This is an archived Horseadvice.com Discussion. The parent article and menus are available on the navigation menu below:
HorseAdvice.com » Diseases of Horses » Lameness » Diseases of the Lower Limb » Stocking Up: Cool Swellings of the Lower Legs »
  Discussion on Persistent unilateral stocking up
Author Message
Member:
Frances

Posted on Tuesday, Apr 25, 2006 - 8:55 am:

Hello DrO and others,

My horse has been stocking up significantly on the LH for about a week. The swelling is from the fetlock to just below the hock, is warm but not really warmer than the other legs, pits when pressure is applied, and generally has a "meaty" feeling about it. After exercise it subsides to the fetlock, but doesn't completely disappear and is present again the next morning.

I called the vet to see if he thought it necessary to come, but his opinion was that as long as there was no fever and it improved remarkably with exercise, it was nothing to worry about - just stocking up.

However, I've read that a low-grade chronic infection is a possibility in unilateral stocking up, as the presence of toxins, bacteria etc can make the blood in the capillaries thicker, preventing the passage of fluids out of the bloodstream and into the lymph vessels by osmosis. The presence of old wounds was mentioned as something to look for, and I did indeed find two old wounds on the outside of the LH. The higher one was just below the hock, and had a small hard lump under the skin.

Since then I've been spraying the wounds with blue "Oxyvet" (oxytetracyline) twice daily, and the lump is no longer hard and discrete, but has kind of spread out and is (I think) on its way out.

The mare has been shod in the last few days, and the farrier checked for any source of infection in the foot, but found nothing. Like the vet, he dismissed it as "just stocking up".

I'm not sure whether to ask the vet, who seems to think I'm making a fuss about nothing, to come out just to be on the safe side, or to give the "Oxyvet" a little longer, or to give a course of penicillin (suggested by my trainer).

Your thoughts would be appreciated!

Thanks,

Lynn
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Wednesday, Apr 26, 2006 - 7:42 am:

Your description does not suggest infection is a serious problem but edema (inflammation) from trauma or the irritation from the open wound. If you have an open wound we suggest you care for it as described in our article Equine Diseases » Skin Diseases » Wounds / Burns » Long Term Deep Wound Care.

Allowing swelling to persist in the lower legs can become a chronic problem so I like to be proactive. Simply leaving the horse out at night may be all that is needed. If this is not practical, bute and pressure bandaging will control it until the wound heals, see Equine Diseases » First Aid » Bandaging Horses.
DrO
Member:
Frances

Posted on Wednesday, Apr 26, 2006 - 8:52 am:

Thank you DrO,

She has no open wounds - I had dismissed the small healed-over nicks I found on the leg as too old to be contributing to the edema, until I read in "Veterinary Notes for Horse Owners" that a "chronic low-grade infection" was sometimes responsible for stocking up and that "careful inspection sometimes reveals an old wound or wounds".

That made me think it worth spraying with oxytetracycline just in case the old wounds were not quite as healed as they looked.

The leg looked much better today, so I'll see how it goes.

Thanks again,

Lynn
Home Page | Top of Page | Join Us!
Horseadvice.com is a BBB Accredited Business. Click for the BBB Business Review of this Horse Training in Stokesdale NC