Heat In His Coronet Band...?

Question

My horse was tripping abit when I was riding him, he wasnt lame though..

I checked down his leg, and all that I could pick up was the back of his coronet band was warm..

I dont really want to get the vet out if its not nessecary

I hosed his leg down for about 10mins, because Ive had a horse with a bad fetlock before, and I was told to hose his leg down 10mins a day, until it was better..

Is this anything too serious?

Does he just need some rest and tlc or the vet?

What would you do?

Thanks

Answer 1

At the back of his coronet band?  Not sure how that is possible.  Do you mean the heel?  Hosing is good and you might want to put an animalintex poultice on it incase any infection needs to be drawn out.  Make sure that you bandage the opposite leg too.

He could be tripping because of over-long toes.  The going.  Lack of condition, or sloppy riding.

If he is still tripping or there is any smells after 24 hours I should call a vet.  The heat may be a touch of thrush too.  Always compare legs when looking for heat.

Answer 2

I know vets cost money - but refraining from a vet could cost more in the long run.

If there's heat that's a lot more than normal compared to the other feet, there's an injury of some sort in there.

I would suggest calling the vet - be prepared with all possible problems - what were you doing when you noticed it, is it hot all the time or just after working with the horse, etc. - anything you can think of.

My 7 year old mare has a problem with locking patella.  This manifests itself when she's worked hard or out of shape in a stumble on her hind - when she's tired, she stumbles a lot.  The problem is not in her foot, it's up in the "knee" of her hind leg under the big hip area.  so there may be something with your horse at a different place in the leg that's causing the tripping or stumbling.

Heat is not a good thing and horses are delicate creatures.  although this might be a small, treatable injury now, leaving it could allow it to become something big later.

If you call the vet, and he's familiar with your horse, he may be willing to tell you to take some type of action, watch for certain results and call him again in a couple days to check in.  My vet is only a horse vet (no other animals) and he knows me and my horses.  He knows what I'm capable of and quite often when I encounter something really weird, he tells me how to take care of it, I call back with results and he makes a good decision about whether to haul in or he should come out.  

Good luck!

Answer 3

Let him rest for a week or 2 and if it's not better call the vet

Answer 4

You could soak his hoof in a bucket with Epsom salt and water. That will bring out an abscess if thats what it is. Otherwise I would do like the last poster said and call a vet to prevent it from getting worse.