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  Discussion on Swollen Pastern Mystery
Author Message
New Member:
ltnrio

Posted on Wednesday, Jun 30, 2010 - 11:14 am:

Hi There,
I have read many articles and searched the internet over the last month, trying explain my horse’s swollen pasterns. I can’t seem to find a similar situation that would explain why the back of his pasterns are swollen with fluid. They actually look like he has water balloons or silicone implants at the back of the pastern. They are not hot or painful and he does not appear sore at all. They are free of scratches and cuts as well. He has had windpuffs higher up as long as I’ve had him, but these swollen pasterns are new and different.

The vet checked him out and was stumped. She pointed out that he does actually appear to have swelling on all 4 pasterns, although the front legs are much less swollen. The vet commented that we could try naquazone (sp?) to reduce the swelling (which I believe is like a water pill), and/or try ultrasounding the legs. We could also try bandaging but since this is the pastern we’re talking about, and the fact that I am not at the barn every single day, it would be quite difficult. However, we decided to wait and see if they improved with time since he was not sore, uncomfortable or seemingly affected at all by them. Plus, we thought that perhaps he just retained more water than other horses in the summer (well at least THIS summer) and that was where it collected. We hoped it would dissipate on its own. Another reason why I decided to wait and not spend an excessive amount of time and money investigating this just yet is that he just started back to regular work in May after we spent close to a year trying to determine why he wasn’t quite 100%. After lots of vet visits, xrays, an MRI, and upwards of $6K we found that he actually has some navicular type stuff going on in the front left foot. He responded really well to treatment though and has been good since. So, I wasn’t quite prepared to start throwing more time, stress and money at something that didn’t seem to be bothering him.

However, after about a month the swelling is the same. Some days are slightly better than others, but only marginally. Now I’m getting concerned that this could be something serious in the making that perhaps I should be investigating now???

To recap the situation:
No heat, not painful, not an edema (pits but pops right back), he does not appear lame or uncomfortable when going, he is outside approximately 6 hours per day in the pasture, he is worked about 5 days per week and has been back in work since May. He seems normal, with the exception of these fluidy puffs in behind the pastern. I thought perhaps other members or Dr O would have some insight or thoughts to share on this? Sorry for the long note, but thank you for listening!

Lisa
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Wednesday, Jun 30, 2010 - 5:16 pm:

Welcome Alisa,
How old is this horse and what breed? Assuming I understand your description there are only two possibilities here the swelling is subcutaneous fluid or swelling in the flexor tendon sheath. A ultrasound and then fluid tap and analysis would go a long way to explaining if this is an inflammatory change or perhaps some congenital weakness of the tissues allowing some fluid accumulation. I must say I have not seen anything quite like you describe. I would like to see some good photos of this to confirm the appearance.
DrO
New Member:
ltnrio

Posted on Wednesday, Jun 30, 2010 - 6:51 pm:

Hi Dr O,

Rio is a 10 yr old hanoverian gelding. I do dressage with him, but he was primarily a hunter/jumper before I purchased him 3 years ago.

I will try my best to get some pictures tomorrow evening and post them here.

Thank you again
Lisa
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