Lameness protocol
I've been around horses for many years but only owned one for the past 2. I've put in my time studying and testing anatomy and health with pony club and my provincial equestrian federation, and I've had lots of experience dealing with the aftermath of Lameness (soaking feet, identifying thrush just by the whiff of it, and feeling around legs for heat, looking for swelling, trotting out), but I still feel like I lack experience of discovering it and dealing with it first hand.
As a relatively new horse owner I've learned that the greatest teacher is often experience, and I've crossed many bridges so far. I am lucky that my horse hasn't been lame (touch wood) but the other night when i went down to do chores my friend's horse appeared lame coming in from the field and it struck me that I could use advice on some protocol to follow if/when you've got lameness.
This horse in particular has had a few bouts of Lameness this year - he's had a nasty abscess that was completely undetectable for awhile, but at the end of the summer you could see it growing out in his hoof. Vet was called, shoes were pulled, soaking and bute occurred, I think maybe some stall rest. No xrays, I think the vet eventually just smelled it. Before the vet we basically took turns to feel around for heat and swelling, crouched down to compare sides of the legs to look for asymmetry, starred at him hobbling around with our heads cocked for hours guessing at our ovservations before the vet came the next day. We speculated as to why it could've happened in the first place, they guessed the heavy rainfall had something to do with it (although our horses have lots of pasture and aren't standing in muck thank god). She just bought him too, so I personally guessed he was either prone to Lameness, or it had something to do with him being a hot-house-flower where he was Before, and an old style quarterhorse type to boot with those tiny little feet being moved to new terrain and shod by a completely different style of farrier, but that's just me.
So, what do you do when you discover a horse is lame on some way? What kind of 'protocol do you usually follow? What do you do if it happens suddenly during exercise VS turning up lame overnight? When do you call the vet, or do you nessisarily call them right away? Do you have any tips for detection? Shared experiences? What do you think was the culprit of the lameness? Advice? Titles of books or articles?
Submitted January 27, 2018 at 10:30AM by Clydesdale-draft
via reddit https://www.reddit.com/r/Horses/comments/7te42u/lameness_protocol/?utm_source=ifttt
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