up could be more serious than it sounds!!! I need to investigate even more about the health history of this mare before taking any decision.
Do you think an X-ray would show whether or not there is some undiagnosed coexistent problems? I red the article on Hot Painful Legs and I couldn't associate any of the problems to the mare's case because I know for a fact that she hasn't been in pain or lame for quite some time.
Anyway I think that I have to get busy today and investigate more!!!
Regards,
MDG
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Wednesday, Feb 8, 2006 - 6:47 am:
Rarely is it a serious problem but it is possible when the stocking up is the result of some chronic or recurring problem that has caused the tissues to loose their elasticity.
Radiographs might show underlying bone or joint pathology but stocking up is more of a soft tissue issue so a thorough ultrasound of the area that swells may be more diagnostic. If when the tissues are not swollen there are no observable or palpable abnormalities and there is never any lameness, there may be little to look for.
DrO
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New Member:
Ripsa
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Posted on Wednesday, Feb 8, 2006 - 7:49 am:
Thanks,
I did some investigations and I found out that this mare had an accident almost 3 years ago, she was 6-7 year-old. Her leg was injured in an accident and it was treated. Apparently the leg lost some of its elasticity during the treatment and started stocking up. However this accident never affected the mare's ability for jumping and she was never lame after that accident. On the contrary, during the last years her jumping has improved.
Is this good or bad news?
Regards!
MDG
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Thursday, Feb 9, 2006 - 6:56 am:
Not having examined the leg at the time of the accident I cannot comment but not being lame and improved jumping sounds good to me.
DrO
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New Member:
Ripsa
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Posted on Friday, Feb 10, 2006 - 1:17 am:
DrO,
Thanks indeed for your advice and help. I will keep you posted about any news concerning the mare.
Regards,
MDG
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Member:
Angel77
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Posted on Thursday, Feb 23, 2006 - 6:07 am:
Dear Michel,
Dr.O said everything I would advise.
In addition, if you were able to keep this horse in a larger barn stall or even better yet a 24x24 or a 24x48 etc you may find the horse no longer stocks up or as badly as they did previously.
As this was the case with my horse. As soon as he was stalled at the show barn he would stock up not much but I had just moved in. He was turned out everyday for at least 3 hours.
Luckily he did not stock up as badly or ever had to be wrapped as when we were at another show barn.
At the other(unnamed)show barn everything everywhere was cement. Even though they had rubber mats along the aisles of the barn most all of the horses had to be wrapped everyday for the rest of their life.
Some of these horses are worth $100K and up. It was kind of sad to see these beautiful jumpers with stocky legs.
It was a beautiful place and 10 minutes from my house. The owners were horrible. The grooms were the best. It was sad for Malibu.
My horse is a jumper. We had been to several show barns and ranches before I found a great ranch.
My horse lives in a 24x48 1/4 covered open pipe corral. He loves it. It has improved his overall attitude toward life. He never stocks up. Even after a hard days work of jumping. I never have to wrap him.
If this horse you want to buy is not lame and has clean films my two cents would be go for it.
Food for thought,
WTG
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