|
|
Discussion on Lower leg swelling - fly bites
|
| Author |
Message |
Member:
canter
|
Posted on Thursday, Jul 10, 2008 - 7:58 am:
Hi Dr O,
I'm more curious than worried as my mare's issue seems to have resolved, but would appreciate your thoughts.
I was gone for 6 days, 2 weeks ago. Prior to that and while I was away, we had noticed that the flies were particularly aggressive - swarming on my mares fetlocks and literally drawing blood. I left Deep Woods Off at the barn and they had been using it, but apparently, while I was gone, my mare was so bothered by the flies, that they started wrapping her legs to keep them off. On the Sunday I returned, there was enough of a breeze that they felt they could leave the wraps off.
That Sunday, I got to the barn and found my mare with both front legs swollen from knee to fetlock, with mild heat - no lameness, but she was uncomfortable. I cold hosed, gave 1 gm bute and wrapped with polos over pillow wraps. Wasn't sure what was wrong as the BO wasn't there. When I spoke to her later that night, she was shocked as they had been so careful to protect those legs all week and they weren't swollen when she removed the wraps 12 hrs before I saw her.
Monday morning, still the same, so same treatment. I called the vet & he came out Wed. Swelling much better at that point, but still evident. He carefully examined the legs, took temp, had me walk/trot the mare on cement and in the arena. Everything normal except the swelling. His diagnosis: Inflammatory response to fly bites and had me continue the same treatment I had been doing, with the addition of adding DMSO to the night wraps. In the meantime, I purchased the mesh leg wraps for turnout.
The only other thing the vet mentioned was hoary allysum, and he searched the pasture and we did find a small amount - mostly in the "potty" areas where the horses don't graze. Although he found it (and the BO removed it all the next day) - he didn't think it likely that was the cause of the problem. This is a well fed horse on decent pasture supplemented with flakes of quality hay several times a day.
Anyway, to my questions:
1. If this is a response to the fly bites, why an inflammatory reaction only in her lower front legs? Flies are obviously biting everywhere on her body, altho really focused on the fetlocks
2. Is "inflammatory response" considered the same as an allergic reaction? Would Benadryl vs bute have helped?
3. Due to weather, this is the first really bad bug year I can recall....but the flies look like ordinary house flies...once the horse has had this response, it it likely to happen again if I left off the mesh wraps, or perhaps next year?
Thanks for your thoughts, DrO. If my horse has become sensitive due to this, I would like to be proactive in preventing it in the future.
Oh! one more thing: It took a full week to resolve enough where I felt it was fair to ride the horse. There was still minor swelling where windpuffs would be, but at that point, I figured some work might pump up the circulatory system and "flush out" the remaining puffiness - 3 rides later, her legs are just about to normal.
Many thanks!
|
Member:
nadia
|
Posted on Thursday, Jul 10, 2008 - 9:44 am:
My horse had a similar reaction to hoary alyssum - it was in the hay. I assume you have checked the hay? A few months later (in the winter), he got it again - checked the hay and found a few of stems of it - it was in a round bale. If I hadn't looked for the alyssum, I would not have noticed that it had it in it. My horse is very sensitive, so only a few pieces of it affects him. It took 4-5 days for the swelling to go down.
|
Member:
mrose
|
Posted on Thursday, Jul 10, 2008 - 10:34 am:
Years ago we also had several horses affected by hoary alyssum. One of them had a severe reaction that resulted in laminitis, the other two recovered with no problems. However, imo with enough fly bites a sensitive horse could have a similar reaction to the flies.
|
Moderator:
DrO
|
Posted on Thursday, Jul 10, 2008 - 12:24 pm:
Hello FranC,
1) The legs of the horse are predisposed to swelling simply because of gravity and its effects on circulation.
2) I think this is more an irritation than allergy. An allergy is when the immune system reacts inappropriately to an allergin, with enough bites this would be an appropriate reaction.
3) These are stable flies Fran and you have somewhat more control on their breeding than with other biting flies. For more on their control see
Horse Care » Routine Horse Care » Controlling Houseflies and Biting Flies.
DrO
|
Member:
canter
|
Posted on Thursday, Jul 10, 2008 - 12:44 pm:
Nadia, we did not think to check the hay - however, my horse was the only one to have such a reaction (out of 9 horses), so it seems unlikely that the hoary alyssum was the culprit - vet seemed to think we could rule it out due to the small amounts found in the pasture. But, it is certainly worth checking into.
Thanks for your responses. My mare has never been particularly sensitive to anything, but I guess it will pay for me to be extra diligent as long as these stable flies are around...and I will check out the article on how to get rid of them.
Many Thanks.
|
Member:
nadia
|
Posted on Thursday, Jul 10, 2008 - 12:58 pm:
Hoary alyssum doesn't affect all horses - my horse had the most severe reaction at the time and 1-2 other horses were thought to have been mildly affected. Do a google search on it to find more info. I think Dr O put some info on this site as well.
|
Member:
scooter
|
Posted on Thursday, Jul 10, 2008 - 4:33 pm:
Fran....off the wall do you think the Off could have caused the swelling? My mare develops swelling of the legs if I fly spray her legs. She never use to and it's not any different brand then I usually use. I went to the fly boots and she is much happier..with no swelling.
|
Member:
paul303
|
Posted on Thursday, Jul 10, 2008 - 10:09 pm:
Fran: Could the wraps have been put on a little too snug?
|
Member:
ajudson1
|
Posted on Thursday, Jul 10, 2008 - 10:58 pm:
I am thinking the addition of the wraps over the Off just was too much and she had a reaction to it. Like the extra heat from the wraps made the Off work differently or stronger.
Were her legs hosed off before putting the wraps on? If there was no Off left on her skin, then I'd think what Lee says, the wraps were too snug.
I bought up some cans of repellant last fall on clearance, pretty heavy on the Deet, and noticed my grey and buckskin seem to be bothered by it. Like it stings or itches; so I am back to using fly spray designed for horses.
|
Member:
canter
|
Posted on Friday, Jul 11, 2008 - 8:08 am:
Lee, my first horrified thought on that Sunday night was that both tendons had been bowed because of putting on the wraps incorrectly. Thankfully, this proved not to be the case! And I should have given the BO more credit, but you know how the mind starts racing as you consider all possibilities when something is wrong...
I wondered about the Off as well (particularly since it was only used on her legs - get's a bit pricey to use all over the horse), but since I've continued to use it and the problem has been resolved, it doesn't seem likely.
I think the vet was correct and that it was an odd reaction to those fly bites (he couldn't believe the amount of blood that started dripping while they were biting her as he examined the legs). The mesh fly wraps that I purchased seem to keep Sparkles comfortable and have prevented a reacurrance (so far).
Sparkles' only complaint is that since I was desperate to get the fly leg wraps ASAP, I accepted the only color that was still in stock - a lovely purple. She is now suffering only from a loss of dignity!
|
|
|
