A few days ago my wife and I returned home from a one day family trip. Shortly after getting home we called the
stable where our horses are to check on them. We go and involve ourselves with

our horses almost everyday religiously so it was normal for us to call and

check on them when we had not seen them that day. The call alerted us to the

fact that one of our horses was injured earlier in the day. As horses do when

they get a temperature change coupled with more daylight the horses had been

running feverishly around the paddock expending some pent up winter energy.

Horses being horses in the knee deep slippery wet snow we currently host is

nothing to be all that concerned about.However; One of them took a fall.. How bad

could it be? After all its a horse not a crystal unicorn. 

Naturally concerned about the injury of our horse we immediately headed out to the stable to assess the situation. The
horses were already in the barn and stalled when we arrived, and this is what

we were confronted with. See the Photo

Naturally we were taken aback by the extreme swelling in the area of the gaskin and hock. My wife was horrified
instantly at the sight

Admittedly I am  relatively new to the whole horse ownership spectrum and have had only a little experience
dealing with horse injuries. With the helpfull advice of the stable owner it

was decided that application of  an epsum salt poultice to the severely

swollen hock was the first aide treatment that could be employed. Epsom salt

was pasted with water, then applied to the swollen leg and hock. The paste was

covered with cellophane food wrap while vet wrap was applied above and below

the hock to keep the poultice in place. After approximately one hour the entire

remedy was removed. I have to admit I was totally amazed at the significant

reduction in swelling after only a short period of the epsum salt application.

This horse was stalled for the night and it was determined that a quick call to the vet was in order. The vet was
previously booked to visit our other horses in two days so it was a matter of

determining the correct course of action until his scheduled visit. In this

case the horse was to remain on stall rest and bute, with

limited exercise (walking) a couple of times a day. We continued with

the process of applying the epsom salt poultice a couple of times the next day

with the directed stall rest and walking. By the end of the day following the

injury there was almost zero evidence of the injury. The horse showed no signs

of lameness and we showed the vet the pictures we took of the injury for fear

that he would not believe that any injury had occurred at all.  

Unfortunately I fell asleep at the wheel and did not take any pictures of the applied poultice and bandage although
I had multiple opportunities.

I did however take this before picture and the subsequent after picture about 24 hours later. Just to show the
difference.

Vet diagnoses in a nutshell: A blunt trauma injury in the Gaskin area from the fall caused the swelling and
invariably it worked its way down the leg to cause the bulbous appereance at

the hock cap area.

In this instance no serious injury has transpired, and I consider it a good learning experience for a backyard cowboy
like myself. Although this could have been significantly worse, I am reminded

once again that generally horses are not fragile creatures. 6000 years of

evolution has made them pretty rugged.

Things to remember,

1. Just like we treat people. "First aide is just that, first aide" it preserves life and prevents
the condition from worsening.

2.Call the vet. Be clear in your description of the injury and the circumstances surrounding it.

3. take pictures...in this high tech world you may actually be able to send photos electronically to the vet for a
better first hand look (sans emotion) and interpretation of the verbal

description.

AFTER 24 HOURS AND EPSOM SALT/STALL REST/WALKING

( The white stuff is the salt)

Now I am on the hunt for magnesium sulfate/epsom salt in gel form. Just easier to work with.  Any suggestions??