Lame Filly

[TR]

Wouldn't ya know it that as soon as I started advertising that filly, she came up lame? Sure enough, she's 3 - legged lame in her right for foot/leg. No swelling anywhere, no sensitivity in leg or shoulder. Spoke to the vet, and have ruled out founder (I'm paranoid about that), and we figured a possible abcess in that foot. I can't see any discoloration in her sole or frog, but her feet are black and hard, hard, hard. There's also not any sensitivity from what I can tell on her sole or frog, but I don't have any hoof testers out here. I've currently got her on Bute and Sulfa tabs per the vet's recommendation, and am soaking her foot daily. A little improvement, but I'm thinking that's the bute working. Course of action is to see how she does until Monday, then haul her in for x-rays if she shows no improvement. I also have a call into my farrier for him to come on out and take a look and see if he can detect an abcess.

Any other thoughts? As I said, I'm not seeing any swelling due to soft tissue damage, but she's kind of pidgen toed (tends to put weight on outside walls of her feet), and I'm wondering about stress to that pastern.

 

[J]

Was she being worked before this injury came up. I mean is she in a work program currently. Could she have strained something while playing around with other horses or running and kicking? I have a one for sale now too and everytime he takes off running and playing I look for him to come up hurt, then thats when someone will actually show up and wnat to take a look at him.

How lame is she? can she be litely exercised to maybe help? But I guess if it's in the hoof exercise won't help huh? Just thinking out loud here..

 

[Alan]

TR sounds like you're on top of it. I would do exactly what you are doing. Watch the amount of bute you give her (length of time) they colic pretty easy after a few days.

Alan

 

[TR]

J-
She's just now 6 mos, and is on no workout schedule whatsoever. Just out on pasture. I haven't noticed her running and playing, but that doesn't mean that she hasn't done it which was why I was looking for a soft tissue injury and am really looking at her pasterns. There's just no swelling or tenderness anywhere to indicate a sprain or strain.

I've left her out as the vet said that walking on that foot might help bring the abcess (if that's what it is) to the surface, and penning her would end up in throwing her into fits trying to get to the other horses. She seems to be taking care of herself though, and not overdoing it.

Alan -
Holy cow! Colic after a few days?!? Man, I sure didn't think of that, but I've never had a baby on Bute before either. She's on 2 grams 1Xday. She also won't eat her feed with the sulfa on it, so I've had to mix it up in a 60cc syringe with some water and squirt it down her throat. That's supposed to be administered once a day too. So, bless her little heart, she gets Bute, Sulfa, soaked and fed all at once, and you're right, it sure sounds like a sure fire concoction for colic.....

Okay, so while all this is going on, I guess I need to teach her how to load just in case.......

 

[Alan]

The sulfa sould be okay, but haven't had many horse like it on their feed. The bute is real hard on the stomach lining and will cause a horse to colic in 5 days or so. but she is one a low dose (I'm sure okay for her weight), but you may want to check with your vet on the colic issue if she has been on bute for many days.

Alan

 

[J]

Sounds to me like you've done all that is possible at this point and now it's just a waitng game. Best of Luck.

 

[Kelly]

You might want to try feeding some oil( cosoya, corn,soybean?) It coats the lining of the stomach from the meds. Start out with just a little at a time and work it up to 1/4 cup or so. I would definitly give some probiotics while on the meds also. I feed my horse oil everyday with her meds to mask the flavor. I use Healthy Coat oil because it has a flavor she loves & also has some vit. E in it. Hope everything turns out fine.

 

[tapeworm]

Sorry to hear that Tr. I agree with Alan tho...sounds like your doing everthing right. be sure to do like somebody else said and use the probios with that much sulfa. Good luck

 

[Linda]

Sorry to hear about the filly. At her age she should heal well and rapidly.

As for bute causing colic, I hadn't heard that one before. I know it can cause ulcers under some circumstances and doses.

I don't know what a safe dose is for a 6 month old. For an adult horse with chronic pain, 3 to 4 grams per day is usually considered a safe dose.

My 25 year old has arthritis and gets his bute daily during the winter when he has increased arthritis pain. It's funny - he does far better all around on pasture during the summer and fall than he does on excellent quality hay all winter. But, where we live the snow is deep and the temps are cold in the winter, so all the horses live here at the house all winter.

 

[Alan]

As for bute causing colic, I hadn't heard that one before. I know it can cause ulcers under some circumstances and doses.

Not to argue but the fact that bute causes ulcers is the reason bute can cause cause colic.

Aln

 

[J&T Farm]

TR Are you soaking that in Epsons salt or what?

 

[TR]

Hi All,

Update on filly:

So, as of this morning, no progress with being soaked daily in epsom salts, and getting bute and tucoprin(sp) orally, so in she went for her first trailer ride to visit with the vet. Amazing what a trailer ride will do for them....she went in 3 legged, and came out 4. After 7 days of treating her as if she had an abcess, I was convinced that she has pulled/twisted, done some sort of damage to her pastern, but as it turns out, the darn abcess popped in the trailer on her way to the vet. Its actually a huge relief to know it was just an abcess and not something more serious.

She has an ichthamol dressing on her which will stay for the next 2 days, and after that we'll keep up with our daily foot soaks to make sure we have drawn all the infection out. I'm to give her bute until Friday, then we'll re-eval to see where she is. At this point though, we're expecting a full recovery.

Of course, the vet thinks I'm a silly worry wart, but ya know, I'd rather be safe than sorry.

 

[J]

Good news, it could always be worse though I guess. Better to be a worry wart than not to care at all and neglect them. Good luck with her.

 

[Alan]

That is great news, should be a quick recoverery. As for being a worry wart, last year I was starting my 3yr old gelding, had about 6 or 8 rides on him and he came up lame. I had been increasing his grain and giving him short periods on the new spring grass. I just knew I had foundered him and he was ruined, I was sick and at the barn what seemed like every hour to check his lameness (he too was on 3 feet). About two weeks into this my farrier came out to shoe one of my other horses for the trail season, he checked my gelding and found the abscess. I was both relieved and felt like a fool. I think worry wart is normal.

Alan

 

[tapeworm]

good news Tr...good to hear that..let us know how it comes out please

 

[shorthorn cowgirl]

does she lay down very much? I had a horse that was laim and her stomach hurt and she would lay down and roll around. So we gave her some stomach relief stuff for humans and her belly aick went right aaway. but if you see your horse laying down and rolling get her up quick. Rolling can cause a twisted gut. And he or she could die.