Horse fractured his radius

[KWPN.MC]

Hi everyone,

I’m reaching out for some advice with my horse who recently fractured his radius. It happened in turnout, vet was out with in 90 minutes and xray confirmed 3 places of fracture but none displaced. For the last 16 days he has been standing (tied), stall made into a standing stall and he is in a full splint. It’s called a Robert Jones and is layers of pillows/standing wraps which are then secured with a 2x4 to keep it immobile. So far he has done fairly well, but now has two pressure sores from the splint. I change it every other day but since we now have open sores, I’m doing it daily. The worst sore is on his fetlock and the other on the back of his leg. After modifying the wrap per my vet, they are in stable condition but still look angry! His leg sweats quite badly under the wraps and I have resorted to using knitted standing wraps with cotton pillows/and no bows which seem to breathe much better than the lycra ones.

Does anyone have any experience with a horse with this type of fracture or needing to be in a splint for an extended period of time? If so, how do you protect the vulnerable areas from breaking down? I’m using an ointment on them now and have ordered the equifit gelsox for possible use in the future.

Also, has anyone boarded their horse at a hospital for the initial stages of recovery? This would have been ideal from day one but unfortunately he wasn’t stable enough to travel. I have a video camera on him but tonight he fell down and snapped his tie. I work night shift and had to call the barn owner at 11pm to go down and fix it to get him re-tied. His splint stayed in place but it looks like after scrolling through all the video he was falling asleep while resting a hind leg and his hind end just went out from under him.

Any other thoughts, experiences and ideas on how to make this easier (on the both of us) are much appreciated!

[findeight]

Mercifully no personal experience but would certainly see if you can get him into a clinic with 24/7 supervision. Fact he fell is troubling and they frequently founder in the “good” foot when one is imobilized. They just aren’t designed to be partially immobile. Good luck to you.

[csaper58]

I don’t have 1st hand experience with this but did care for a horse with an elbow fracture.

Wash your hands and keep everything that touches the broken skin clean/sterile.

Have you cross posted in the ‘racing’ forum? They see lots of fractures

Can you start a thread in the ‘riding with health issues’ forum on bed sore management? Just up size for horses.

Some things I might think about ( use your, and vet’s judgement)

Are you wrapping or using SMB type boots on the other legs? They are carrying extra weight 24/7.

Can you pad the 2x4 with a piece of pool noodle, or yoga mat, or similar foam. Can you use yoga mat type foam to make a dressing for the sores? Google Oppo foam corn pad, make something like that but bigger.

Talk to a compounding pharmacy, or nurse, or clinic, that does elderly, or burn, wound management They know all kinds of dressings. Or Google

If you can, find Duoderm or something like it. These are dressings made to cushion the wound and alleviate the pressure and let the wound heal. You may have to clip off the hair so it will stick.

Eventually this horse’s leg muscles are going to become exhausted. He is starting to fall down when relaxed/asleep. This will continue and may happen more frequently. There is great risk of displacing or compounding the fracture when he falls. Have a plan on what to do if the fracture leg is re-injured.

Can you sling this horse for a few hours a day? Can you move to a place this can be done? This horse should be monitored 24/7.

Talk to the vet about laminitis, and what you can do to prevent it. Soft Ride Boots?

Have you made any changes to the horse’s feed? Walking helps keep the gut moving, can you talk to the vet about how to keep his gut moving while he is immobile?

Can this fracture be repair surgically?

Lastly, to my knowledge the splint you describe is a temporary measure to stabilize a horse until it can be transported to a vet school or surgery center. It is not generally used alone as a long term care plan due to the difficulties encountered when a horse must stand on three legs for an extended period of time.

Is it humane to go on like this for another 4-6 weeks?

Massive jingles and prayers for you both.

