horse care

hello...
i have a harness horse, he has jumped the fence and lame his back leg. This happened a week ago, there is no sign of swelling in his back le but when jogging he skpis, there is a bit of skin off the shin... He's still eating good and walk good.... He has inproved a little bit , i was just wondering how long would it be for the horse to get back to normal again..... any advice?....thx...

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Permalink Reply by Fiona Hill on May 27, 2009 at 6:18am

Hi Steven

You could rephrase your question - "How long is a piece of string?" really! It doesn't sound as though he is badly injured, so I guess it may be just about giving him time to heal and all horses are different in that respect, just like people. He may be badly bruised, particularly if he has hurt his 'shin', where there is no muscle to protect the bone, but of course we don't see bruises on horses because of the hair. It sounds like there is no heat or swelling which is good.

However, there are too many possible variables in your question...- are you keeping him in a stable or is he out in the field? Is he being exercised at all or on complete rest, just walking out in hand? All of these things might help or hinder the healing process.

Put it this way, if he were mine I'd be thinking that if he was still very lame in trot after a week, with what appeared to be a minor injury, I'd be asking a vet to take a look at him just to make sure I hadn't missed any other injuries caused when he jumped out, perhaps higher up the leg - in the stifle or pelvis for instance.

Hope this helps.