Horse Health - Injuries

Common Injuries

From the time your horse hits the ground from his mother's womb, he's looking for ways to hurt himself. I've put a horse away in a padded, plush box stall and come back hours later to find a six-inch gash in her leg and never did find out how it got there. The point is, accidents happen. You can prevent some by making sure there are no nails or sharp corners in your stall, using protective boots on your horse when you ride and practicing all around good horsemanship. But eventually, no matter how careful you are, your horse will find a way to hurt himself. Listed below are several common injuries that your horse may sustain and what to do about them. As always, the most prudent thing to do is to contact your veterinarian immediately if you are unsure about the severity of a wound.

A good equine first aid book and first aid kit are your best tools in making sure your horse comes out of the many scrapes and bumps you'll both endure as unscathed as possible. Also be sure that you have the phone numbers for your veterinarian as well as your back-up vet readily available so that you or anyone at the barn can call for help at the first sign of serious trouble.

Acute vs. Chronic:

There are two words to keep in mind when talking about any kind of illness, injury or lameness - chronic and acute.

Chronic – an illness or medical condition that lasts over a long period of time. For instance, arthritis is a chronic condition; you can manage it through drug therapy and exercise but it developed over a long period of time and is always present.

Acute – a sudden, painful injury that may have an obvious cause. A broken leg is an extreme example of an acute injury.

Treatment of lameness or injury may differ vastly depending on if the cause is chronic or acute. A horse that is known to have arthritis, for instance, may come out of his stall a little stiff but will work out of it after a short time. On the other hand, a horse that is normally perfectly sound and suddenly appears stiff should be given rest until the cause is discovered and treated.

Ice Vs. Heat:

Two very common treatments for minor injuries are ice or heat. Ice in the form of cold hosing, flexible ice packs or, in a pinch, frozen peas, is used when an injury (especially a leg) shows signs of heat. Heat is literally when the injury feels warm to the touch and is usually swollen as well. Ice should be applied for twenty minutes, taken off for twenty minutes, and then re-applied for twenty minutes. This cycle should be repeated for as long as possible but at least twice morning and night. Leaving ice on for longer than twenty minutes does nothing to reduce swelling and may actually cause tissue damage so be mindful not to leave it on for too long. A clay poultice can also be considered a cooling agent. While not as cold as ice, it draws heat out of a leg. Clay poultices are generally left on for several hours or overnight, but must be hosed off after a day to prevent skin irritation.

Heat is typically applied in the form of a sweat wrap. If a leg is swollen but there is no heat present, a sweat wrap may be used to literally sweat the swelling out of a limb. When called for, a sweat wrap can be left on for several hours or even over night but needs to be removed and the leg hosed off at least once a day to prevent the leg from blistering.

Common Injuries:

INJURY	TREATMENT
Abrasions – minor scrapes and grazes from other horses are very common.	Keeping the wound clean and dry is the best course of action.
Back injuries – horse's backs are often overlooked as a source of lameness. One way to test if his back is bothering him is to run your thumb along each side of his spine, pressing fairly hard. If he flinches or sinks down away from the pressure, he may have a sore back.	Rest and massage or chiropractic therapy is the best treatment. If the problem becomes a chronic one, you'll want to check the fit of your saddle to make sure it's not the culprit. If pain persists, consider taking your horse to an equine hospital to have its back x-rayed for any damage.
Capped elbow – also known as a shoe boil. An enlargement that resembles a rough callous at the point of the horse's elbow. Often caused by the horse's own shoe rubbing on his elbow when he lies down.	A capped elbow rarely interferes with a horse's performance or soundness. Putting any kind of ointment or cream on the capped elbow may only make it worse by attracting dirt and shavings that increase irritation. It can easily be prevented by using a "sausage boot" or "donut" - a protective rubber ring that goes around his pastern to prevent the shoe from rubbing.
Capped hock – only slightly more serious than a capped elbow, a capped hock can result in swelling around the hock as well as a rough callous. It can be caused by too little bedding in the stall or the horse striking his hock against something hard.	Unless it's so severe that infection sets in, a capped hock shouldn't cause any soundness issues. Again, putting any kind of cream or ointment may make a relatively harmless situation worse. Putting additional bedding in the stall may help. For some horses, a hock boot may be the solution but others react badly to the boot and may injure themselves further by kicking out.
Lacerations – Bites from other horses or injuries from fence posts or falls can all result in lacerations.	Large or deep wounds may need stitching so call your veterinarian immediately. While waiting for the vet, try to clean the wound with a disinfectant and keep it clean. Apply pressure or a pressure bandage if possible to stop or slow the bleeding. If the injury isn't caught immediately, the vet may have to cut the edges of the wound for stitches to be effective and for the wound to heal cleanly. Proud flesh, granulated tissue that projects beyond the skin, can form and become a permanent blemish if the wound doesn't heal cleanly or doesn't receive proper care. The legs are particularly prone to proud flesh so keep that in mind if you're debating about whether a wound is serious enough to call a vet.
Puncture wounds – caused by anything from a nail to an unknown object, these can seem minor but are in fact very dangerous. They allow bacteria to be carried deep into the body before being treated because they often go unnoticed.	Keep a sharp eye out for any small wounds. All wounds should be thoroughly cleaned with cold water and a disinfectant like Betadine or Novalsan. Consult your vet and be prepared to use a syringe (just the plastic part, no needle) to squirt more disinfectant up in to the wound. Puncture wounds must heal from the inside out. Bleeding or oozing serum isn't necessarily a bad thing as it indicates a flow of material coming out of the wound, keeping it clean. Early scabbing and subsequent heat and/or swelling would be bad signs, indicating an infection has set in.
Splints – bony swellings found on the lower front legs between the splint bones and cannon bones. Commonly referred to as "popping a splint," this injury is most typical in younger horses. It can be caused by overwork, working on hard ground, or poor conformation.	Splints may cause lameness for a short length of time. Usually rest until the lameness goes away is sufficient. If there is heat or the horse reacts when you put pressure on the splint, you should call the vet out to have the splint checked. It's rare, but sometimes the splint can interfere with the tendon and cause problems or there can even be a stress fracture.
Tendon injuries – Because of the strain running and jumping puts on a horse's front legs, tendon injuries are all too common. The first signs are usually heat and swelling in the lower leg caused by the torn fibers of the tendons or ligaments. The superficial and deep flexor tendons, as well as the suspensory ligament and check ligament are all at risk.	Call your veterinarian if you suspect a tendon injury. Immediately start applying ice packs or, in a pinch, packages of frozen peas. The limb should be bandaged firmly for support and to keep swelling down. Rest is the best long-term care for a tendon injury. It could take as long as 12 to 18 months for a tendon or ligament to fully heal. Only a veterinarian will be able to tell for sure if the injury is healed by means of an ultrasound.

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