[KWPN.MC]

A little more info…since the fractures weren’t displaced, surgeon thought surgery would do more harm than good. He’s in supportive shoes already with a leather pad and I’ve been support wrapping the other legs. He’s on minimal grain which has to be soaked because of the choking risk and using a hay bag to slow down his eating. He’s on gastroguard as well as his regular flax and smartpak digest ultra. Thankfully he is also a great water drinker, so hes keeping well hydrated. We’re keeping his stall beded well with shavings and straw.

Vet came out today to re xray and make sure nothing happened with his fall and thankfully nothing displaced and there’s actually signs of healing. We’re using a silver cream on the sore and modified the bandage to keep pressure off the fetlock and the sore actually looks better this morning.
Unfortunately it wasn’t safe to transport him to a clinic and we contacted the surgeon my vet has been consulting with and he still feels as though trailering wouldn’t be a good idea. Since he’s quiet and very tolerant they feel that it’s safest to keep him the way he is, and unfortunately a sling isn’t an option. We’re praying this fall was an isolated incident. He’s such a such smart horse and I truly believe he realizes how important it is to cooperate. I’m going out on a limb and having an animal communication person “talk” to him. Crazy? Maybe! But sometimes you just have to believe to get through!
Thank you for all your thoughts and suggestions! The more the better. Last 17 days have been stressful and sleepless but I’m hopeful were heading in the right direction.

[csaper58]

Sounds like you’re doing everything you can.

Keep in mind that standing still on three legs, for an extended period of time, is very hard work for this horse’s muscles.

One concern would be that with minimal grain, is he getting enough calories and protein to do the work of standing on three legs and heal as quick as possible? Is he getting balanced calcium/phosphorus and enough of the other minerals? Is any extra nutrition needed?

Would any supplement help prevent muscle fatigue and lactic acid build up due to using muscles differently than he ever has? Particularly in his shoulders, back, and glutes.

GastroGard changes the stomach pH and can alter mineral/nutrient absorption.

You may want to check the tag on the feed bag, with the vet, and determine if any supplementation is needed.

Have you considered massage, and or physical therapy for his shoulders,back, rump, and three good legs? Acupuncture to stimulate blood flow in his good front foot?

In my experience once their muscles become fatigued to the point the horse collapses when not fully awake, it can be difficult for those muscles to rest enough to recover enough strength to do all the extra work they have to do. The horse also becomes very prone to muscle cramps, and can even ‘Tie Up’.

Can you speak to someone familiar with Equine Physical Therapy and Nutrition about how to help this horse keep up his strength? Perhaps a modified PSSM diet (high in digestible fat and cool calories) that is built on what he eats at the moment so there are no drastic changes that will upset his tummy? Corn oil also protects the stomach from ulcers.

Still jingling!

Please keep us up-dated on you boy’s progress.

[equisusan]

Yes I wouldn’t put him on a trailer. You need some time for healing to start really happening. I had a horse that broke its leg from a kick but not in three places. Patience and time and a calm horse. Healing wishes.

[atr]

Can you set up bales behind him so he has something to “sit” on?

What a difficult situation, wishing you the very best!

[csaper58]

@atr

Can you set up bales behind him so he has something to “sit” on?

What a difficult situation, wishing you the very best!

This jogged my memory of another horse, a saddlebred, that had injured a front leg and sat on the tail boards for relief.

The tail board is a 2x10 inch board, attached by heavy duty right angle braces. It forms a shelf that surrounds the stall at a height level that is just below the point of the horse’s buttock. There was a tail board on the 3 stall walls that had no door.

[LookmaNohands]

Many years ago I did TTouch on a horse with this same injury. The owner thought it helped the rest of his body cope with the stress. He was tied in his stall for several weeks then allowed a little hand walking up and down the aisle way once the Robert Jones bandage was off. Horse recovered fully and went back to hunting. I do not know what was done about any pressure sores.

I don’t think the horse ever fell down. I do know that horses can remain standing for many weeks at a time. At least when they are old and have trouble getting up.

[beowulf]

Ugh.It is so hard when you can’t trailer them.

