# Front lower leg swelling and heat, no lameness, tendon injury?



## BH4 (16 February 2010)

I am currently working on my horses fitness after injury and then the snow! I had a lesson last weekend where I did flatwork and a few jumps at the end so in my lesson this Sunday I wanted to do more jumping. Basically I think we did a bit much. My horse was going fantastically and instead of the 5mins jumping I planned to do we ended up doing probably the equivalent of 2/3 show jumping rounds, over jumps of probably about 2ft 6 to 3ft (a normal/smallish height for her). She was thoroughly warmed up and cooled down. 
After the lesson she was turned out and when we went back later she had a very small amount of swelling on the sides of one of her lower front legs near where she had a (minor) tendon sheath injury, where she always has a small lump (which is purely cosmetic). We decided to bandage her front legs for the night thinking they would help however on Monday morning we took them off and very soon after the whole of her lower legs filled, even the front of her cannon bones  
	
	
		
		
	


	




. We guessed we had put the bandages on too tight, even though the gamgee was thick and they did not feel overly tight. (It may be useful to say at this point that she is a very sensitive horse!) We turned her out in the hope the fluid would disperse with walking round the field however it did not. 
So this morning we went and her legs looked almost the same however the leg which she has not injured before had gone a little more than her other, where she injured her tendon sheath. I walked her round for about 10mins and even after that you could tell the swelling was starting to go down, then trotted her up and she was not lame at all so took her for a short walking ride, got back to yard and yay her legs were almost back to normal, apart from the one which she has injured before, which still has some slight swelling on the sides of her lower leg towards the bottom (if that makes sense!). 
So now my worry is that she has injured her tendon sheath again. I feel horrid, like I have hurt her which I think I may have  
	
	
		
		
	


	




. Sorry for how long (and probably confusing) this turned out (thought the details may be of use!). I just wondered if anyone could shed any light on this or has had similar experiences or knows if this could be a tendon injury.


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## elliegirl12 (16 February 2010)

To be honest you are probally better of calling your vet out!, i remember when ellie strained her check ligament the vet said if any swelling reoccurs then she needed to have it checked again and work load may need to be reduced to give more time to heal, best thing to do is to call your vet, however if she isnt lame then i would think maybe its just where she was left in? i am no exspert would definetly call your vet out though just to check things over, no worth risking it to be honest!


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## Izzwizz (16 February 2010)

Am in agreement with elllie-girl, not worth taking any chances.  Ive just got my horse back into work after she tore her DDFT and though its not fully healed yet we are doing what the vets have told me to do.  Am following their advice to the letter and being careful not to overdo it though its tempting when she feels so well.  No leg no horse Im afraid.


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## Brandysnap (17 February 2010)

Hi Sy123,
Just sounds like you've done too much with an unfit horse. (May a bolt of lightening descend on your trainer!!)

Thankfully she's sound, not lame, but from experience, swelling + heat re-occur more in a damaged limb. It's up to us lot to build up work gradually.

If she was mine, i'd do a lot of slow work (1 to 2 hrs every day) before i did 20 mins hard schooling.

I've had this with unfit horses in past, when horse's exercise is more than he's capable of, so poor horse's system working overtime, then suddenly put in a box after exercise, so lymphatic system can't cope until exercise resumed.

Good luck, hope your girl is ok, friend, + I hope I make sense to others who are listening. BS x


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## noblesteed (17 February 2010)

CALL THE VET!!!!!! don't waste any time. This happened to my old mare and she had injured her tendon sheath, it kept swelling up, then going down with rest, then coming back up with turnout, light work etc. We went on like this for months (as she was so old and had lumps and bumps anyway).
Vet ultrasounded it and turned out she needed an operation to remove all the scar tissue that had grown around the tendon sheath through her being worked. It was risky to operate on such an old horse but he did after a year's recovery she is now fit and well.

If I'd called the vet straight away she wouldn't have needed the op. Don't waste any more time. Get the vet out immediately!!!!!!


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## amandaco2 (17 February 2010)

i would cold hose, in hand walk and box rest and get the vet to scan it once the swelling has gone so you can see any damage. tendons are not to be messed with.....


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## spike123 (17 February 2010)

I agree that you  need to get the vet.Contrary to what people believe a horse does not have to be lame for tendon damage to have occurred.The swelling is there,there is a history of tendon damage so please get the vet.They won't be able to do anything until the swelling has subsided other than advise anti inflammatories and rest but once the swelling is reduced they can then scan to see if there is any new damage.


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## hussar (17 February 2010)

As others have said, please get the vet. One of the warning signs I was told to look out for with my DDFT-injured horse (only lame for a couple of days but off work for 11 months) was any increase in the very slight swelling he now has permanently above his fetlock. So I now watch it like a hawk.


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## TooHotToTrot (17 February 2010)

As before - get the VET out.  We have had one with a tear in the DDFT which appeared perfectly sound, just went a bit odd in canter on one rein.  The injury was only revealed by a (very expensive) MRI.


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