Contracted tendons in foals. Reassurance needed.

[stolensilver]

How long do they take to get better? My foal is almost a month old now and still can’t fully straighten her front knees. She isn’t on tip toe and she doesn’t knuckle over on her fetlocks. I think that’s because she copes by propping her shoulders forwards so the contraction appears to be mostly at knee level.

The Vet sees her regularly and isn’t worried. I’m fretting! How long does it take for them to become straight? She can get around but watching her walk is heart rending.

Also how old can they be and Tetracycline still have a good effect? Vet is talking about giving a second dose. I thought it didn’t work as well once they were more than 3 weeks old?

This is what she looked like on Tuesday

And this is as straight as her legs can go at the moment

[JB]

Picture?

It can take a few months, but there are some things you can do to help.

Stalling for a few days can help a LOT, as it allows the muscles (which are the real problem in most cases) to relax and let the tendons down.

I’d also be putting her on Progressive’s Rejuvenaide.

This was mine the night he was born

4 days later

12 days old

5 weeks, roughly

This was maybe about his worst, roughly 8 weeks

then 10 days later This was about the time I decided to keep him and Mom on a stall for…I think about 36 hours. Helped a lot. For the first…2? weeks they were stalled at night. Then for the next 2-3 they have in-out stall access at night. By this last picture they were out full time, but I locked them up for that 36 hours and it made a big difference.

The boy is now perfectly straight

[rodawn]

Well, I would try to get a second dose going ASAP.

In the meantime, I would be rubbing her legs quite vigorously and limit the exercise. You will notice that when she is starting to get tired and strained, the knees buckle forward a bit more. When she’s fresh, she can stand up straighter.

You can also do some gentle stretching exercises with her when she is laying down and relaxed. Just gently (GENTLY) press on the knees to create a gentle straightening and hold for a few seconds and then immediately rub vigorously. Then repeat. The rubbing ensures increased blood flow. I would do this several times a day if possible.

I would also suggest you put this filly on Rejuvenaid.

I did have 1 filly who took a long time to straighten out from her cramped quarters in utero - about 2 months - and now at 5 years of age she is perfect. I did the gentle stretches and vigorous rubbing about 6 times a day. I also limited her exercise to 30 minutes in the AM and 30 minutes at noon and 30 minutes in the PM for the first 6 weeks and then increased it thereafter.

[stolensilver]

Thanks JB, I had been thinking weeks rather than months. Months. :eek:

My filly is currently on 23 hours stall rest, 1 hour turned out in a concrete yard. Her mum is on restricted food and has lost weight. Mum still looks well but can’t afford to lose any more weight. We’ve also taken half their bed out so half the stable is concrete to allow her to stand on hard ground as many hours a day as possible.

I’m not sure what else I can do to help. Vet has mentioned cutting tendons if we have to but I didn’t think she was bad enough to need that? But then I’ve never had a foal with this problem before.

[stolensilver]

Rodawn thankyou also for replying. She is getting her front legs stretched twice a day. She’s such a poppet that she lets you do it on your own while she’s loose in the stable. She even lets you press down on her knee which is clearly uncomfortable for her. When the stretches are finished I give her a cuddle and tickle her tummy and she leans in to you like a giant dog. She is sooooo sweet! Its breaking my heart to see her like this and not able to go out and play with all the other foals. Her Mum is being a saint but she looks longingly over the wall at her friends in the field every morning when she’s allowed into the yard.

[Home_Again_Farm]

Those legs would have me rather worried. I agree with Rodawn on the gentle massage and manipulation. I’d also repeat the oxytet and hope that it helps. I don’t think that they will improve with just time and no other intervention.

[JB]

YOU DO want it to resolve as fast as you can get it resolved.

You are not anywhere NEAR even thinking about cutting tendons, not when her fetlocks are still normal and she’s weighting her heels.

Something else you can do is wrap her legs, elbow to fetlock, to “force” them straight and remain so. It takes skill to wrap that whole little leg, but your vet should be able to do it. Of course, this also means full stall confinement I was about to do that until I saw how much 36 hours in the stall helped.

What does “restricted food” mean for the dam? These foals need MORE Nutrition, usually, not less. So, restricting mom’s food is usually not the right thing, unless the contraction is from mom’s milk being too rich and the foal growing too fast. But I’d STRONGLY urge you to call Progressive directly and talk to Don. You can restrict mom’s diet to reduce the potency of her milk, if that’s leading to too much growth for the foal, but you’ve got to increase the nutrition for the foal

[JB]

Ok, just saw pictures - were they there to start?

