please think good thoughts for my horse (update: not worst-case)

[Wildsky]

Oh poor guy

 

[journey11]

It's so hard to see our pets get old.

I hope your horse can recover from his injury. So sad that he hurt himself playing.

 

[TMNTCkins]

Sending good thoughts you way.

 

[Rafter 7 Paint Horses]

I sure hope he feels better soon.
I also have an old horse who is arthritic, so I understand your concern.
The only thing I can suggest is just what you are doing, getting a vet out to see just how bad he is hurt.
I know sometimes they just forget they are not yearlings anymore and get too frisky for their own good.
I know you will do the right thing for him, even if it is hard on you.

Praying

that he has just pulled a muscle and he will have to limp around for awhile while it heals, so he will be with you for several more years.

Jean

 

[Eggs4Sale]

 

[buck-wild-chick]

for your horse.

 

[onthespot]

Oh man, I can see where this is going too... with the weight off the one swollen leg, it adds weight to the other three, all with issues already... I am so sorry he is not doing well. Best of the best thougts for your compadre... Hope he improves. Is there any way to put him in a sling for a day or two to just sorta take some of the weight off, but still put enough weight on the legs to keep the frogs working and blood moving? I know it's a long shot, but that was something that came to mind... We rigged up one once to save a yearling that cut her inside of her hock really bad. She was in it for about six weeks! We didn't know what we were doing. It was about 35 years ago... She turned out okay, but she was young, and not otherwise crippled, and not a TB which are not famous for standing still for long... Hope he turns out okay. keep us posted.

 

[patandchickens]

Well, it could be a lot worse, although I still do not know what will happen in the longer term.

This morning, he looks good when slowly grazing along -- he'll even keep the other hind foot in the air for a few seconds, you know how they mow their way slowly along as they graze? Willingly turns (while grazing) in that direction as much as other direction. When asked to walk properly on the lead, he is not walking properly on that leg but my totally-nonhorsey mother might not notice (that's my personal scale of severity of lameness - 'would mom see it'

). I did not even ask him to trot b/c he's similar enough to last night that I think I know the answer (3leggedness).

He has "some" (but not huge lots of) swelling above the fetlock, with some but not huge lots of heat. He's fairly sore to palpation in suspensory/DFT area, but not the SFT nor around the joint itself.

So from the way it looks/feels, I am pretty comfortable that it is either a) damage to the deep flexor tendon, b) a high suspensory pull, or less likely c) low fracture of cannon bone, not into the joint.

I iced him for a little while this morning out there in the field (it did not seem kind to make him walk almost a quarter mile back to the barn when I could wrap an ice pack on where he was). Considered bute but I think its value as an antiinflammatory would be outweighed by making him use the ankle more than he should.

MAYBE he will be ok. He is certainly not suffering unduly at the moment, and is enjoying all the 'standing hay' in the new paddock. I will keep icing/hosing, and I will wrap the leg this afternoon once I either find my darn wraps or buy some new ones, and get more vetrap (since he will be turned out in the wrap you gotta cover it to keep burrs etc out). I don't think a vet would really have much to add at this point, as it's not like we'd be doing lasering or anything like that.

And I will just have to wait and see how things go, and how the other 3 legs hold up, and whether it heals well enough for him to be happy enough for the winter.

So, thank you all VERY MUCH for your good thoughts, and he could still use a few but they seem to be working

Pat, glad that no matter how this turns out he at least got to be a stupid racehorse and run full-out one last time, even though I also wish he hadn't'a done it

 

[hen-thusiast]

Quote:
Seems like you can never quite take that out of them. I cringe when I see my old racehorse deciding to relive her "glory" days.

Sending lots of good thoughts his way!