CAN ANYONE GIVE ME IDEA OF WHAT IS WRONG? My horse has patchy missing hair & hot swollen knee & is limping

Question

My 17 yr old gelding, who gets pasture and stalled at night has suddenly come up lame. Yesterday I noticed that he had hair missing from around his knee and I thought maybe it was a little inflamed. By tonight he is lame and the knee is quite swollen. I washed it last night with soapy water and sprayed with colloidal silver. I cant get to a vet tonight and am wondering if i can give him human antibiotics?? If so does anyone know the dosage for a horse and also what kind they can tolerate. ? I am thinking I will post that in another question as well. Thanks for any ideas or help that can be given.

Answer 1

He could have fallen or just scraped his knee causing it to swell up it could also be a sort of fungus, which can also cause swelling. Even minor scrapes or cuts can cause swelling when it is on a joint or nearby a joint on a horse. I would give him maybe one 1tablet of bute or aspirin for horses, i would not give him any human antiobiotics. As far as the lameness goes he may just be really sore.

To help the swelling go down also cold hose his leg and you could use and ice compresser or use some topical treatmant like Bigeloil [my personal favorite] or and aloe vera gel... something kind of like icey hot for horses. I would not put any medicine on it unless there is an open wound. See if there is anything noticeable that he could have done and if it doesn't get better within a few days give your vet a call.

Hope that helped, good luck and i hope your horse gets better soon. :)

Answer 2

Hose that injury down with cold water, min 20 minutes; or use ice, or frozen packaged peas....get to work on the swelling, then administer bute for  inflammation.   If you don't find a wound, puncture, or laceration then an antibiotic is not needed.  IF you ever administer an antibiotic it has be be one designed for equines.  Since the knee is involved I'd be concerned about a bone chip, or soft tissue injury.  I'd also contact my vet asap.

Answer 3

It sounds like your horse has hurt his knee. He may have fallen on it or bonked it in the stall.

Ice and cold water hosing will probably be good for it. That reduces inflammation.

Under no circumstances should you give your horse human medicine unless a vet specifically tells you to do so. Antibiotics are for bacterial infections only. They do not provide pain relief, nor are they anti-inflammatory. If your horse is injured, he does not need antibiotics.

Bute is a common pain reliever for horses. If you have some you can give him a does of that. If you don't have some, ask you vet for some extra to keep in the barn after this episode is over so you have some on hand for next time.

Call your vet first thing in the morning. She can examine the horse and tell you for sure what is going on.

Answer 4

Vet!  Call any vet!  Even just for advice!  Good luck!

Answer 5

i do not know what is wrong with him but i would not give him human medicine..maybe some bute or that kind of substance just until you can get him to the vet.

Answer 6

my horse was swollen also like this and the vet gave me Bute (basically an aspirin but for horses).  he might have stumbled and scraped up his knees. but get mineral ice it will help bring swelling down.

Answer 7

If there is no open wound, why would you be giving antibiotics?  The injury sounds more like a potential fracture or a joint injury with the hair rubbed off when the injury occurred.  Is there an open wound?

Answer 8

I would not treat with an antibiotic at this time. Give something to bring the swelling down and for pain. Most often its Bute. Also , I would ice it down or run cold water on it for a long time. That should help with the swelling.

The conversion of human dosage to horse dosage would be difficult.,I would only give what it meant for a particular animal unless your vet tells you otherwise.

Maybe he got cast in his stall and twisted his knee , maybe the hoof got caught under a board or something.

Good luck.

Answer 9

don't self prescribe human antibiotics. you can give him a gram of bute in his grain...wet his grain down a little so it doesn't bother his stomach.

He might have an infection...I would cold hose it for a good 20 minutes to bring swelling down and leave him inside of his stall. Get the vet to the barn as soon as possible.  

Answer 10

The missing hair could be rain rot, but if the knee is swollen and hot, he may have hurt it some how. Has he had this missing hair for a while, then if it is rain rot, it may have caused an infection in the leg.

Do NOT give him any human meds!!! It could be very harmful for him!! Call your vet and ask him to take a look at it, then he could suggest a med to help the horse. But for now, don't give him any meds. If the back knee is swollen, wrap BOTH back legs, if the front knee is swolen wrap BOTH front legs. You wrap the swollen leg to get him to keep the weight off of it, you wrap the other leg too because if not, he would put too much weight on the leg and end up being unbalanced.