Yes, that’s more extreme than mine was. I’d really be wrapping, I think, as snug as can be wrapped, complete stall rest, knowing you can’t wrap straight at this point.

What is mom eating?

[Home_Again_Farm]

Please disregard my earlier post. I had not clicked through to the most recent pics. She is making good progress. I agree with rodawn and JB. I especially agree with JB regarding nutrition.

[rodawn]

This is why I suggested Rejuvenaid - which is a liquid designed specifically for foals from 5 days of age to 18 months.

It is specifically for helping nutrition of the foal and targets contracted or weak tendons, etc.

http://www.prognutrition.com/rejuvenaideplus.html

[Home_Again_Farm]

Apologies for my first two posts. I confused some of JB’s pics for yours. I would wrap, and also would try the oxytet again. I don’t think this will improve without more intervention.

[stolensilver]

Hi JB, I added the photos a couple of minutes after the original post.

This is the foal who came out looking as if she was 2 months old. She’s growing like a weed, she’s grown 2-3" in front in 10 days and more behind because she’s gone from level to quarters high.

Mum is on home made haylage, Sure Gro and chaff.

I have a question about wrapping the legs. How do they lie down if their legs are wrapped? How do they bend their knees enough?

[JB]

Oh, right that “300lb” foal That could most definitely be the problem. I would absolutely, no hesitation, get the Rejuvenaide Plus going.

They DON’T bend their knees when wrapped like this But they figure out how to get up and down, and it’s not wrapped for long.

[stolensilver]

This is the concentrate Mum is on.

http://92.48.118.223/p-Suregrow-Dodson-and-Horrell.html

[stolensilver]

Does anyone know what the equivalent product is to Rejuvenaide that’s available in the UK?

[rodawn]

There seems to be some elements missing in this grain.

You want the lysine, this is good. There is some calcium, but not enough and it is missing a listing for phosphorous - which is a required element.

Switch your mare over to a specific broodmare/lactating pellet that is formulated specifically for lactating mares.

Restricting her diet isn’t going to do much for the foal - - the lactation hormones circulating in her body will still pull minerals from wherever they can get them so it all lands in the milk which the foal drinks. The end result of depriving the mare is that the MARE becomes deficient. When a mare is deficient, she pulls stores of phosphorous and calcium specifically from her bones.

So, my strong suggestion is, switch the mare to a lactation formulation pellet and start the foal on Rejuvenaid Plus.

You can wrap the legs, but do be careful you don’t damage the tendons from the bandages, which can happen. Do continue with the vigorous massage therapy and continue to restrict the exercise.

**** Didn’t see you latest post until just this second - - -

Rejuvenaid will probably ship to the UK. You can email them and find out. They are willing to ship to Canada for me.

[JB]

At 26% protein this reads like a ration balancer. How much was/is she getting - before reducing, and now?

At 2.5% calcium, it’s the same as the Progressive Grass Balancer. TC Growth, which would be fed at much higher rates, is .75% calcium. That’s not really an option for this foal, just listing it as a comparison.

I WOULD continue the ration balancer, but at recommended levels which, if it’s about the same as the PN (and it reads similar) would be 3-3.5lb for the mare.

[rodawn]

JB - the feed is missing phosphorous - a required mineral. I would not continue with this feed at all. That’s just my opinion.

The OP state the mare has lost ground, so she could use some calories and a feed that has all the required elements for lactation.

Since the mare and foal are on restricted turnout, it means they are NOT getting grass. Fresh green grass is usually heavier in phosphorous, but with restricted turnout, she’s not getting the fresh grass. Being on the haylage and chaff, she needs to be changed to suit the feed she is actually on. It would be better if she was on a mixed hay that included some alfalfa, if you can get it, because she does need the calories.

Later, when she and the foal can be turned back out to grass you can return her to this particular balancer which is suited for grass turnout.

[stolensilver]

Thanks for your input. I’ll look into exactly what and how much Mum is getting tomorrow. I asked for her feed to be cut to try to persuade the foal to grow more slowly so her tendons have a chance to catch up with her bones. With 2-3" of growth happening in 10 days I’m not sure if its working :eek:

[JB]

The problem is, I’ve seen many, many website listings leave out half or more of the analysis. I wouldn’t pass judgement on this until I saw an actual tag/bag. I just highly, highly doubt it’s missing phos