Kendra
Well-Known Member
Last weekend, I noticed a small swelling on the front of Hawk's knee (for those who might not know, Hawk is my main driving/show/CDE/trick/everything horse), about the side of a nickel and fluid filled. It wasn't sore, or hot, and he wasn't lame. It would've made sense to 'wait and see', but I'm a fuss about my horses, so I took him to the vet Monday morning.
The vet found that he wasn't lame, didn't flex, and that the swelling didn't appear to be joint effusion. She called it a carpal hygroma, and thought it probably was the result of blunt trauma. A blemish, that might not go away, but that shouldn't bother him. Just to be safe though, she had me give him a few days off and watch it closely.
Hawk had 5 days off, and I hooked him up on Saturday. I mostly walked him, with a little easy trotting (when the mosquitoes got too bad to stay at a walk), but I had a bad feeling about it - I couldn't say he was lame, for sure, but he didn't seem right. I waited until Sunday morning, when my Grandad was home to watch as well, to put him on the lunge line and take a look.
Sure enough he was lame. Mostly just to the left (the swelling was on his left knee) and not every step, but lame. It was a long weekend here, and I waited impatiently for this morning to call and get an appointment with the vet.
After PD and Abaxial nerve blocks to rule out lower limb lamenesses (and because the lower limb flexion seemed to cause more problems for him than the carpal flexion) we did x-rays of the knee and he has some bony reaction - arthritis in his knee joint.
Because we caught it early, and we're treating it aggressively (joint injection today, and a course of Adequan along with stall rest for a month to start with), the vets feel that there is a good chance we'll be able to calm the reaction and allow him to return to full work.
If I'd waited until he was obviously lame, it would probably have been too late to help him. The vet called his lameness "maybe a 1/5" and the third year vet student, who is a long time horse person as well, couldn't see it at all until she was coached.
Since last year I've had a bad 'feeling' about that knee, it didn't look right to me, but there was never any sign that anything was bothering him. It would've been completely reasonable for me to 'wait and see', and I am so grateful that I'm as hyper about my horses as I am, and rushed him to the vet.
The vet said that we could treat him and he'd be sound for me to show this summer, but that would definitely hurt his long term soundness. He is only 8 years old, that wasn't even an option for me. So I'm losing this summers shows with him, but that's a small price to pay for him being sound and comfortable for the rest of his life. (I hope!)
I rambled a little (sorry, been a long day), but my point is to TRUST YOUR GUT and take your horse to the vet if you are worried about anything. It might make a huge difference.
The vet found that he wasn't lame, didn't flex, and that the swelling didn't appear to be joint effusion. She called it a carpal hygroma, and thought it probably was the result of blunt trauma. A blemish, that might not go away, but that shouldn't bother him. Just to be safe though, she had me give him a few days off and watch it closely.
Hawk had 5 days off, and I hooked him up on Saturday. I mostly walked him, with a little easy trotting (when the mosquitoes got too bad to stay at a walk), but I had a bad feeling about it - I couldn't say he was lame, for sure, but he didn't seem right. I waited until Sunday morning, when my Grandad was home to watch as well, to put him on the lunge line and take a look.
Sure enough he was lame. Mostly just to the left (the swelling was on his left knee) and not every step, but lame. It was a long weekend here, and I waited impatiently for this morning to call and get an appointment with the vet.
After PD and Abaxial nerve blocks to rule out lower limb lamenesses (and because the lower limb flexion seemed to cause more problems for him than the carpal flexion) we did x-rays of the knee and he has some bony reaction - arthritis in his knee joint.
Because we caught it early, and we're treating it aggressively (joint injection today, and a course of Adequan along with stall rest for a month to start with), the vets feel that there is a good chance we'll be able to calm the reaction and allow him to return to full work.
If I'd waited until he was obviously lame, it would probably have been too late to help him. The vet called his lameness "maybe a 1/5" and the third year vet student, who is a long time horse person as well, couldn't see it at all until she was coached.
Since last year I've had a bad 'feeling' about that knee, it didn't look right to me, but there was never any sign that anything was bothering him. It would've been completely reasonable for me to 'wait and see', and I am so grateful that I'm as hyper about my horses as I am, and rushed him to the vet.
The vet said that we could treat him and he'd be sound for me to show this summer, but that would definitely hurt his long term soundness. He is only 8 years old, that wasn't even an option for me. So I'm losing this summers shows with him, but that's a small price to pay for him being sound and comfortable for the rest of his life. (I hope!)
I rambled a little (sorry, been a long day), but my point is to TRUST YOUR GUT and take your horse to the vet if you are worried about anything. It might make a huge difference.
