Heat in leg - no lameness, no swelling

[Carrie94]

I’m waiting to hear back from my vet (as it’s not emergency so not high priority) but thought I’d ask here in the meantime.

My mare has had periodic heat in her hind legs (from hock down, not isolated to one area). It comes and goes quickly. Usually just warm, once it was actually quite hot. Alternates between legs, only in one leg at a time.

No swelling, no lameness. She has healthy feet, she’s on a great diet, turned out 24/7 with buddies, she has no injuries anywhere, her mood is normal. I do suspect ulcers (from before I bought her) which she’s being treated naturally for but don’t know if that could cause this.

Also I ride/groundwork roughly 5 days a week (dressage focus but some low level reining type maneuvers as well, I train for all-around). Not sure if it could be related to workload at all? I don’t feel I’m stressing her body at all and I work with a lot of different horses.

Thoughts while I wait for my vet?

[Carrie94]

Anyone?

[cnd8]

I mean, if I felt heat in a leg, and there was no lameness or swelling, I wouldn’t give it a thought.

[Peggy]

Can it be tied to what she did the day before? Or did she just have one leg more in the sun, or laid down with it under her?

[Carrie94]

I know it’s not the sun but not sure if she may be knocking herself with her legs some. I feel like she could be a horse that steps on herself a bit, she is still pretty slim (doesn’t abduct well). I use protective boots when I work her if I’m doing something that warrants it otherwise I try not to.

[Carrie94]

Just the fact it’s been repeating makes me wonder, if it was just once it probably wouldn’t concern me either.

[phantomhorse]

Are you in an area with ticks? Any time I hear of weird symptoms, I think of Lyme or something else tick-related as often those illnesses are not straightforward presentations.

[Carrie94]

No I’m not!

[starsandsun]

Maybe an aside, but there’s a lot of research out about how boots and wraps can elevate leg temperature and it stays elevated for a LONG time. Any correlation between boots/riding and leg heat?

One thing I would do is use a laser temperature gun on each of her legs at various points, multiple times per day and track what you notice. And, I would probably lay off any leg protection and see if it makes any difference over a period of a few days.

[Carrie94]

Yes I’m aware of the research so I only use leg protection when I do work where she might be more likely to step on herself. And I remove them asap. I haven’t noticed any correlation. In fact I haven’t used boots now for a few weeks and I’m still getting heat occasionally. Also it is worth noting I live in a cold climate, we’re mid-winter right now.

I don’t have a laser gun but that is an interesting idea!

[Texarkana]

If nothing else is wrong, I wouldn’t stress too much about it.

It could be anything, most reasons being completely benign.

[sara78]

I would not stress either