Injuries, inflammation and soundness problems are often described as acute or chronic. Acute means that the problem is happening now but will heal. Chronic means that the problem will not go away. Any lameness that has been present for more then one month may be considered chronic.
Injuries, inflammation and soundness problems are often described as acute or chronic. Acute means that the problem is happening now but will heal. Chronic means that the problem will not go away. Any lameness that has been present for more then one month may be considered chronic.
Like people, horses can also develop arthritis. The problem usually appears as the horse ages. It can be a primary problem or secondary (develops at the point of an old injury). With arthritis, the joints enlarge as they become inflamed. As the disease progresses, the cartilage becomes discolored and small pieces can slowly break away.
Bruises on the sole of the foot are quite common. Horses with flat feet or thin soles are more likely to be injured. Bruises can be serious because they maybe as deep as the coffin bone. A deep bruise may abscess. to ease the pain, foot baths and poultices may help. Shoeing may also help by lifting the sole off the ground and reducing the pressure on the bruise. Shoeing with pads will protect the sole.
A bog spavin is a swelling of the joint capsule of the hock. Generally, one will see swelling in front of the hock and two swellings at the back of the hock. The seriousness will depend upon the cause. It is only considered a serious blemish when it is caused by poor conformation; the hock joint is too straight. In these cases, the bog spavin will appear when the horse goes into training. Lameness will be seen when there is heat, pain and swelling over the hock.
Bog spavins have several other causes. It may be caused by a mineral or calcium imbalance which is critical in young horse development. Hard stops and turn with mature horses can also cause bog spavins. In this case they may also be an injury to the bone.
The amount of swelling may vary. It is soft enough that applying pressure to one area will reduce the enlargement at that point and increase the swelling in other areas. The horse will not show any signs of lameness unless the spavin is caused by an injury. Not all cases of bog spavin can be treated. Only those caused by injury (bone chips) or nutrition can be treated to reduce swelling. In some cases excess fluid can be drained.
The simplest way to describe a bowed tendon is a tendon that has been stretched so it cannot return to its original length and shape. When the horse has a bowed tendon you can see a bulge down the back of the leg behind the cannon bone above the fetlock. The injury is usually found on the forelegs. It happens when the leading foreleg has all of the body weight on it as the horse lands or takes off during a canter, lope or gallop.
The most common cause is a over extension of the leg while the horse is being worked. Other factors that can cause this type of injury are forced training procedure, fatigue caused by speed and exertion, toes that are too long, improper shoeing, long weak pasterns and horses that are too heavy for their tendon structure. Soft or slippery footing can increase the chances of an injury.
Horses have three major tendons that run down the back of the leg. These are the superficial flexor tendon, deep flexor tendon and the suspensory ligament. A bowed tendon is a strain to the superficial flexor tendon. This strain stretches the tendon by tearing the small fibers that make it up. If the fibers are stretched and torn there will be a dropping of the fetlock as well as the characteristic bulge seen in a bowed tendon.
The horse will go lame as soon as the injury takes place, or soon afterwards. The first sign of injury is heat at the tendons. The horse may stand with its weight on the toe to reduce the pain caused by the heat and swelling. A bowed tendon is a serious injury. Cold water and ice packs can reduce some of the swelling. The horse should receive immediate veterinary attention. Drugs are available that will reduce the pain and swelling.
There are a number of problems after a tendon has been damaged. Because of its function the tendon is slightly elastic. In order to heal, fibrous scar tissue needs to form but will not be the same quality as the original fiber. Calcification of the tendon can also occur, which causes the tendon to lose some of its elasticity. Other problems that can take place are a lengthening of the tendon so that it will always be thickened, as the fibers heal they may attach themselves to the sheath that surrounds the tendon, or attachment may form between the deep and superficial flexor tendons. There changes make re-injury possible.
A bowed tendon takes a long time to heal. Even after veterinary treatment, the horse should not be put back into training. The horse should be rested for up to 12 months depending on how severe the injury is. In mild cases the horse may be lightly exercised with a support bandage on the leg. Sometimes firing or blistering is done, but the horse is not sound - only the pain is removed. Shoeing is also possible, but shoes with a heel support should not be used for over 10 weeks, any longer than this can cause a shortening of the tendons.
A horse with contracted feet has a narrower than normal. The horse may not show any signs of lameness.
The problem may be caused by a lack of frog pressure in a very long or improperly shod foot, extreme dryness in the foot, long toes, bars and heels so low that they no longer support the weight of the horse.
A number if changes take place in contracted feet. The foot becomes narrower at the heel as the frog dries and shrinks (recessed and atrophied) up against the sole of the foot. If the problem continues for a long time, the bars of the foot may touch each other. Contracted feet are slowly corrected by trimming and shoeing. This may take a year or more.
Cracks are common of the hoof. They can occur anywhere on the hoof surface, starting from the bottom of the hoof. Most of these are shallow cracks caused by dryness in the foot. The most common cause is damage to the outside layer of the hoof (periople) which normally prevents moisture from leaving the foot.
Proper care of the hoof will eliminate most cracks. This includes trimming and cross-rasping the crack. Some cracks do extend up into the coronary band and may cause lameness.
A corn is an injury to the sole of the foot generally caused by pressure. Common causes of corns are pressure on the sole at the angle of the hoof wall and bars (may be caused by shoeing too close at the quarters), lack of frog pressure (ie. contracted feet), over-reaching, conformation faults such as a long weak fetlock and a narrow foot.
There are three types of corns a horse may get. They are the dry corn, moisture corn and suppurating corn.
