Ideas for reducing stocking up?

[Prima_Donna]

Hi all, looking for ideas for helping to keep my 22 year old OTTB mare healthy.

History: in October of 2021, she had a bad case of lymphangitis. 8 days at the vet clinic. She is sound but her left hind is still big. I moved her to full 24 hour pasture after a few flare ups from being in a stall for 24 hours+ due to bad weather.

She is currently hacked 5 times a week and lives outside with another horse, sometimes 2-3 other horses. I’m in Colorado so with snow, I can’t always get out to check on her, nor can the two ladies who ride her for me. With the most recent storm, she got pretty stocked up in her right hind and was almost three legged lame until she was hand-walked for a half hour to an hour a day for a few days.

Any ideas for a supplement to help? I assume when it is cold and snowing, she isn’t moving around enough. I’m going to try to make sure someone at the farm can hand walk her when my riders/I can’t make it out. And I don’t love the idea of wrapping while she is out. But something preventative would be great. She’s isn’t on anything except hay and some senior feed. Thank you!

[Bonnie2]

No supplement will help. Unfortunately movement is the only way. Which you clearly understand since you have her on 24 hour turn out. You could speak to your vet about medicating her if the weather is bad. We used to use naquasone for cellulitis but I don’t know if they even make it anymore. Good luck!

[LCDR]

If you have deep pockets, shop for a treadmill to make it easier to walk her when the weather is crappy. Going out on a limb here (not an intended pun-sorry) I wonder also if a vibratory plate might help.
Of course, neither will be effective if no one can get to her to use them.

Can you arrange to have the hay in the turnout pasture to be spaced out in small piles far apart to try to force her to walk around more in order to eat?

[Prima_Donna]

Those are good ideas. Especially the hay piles because that is easy. Thanks!

[JB]

MSM has helped some horses who generally stock up when stalled, but I don’t know if it will help for this situation. I had a similar one, severed extensor tendon and rupture fetlock joint capsule. For a couple of years, that fetlock would swell if he was stalled overnight, but it started swelling less and less, and finally it settled on its final size, still bigger than the other, but much smaller than what it had been, and never stocked up again. So, for your girl, it’s only been not quite 18 months, and it might just take a couple of years for things to normalize a little.

I would absoutely wrap her any time she’s stalled for a while, trying to leave her naked for a couple hours, then wrap for the night (or whatever), and unwrap as soon as possible even if she’s not going back out for another couple hours. That may help her lymphatic system re-learn how to manage that leg better

I wouldn’t wrap while out in snow though. Normal footing, yes, but it sounds like it’s not needed then.

If this snow is expected to be around for a while, I’d do a week of 20,000mg MSM, then 10,000 going forward, and see if that helps at all.

[walktrot]

My gelding was about 25 and showed up one day with one of those genuine innocuous little cuts all horses love. It was about 1" long, shallow and didn’t cut through the skin. It was perfectly horizontal about halfway up the back of his right hind. It stocked up to the hock, though. About half of that disappeared but he still had some from the pastern up about 8" or so. It never bothered him. No one ever noticed. I sort of forgot about it. Then…

His left knee was arthritic and losing flexion. His lamenss was getting worse. At his first exam visit with the lameness specialist he was given a shot of Opsphos. A couple of weeks later I looked at that hind leg. After I picked myself up off the aisleway - matted concrete - I looked again. Totally gone. No signs of it, and they never returned.

[Highflyer1]

There are several compression sock type options available now that might be worth looking into. I don’t love the idea of turning out in them but turning out in boots or wraps isn’t great either and sometimes you have to pick the least terrible option. We used the Equisleeve for an injury and it worked pretty well.

[LCDR]

I had to read this several times to be sure that his leg hadn’t actually fallen off and he was standing there on the remaining three.

[beau159]

@Prima_Donna

Hi all, looking for ideas for helping to keep my 22 year old OTTB mare healthy.

History: in October of 2021, she had a bad case of lymphangitis. 8 days at the vet clinic. She is sound but her left hind is still big. I moved her to full 24 hour pasture after a few flare ups from being in a stall for 24 hours+ due to bad weather.

She is currently hacked 5 times a week and lives outside with another horse, sometimes 2-3 other horses. I’m in Colorado so with snow, I can’t always get out to check on her, nor can the two ladies who ride her for me. With the most recent storm, she got pretty stocked up in her right hind and was almost three legged lame until she was hand-walked for a half hour to an hour a day for a few days.

Any ideas for a supplement to help? I assume when it is cold and snowing, she isn’t moving around enough. I’m going to try to make sure someone at the farm can hand walk her when my riders/I can’t make it out. And I don’t love the idea of wrapping while she is out. But something preventative would be great. She’s isn’t on anything except hay and some senior feed. Thank you!

These things are utter voodoo but darn it they work.

The EQU Streamz magnetic bands.

My horses are usually turned out 24/7 in the pasture. So when we haul to a multi-day show and they have to stand in a stall, my horse Red has always been the type to stock up badly, even though I make it a point to hand walk him often. I bought these magnets to try them. I figured I would be okay wasting $100 if they didn’t work. They help tremendously. I am amazed. The stocking up isn’t 100% gone but it keeps his legs looking mostly normal. I don’t know how they actually work. All I know is that they work. So now I have a set for each of my 3 horses. I use them anytime we trailer anywhere, or when they will be standing tied to the trailer for long periods, or stalled at a show.

I usually put them on both the front feet, as that’s what I feel works the best for my horses, through some trial and error.

They’re cool because they can be left on while in a stall no problem. Not generating any heat and not a wrap!!

[Prima_Donna]

That’s great, especially for trailering! Thanks.

[blob99]

this is purely anecdotal, so take with a grain of salt…

my mare, also on 24 hour turnout, would stock up in hind legs. It would go away on days I rode her, but was there on other days pretty consistently. Last year she developed Equine Asthma/COPD, so to help with that she’s on a supplement that includes omega-3s, Spirulina, MSM, Jiaogulan, and vit C. She no longer stocks up. The supplement is obviously trying to help against inflammatory response, so makes sense that it might help. I don’t think it’s a magic bullet and obviously movement is best. But if you did want to try a feed through some of those ingredients might help.

[Pico_Banana]

I recently purchased a pair of EquiCrown Active compression wraps to use in lieu of standing wraps on my mare overnight after she suffered a suspensory injury. They are AWESOME and can be used in turnout.

I put them on my mare either at dinner time or night check and leave them on overnight. They do not budge at all. My mare gets a little stocked up overnight since she’s in a medical paddock and not getting a ton of movement and they do a great job of keeping the swelling in check.

I am a huge fan.