Splints!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[EightBells]

Hi everyone! I am from South Africa. I am so upset as my horse has thrown 2 splints!! One tiny one mid right cannon bone and a big one on the left mid cannon bone. They popped up at the same time. I just cant except that there is so little I can do... Any ideas are more than welcome!!!! PLEASE

[Stormin]

Hi !

Is the splint from an injury or knock, or is it due to your horse's work ?
If it's work related, rest the horse and eventually get a thermo scan done to identify heat and inflammation source.

Is your horse a show horse or is it just an esthetical (sp?) problem for you ?

I was applying Furacine lotion mixed with DMSO for a month the first time but no treatment the year after.
I know that there IS a way to remove them but I think it's barbaric, horse suffers and not sure it's worth it. Either involves surgery to scrape the bone :eek: or chemical attack to dissolve the bone. :eek::eek::eek: Plus it won't stop a splint forming again.

If your splints are very recent, they may be reduced significantly by ultrasound treatment but you will need to refer yourself to a vet :)

Good luck !

[Bobbi's_mum]

My horse has splints on her front legs but the vet told me they were 'cold' and no longer painful. i would suggest having a vet explain it to you and might be able to give you some options for treatment

[Portia]

B had several shortly after we bought her. She was 4, we'd been schooling on the rubber menage but they popped up regardless. I think we hosed daily & box rest for a week then out to grass for about another 3-4 weeks; until they had settled and were 'cold' basically. We aslo got magnetic boots for her ( theory being the action of the magnet is supposed to increse blood supply and therefore speed healing).

[EightBells]

Thanks guys for your input... The splints are from quite a bad knock - the pole broke. I gave him a week off, he is completely sound and the splints are cold. We uptite his legs every night and I cold hose his legs down after working him. The splints are fairly recent, they happened about 3 weeks ago. I was also advised on magnetic boots, they are very expensive here so I need to save a little to buy them. What is the window period that I have to try reduce it as best as possible?

PS: he is 5 rising 6. He is to be my A grade showjumper... boy can he jump and fearless!!! So the only reason they bother is because of me and cosmetic reasons...

Do you think they will eventually go down or should I just learn to except it?

[Kady A]

What a nightmare. There is a really good product called Splintex Gold - you can buy it from www.lesliesutcliffe.biz. We met her at BETA a couple of years ago, a very knowledgeable lady who rated this stuff highly - it does work and doesn't have anything illegal, banned or whatever. She sells stuff mainly to the big racing and showjumping yards, but she is definitely worth an email.

[Portia]

B's settled nicely, I can feel a slight bump but not see it. I did have her x-rayed just to be certain there were no underlying problems, so it might be worth having a chat with your vet.

[EightBells]

Thanks again guys... I will definitely look up that address!!!

Portia - roughly how long did the splints take to go down? I have been told it can take up to a year...

[welshymad]

Hi, heres an old remedy i was told by a friend, they said to bandage half a lemon (yes a lemon) to the splint, something to do with the acidic action of the lemon causing the bone to break down. It apparently worked for my friend and is much cheaper than vets bills so maybe worth a try? hope this helps :)

[Portia]

They'd gone down in about 6-8 weeks, and she was back to full work about 10 weeks afterwards (we put her back slowly, no tight circles, jumps etc). Mind you, that was on the rubber menage or soft long grass, didnt take her onto harder ground for about 4 months and then that was a slow job too. It was worth taking it steady though; she threw no more splints after that.

For us I'd estimate about 6 months to be honest before we were fully up to speed in terms of road work, jumping and not worrying about the surface she worked on. It does vary hugely from horse to horse though, and I have always been a bit over-cautious with Madam.