Thankfully, never dealt with it in my own but one of my favorite boarder horses at one of the barns I worked at somehow managed to do it to himself in his tiny little sandy paddock. We still don’t know how. The most frustrating part is that he could have been saved but we could not transport him - he couldn’t even step forward. It was so heartbreaking and we had to put him down then and there because for him trailering wasn’t an option.

Are you able to talk to your vet about devising some sort of sling - why isn’t it an option? It really isn’t ideal, but he can’t be falling - we had a pulley system rigged up for a horse that fractured his shoulder that absolutely could NOT be allowed to roll or go down - it was basically an anti-cast device reinforced, with very strong thick rope notched through a pulley system/high line that allowed him to move forward or back in the stall but not side-to-side.

I didn’t see you mention it but I would really be strongly considering reserpine in a case like this - you want them as QUIET as possible – and I even think that some robaxin could go a long way in helping keeping him from getting too tense. Additionally, if it’s not too much, isoxuprine + REMISSION has been something I’ve seen added to horses that are immobile and at possible risk of founder; whether or not it helps or just acts as a placebo, IDK, but isoxuprine is suppose to help with blood flow in the hoof and REMISSION is an excellent supplement for horses at risk of founder.

Definitely see what options are out there, because you need to have him as still as possible. I’m so sorry you’re dealing with this and lots of jingles and good thoughts you and your horse’s way.

[merrygoround]

New Bolton Center used a sling for Barbaro, which he learned to use. It couldbe helpful for your horse if you have a way to rig it.

As far as grain is concerned, I would use as little as is possible.

[whbar158]

Def little grain but nutrition is going to be super important so I would def go with hay pellets of some sort and a quality vit/min supplement and a source of protein as that super important for healing.

[DarkJewelDesigns]

My horse had a non-displaced radial fracture a few years ago. We used a sling from my vet and rigged it from a metal ceiling beam that ran across the top of one of the stalls. He did super in it and is now fully recovered. He did get some pressure sores from different parts of the sling and a mattress foam topper - like an egg crate - worked very well. Something like that may be thin enough to wrap around the 2x4 before it is splinted to him?

Our barn has since moved and is at a different farm. We had a horse last year who had gotten kicked so badly the vet feared that if she was allowed to lay down that the leg would fracture when she got up. They put her in the sling for a month. This barn does not have the large metal beams the other one did and we had a contractor come in and rig a weight bearing beam across the top of the stall to be able to rig the sling. That may be an option if it doesn’t seem like a sling is possible? The beam is still above the stall - I’m happy to take some photos for you if you’d like.

Many, many jingles for you and your boy.

[csaper58]

Hi OP,

I’m just wondering how your horse is doing?

[KWPN.MC]

He’s doing great. After 7 weeks of being in a standing stall and in the splint he was finally able to have it off. Gave him more freedom a little at a time but he had to remain tied for another week after the splint came off. He’s since been untied but hasn’t started hand walking walking yet. Only coming out to the cross ties. Follow up at 6 weeks showed the two smaller fractures are healed and the larger was still slightly visible on xray. Pressure sores are healing.

[Bluey]

I missed this thread before.

If someone needs a way to keep a horse standing, consider one of those:

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/too…FUK4wAodVbQPeg

They come with three legs on each end, two as there, for 1000/2000/3000 loads.
They come in a long kit package, about 250 lbs, so not so hard to order.

Something like that could help support a horse on a sling.
They can be taken apart by unbolting, moved into a stall and bolted back inside.
Or keep the horse in an open space, with that to hold him up.

Glad that your horse is doing well.

I know of a horse kicked in his shoulder, that was kept immobilized best they could and he healed and is fine now.
He was a vet’s horse, so already at the clinic, where he could have the best care possible.
Normally with those kinds of fractures they don’t do well, too much else can go wrong.

Sounds like you did a wonderful job of caring for him where he was and he is going to be fine now, awesome.