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  Discussion on Self-Inflicted Fetlock Injury
Author Message
New Member:
Parberry

Posted on Sunday, Oct 1, 2006 - 1:15 pm:

Hello,
I have a 7 year old gelding that just completed 70 days of handwalking and stall rest. Unfortunately he was able to buck me off on his second day at tack-walking. He successfully bucked around in circles before he was caught. I lunged him lightly after we caught him and he seemed sound. He looked sound to everyone that was watching but I was a little concerned that he seemed a bit uneven to me (he was on stall rest for a front collateral ligament issue in his foot). I cold hosed all of his legs and felt them for heat - there was no swelling or heat in the first hour. This morning, approx. 12 hours later, there was slight heat in his left hind fetlock and minor swelling (not visible but I can just feel it). He had boots on during his explosion, but after cold hosing this morning it seems like I can see a half moon shaped bruise and some fluid in a half moon shape seeping through the fur from the bottom inside of his fetlock. He seem mostly sound at the walk (no obvious distress) but I can hear that he lands a little differently in the alley way on one foot. He is fully weight bearing and not doing any toe pointing, although if I push on the bruised looking area he will pick his foot up. I wrapped it this morning with thick stable wraps and buted him. How would you proceed?
Thanks,
Kate
New Member:
Parberry

Posted on Sunday, Oct 1, 2006 - 11:09 pm:

Dr O.,
I removed the stable wraps to cold pack his medial hind fetlock again tonight (12 hours later, and about 24 hours after the original injury). I also gave him his second dose of 2 grams of bute. The swelling had been forced down by the wraps. There was still some heat. He was on bute, so the fact that he wasn't nearly so sensitive to me pushing on one three inch area doesn't reassure me very much. He doesn't seem lame at the walk and doesn't mind having me pick up the opposite hind leg at all which means he is pretty much 100% weight bearing. Since I used an ice pack instead of cold hosing I couldn't see the bruise, but there seems to be a rigid line toward the bottom of his fetlock joint that is about 3 inches long and is about 2 cm thick ... it just looks like displaced fur with a little bit fluid stuck to it. There is no blood, but it is hard and raised enough to feel it. Am I probably just dealing with a bruise? Do I need x-rays? If he is sound is it okay to hand walk him tomorrow? How about tack-walking (this time on ace!) over the next couple of days, I thought I'd use my bruises as a yardstick to let me know when we both might be ready for tack-walking?
Thanks so much! I'm so mad at myself for not just drugging him a little bit yesterday... I was in a hurry and over-confident and I feel horrible that I let him get away with running around madly.
Thanks,
Kate Parberry
Member:
Parberry

Posted on Sunday, Oct 1, 2006 - 11:12 pm:

Ps: I forgot to say that I did carefully dry his leg and re-wrapped both hind legs in stable wraps for the evening.
Thanks!
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Monday, Oct 2, 2006 - 7:02 am:

Much of your post sounds like the boot irritated the skin during the bucking. The serum weeping may even indicate there will be some sluffing of the irritated skin. How you proceed depends on how confident you feel about your understanding of the injury. If you think it is a minor injury to the skin, you can continue with bringing your horse along and local treatment for inflammation, if you are uncertain you should call your veterinarian for a better assessment. DrO
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