A curb is a swelling of the back of the hind leg below the hock. This swelling is caused by an inflammation (heat & swelling) and thickening by the plantar ligament. New bone growth may occur. Depending on the type of damage, a curb may not be permanent.
Curb may be due to a conformation problem or an injury. Horses that have sickle hocks and are cow hocked are more likely to have a curb because of stress to the plantar ligament. Horses with normal conformation can get curb violently attempting to straighten the hocks.
If a curb has been caused by an injury, treat the leg to reduce the swelling. It does not usually cause lameness.
Laminitis or Founder is a lameness caused by pressure on the laminae of the hoof. This happens when the laminae swell with blood in response to chemical changes in the body. Pressure increases because the outer layers of the hoof wall and the inner structures of the hoof are not able to provide room for the expanding laminae.
Laminitis has a large number of causes. These are:
The term navicular refers to a condition due to conformation or injury that causes changes to the navicular bone. It begins as an inflammation between the deep flexor tendon and the navicular bone. In time the surface of the bone becomes pitted and the deep flexor tendon is destroyed.
Navicular is usually found in the front legs. It may occur in the hind legs because of a puncture wound. The cause may be conformation, poor foot care or stress from heavy work. Hard ground will also contribute to the problem. As well, small feet are a common cause. Pressure is increased by poor trimming and shoeing and trimming the heels too low. Straight pasterns may also cause navicular.
The lameness disappease when the horse is rested. When the horse is worked it will go lame on both front feet but will show more lameness in one foot. Horses with navicular will travel so they land on their toes. This wears the front of the foot down. The gait may look like a shuffle. In time, the shape of the foot will change. The foot will contract to aviod frog pressure and the sole will become more concave. Fetlock injuries may develop as a result.
Corrective shoeing that keeps the toe short and the heel elevated decreases the pressure on the frog and often permits the horse to travel sound. Pain-killers may restore afflicted horses to usefulness for short periods. As a last resort, permanent relief from pain can be accomplished through a neurectomy, however other complications can arise and horses that have had this done are still considered unsound, even if there is no outward sign of pain or lameness.
Puncture wounds are fairly common to horses kept in small areas or ridden along the sides of roads. Puncture wounds occur to the sole or frog of the foot. The most common causes are carpenter nails and horseshoe nails. The wounds are often hard to find but they will look like a black spot on the sole. A puncture on the frog is harder to find because of its color and texture. The location of the puncture will affect how the horse puts the foot down. In some cases the puncture wound will show up as a supporting leg lameness.
Puncture wounds may not drain on their own. If your horse has a puncture wound have your veterinarian open a drainage hole. The horse should also be treated for tetanus. The area must be kept clean. Use hydrogen peroxide and pack it wil an iodine solution. Bandage the foot.
If a puncture wound goes unnoticed and an infection occurs it will force its own drainage at the coronary band. This can cause other problems such as a infectious laminitis and chronic laminitis, infection of the digital cushion, fracture of the navicular bone or tetanus. If there is a drainage from the coronary band, soak the foot daily with water and Epsom salts (or disinfectant). Wrap the area to keep it clean.
Ringbone is an arthritic change in the pastern joint caused by pulling of the ligaments, direct blows or wire cuts. This causes a buildup of bone around the joint. The injury will cause heat and pain. As it heals, the heat will disappear. The horse will travel like a horse with laminitis.
Ringbone is more common in horses with a base narrow conformation and horses with upright pasterns. It can occur in the front or hind legs.
Sidebone is caused by the calcification of ligaments on either side of the bone above the hoof. These look like boney ridges. The problem is most common in base narrow horses. The horse may have lameness.
Splints are usually described as a problem of young horses. It is an enlargement on the splint bone, below the knee. It is usually found on the inside of the front legs but may also be found on the hind legs (unusual). It may be caused by hard training, poor leg conformation, poor nutrition or any type of stress. A swelling will form over the area, caused by callused bone and ligament.
Splints may also be caused by a fracture of the splint bone. This can happen if the splint bone is hit by the opposite front foot. The bones can break anywhere along its length. Unlike splints from other causes, a fracture is not likely to heal. Because of this, a large knot is always seen. The only treatment is to remove the bottom portion of the splint bone. The surgery is done only if the fracture is causing a lameness.
Lameness caused by a spint will be most obvious at a trot or if the horse is worked on hard ground. Swelling at the location is always present. The amount of heat and pain will depend on how recent the injury is and the cause. In the case of the splint fracture, the amount of pain is affected by its location. Splints caused by stress may cause little or no pain. Many horses do have reoccuring splints that will appear with a small amount of stress to that area. In early stages both types of splints will look the same. An x-ray is needed to find the cause.
Thrush is a fungus infection of the frog and sole of the foot. It can be seen around the frog. Thrush is caused by overworking of the glands that keep the frog moist. This secretion breaks down and causes the odour. The area can get raw and painful causing lameness. In other cases a large portion of the frog will peel off.
Thrush often is worse if rotting manure or bedding is not clean from the frog area. Overgrown frogs are more susceptible to thrush because material is harder to remove from the area. To reduce the chances of thrush clean the foot on a daily basis. If thrush is present, soap and water can be used to wash the area. Bleach and Koppertox are used to disinfect the area.
Windpuffs are a swelling of the joint capsule, tendon sheath or bursa in the fetlock area. It is usually seen in young horses that are heavy in training. It seldom causes lameness.
| Author Lachlan Bell was born and raised in Chinchilla, Queensland, Australia. His love for horses began at an early age, and he was a member of the local pony club since the age of 6. He has been breaking and training horses for over 10 years. |