Older gelding who still likes to nap in his well-bedded stall (fluffed pelleted bedding over mats) and to roll in his sand pit has developed a persistent fetlock sore (bed sore) on his right, and a much smaller one on his left. I’ve cleaned it up, applied antibiotic cream, a dressing and either vet wrap or a bedsore boot at night, for two weeks. I have to take the boot off during the day as it’s so wet here it gets soaked. It’s improving but still wants to open up and be sore. What else should I be doing? Any good tricks or simple things I’m missing?
I like gall salve for this sort of thing. It seems to help toughen up the skin while helping it heal.
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Keep him in upside down bell boots–Davis and the pvc ones work the best as they don’t hold moisture and last the longest. I tried the bed sore boots, and my gelding just continually chewed them off.
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Here are a few options I found on amazon that might help protect the area from future trauma. Hope this helps!
It looks like these scalping boots could be worn “upside down” to help protect higher up
He is most likely having trouble getting up due to some age-arthritis that may not be making him lame so not noticeable.
Along with the topical suggestions above, I would consider adding a worthwhile supplement to his feed pan. By worthwhile I mean something that actually works and has some scientific data behind it.
Pure MSM is helpful.
Cosequin ASU+ (plus) also helps. I feed this to my horse with the fractured sacrum.
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I love my Integrity Fetlock Shields. My horse lives in them. They lose their shape after a few months, but are cheap enough to replace. Highly recommend.
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He is 23 and I have noticed him having some “get up” trouble-- mostly behind. He’s retired, and battling IR/Cushings that he is being treated for. He’s on SmartSenior joint supplement, vitamins, Heiro daily, along with his Prascend. He currently is wearing one bedsore boot (the other fell victim to a dog…grrr…) and I have a new pair on order. He leaves bandages/boots alone so not a problem there. I am wondering if joint injections (hocks) would help? I will consult his vet on that. He’s very sound otherwise, trots sound, canters easily, eats like a pig at the trough (hence his IR/Cushings that led to a bout of mild laminitis we caught super early…phew!.. and his lovely new GreenGuard muzzle he now sports).
My guy doesn’t get sores, but he does get bald spots on the front of this fetlocks . . . I started leaving his shoo fly fly boots on his fore legs - that way they can stay on all the time. No worries about turnout and plenty of air circulation.
I use a hydrophilic foam dressing–cut a square, apply directly to wound (cleaned well first), cover with Elastikon. Can be left on at least a few days depending on if the sores are oozing. This will help them heal and not just scab and rip scabs off. Once healed, then it’s a bit easier to keep from recurring. I am not sure where to find the dressing online–I get it from one of the farm supply stores here in the section hear the gauze. Gauze will stick. An alternative from a human bandage source would be a burn pad, but those are moister. The foam absorbs any oozing but doesn’t really create a wet environment itself.
Have your and/or your vet ruled out summer sores (habronemiasis)?
ZELLA- I don’t believe this is a summer sore as they’ve only recently formed as he has had a harder time getting up and I can see him sort of “leaning” on his fetlocks to push himself up. Not itchy and doesn’t match the wound description well, but certainly something to keep in mind as we move forward with treatment.
I’ve been very aggressive about covering them up, cleaning off the scabby blood, and treating with antibiotic cream. The right is looking much better. Hopefully,we can sort them out and keep him comfortable.
Have you tried Alushield? I sometimes prefer that to an ointment.
I had good luck wrapping with honey. I don’t know if type matters but I used Hawaii White Honey. It’s very expensive but it’s what I had on hand (Shrug). After, the open sores closed up I kept Miss Maresy in fetlock shields or bell boots. In hindsight she was scraping her fetlocks because she was sore in all fours from DSLD. I did have to be religious with keeping boots on her 24/7; just one night with them off and she’d scuff them up again.
Perhaps its the abrasive nature of the pelleted bedding causing an issue?
Mine were on pelleted bedding (beautiful and deep) for a while. One started to develop consistent rub points/sores on the side of his ‘underneath’ leg when he was lying down. Since we switched back to large flake shavings, not a problem anymore. I got the sense that the pelleted bedding was slightly more abrasive than the shavings. Might be worth an experiment switching the bedding type?
i had an old mare that got sores from laying down in the stall. I put silver sulfadiazine cream on the wounds along with a pad and taped it on. Healed up perfectly.
Used in conjunction with fetlock shields or bell boots should solve the problem. [h=1][/h]
Francisco has had “bed sores” for about 5 years…he is a 17 hand 1450 pound Thoroughbred (moose cross) big kind delicate guy I have had him 14 years he has done every thing I has asked! In retrospect these sores may have been an early indication of the neurological issues he now has—Spinal stenosis). I have tried manny of these suggestions. More bedding helps a bit. Wrappping I the 4x4 squares would get open sores healing up but the soul;d reoccure in a week or tow. The send sore boots just gather ed more dirt. The upside down bell boots. The soft Velcro ones with NO RIBS seem to work best. The sad reality is his size and age are the real issue. Every few weeks I do a though cleaning with antibiotic soap and wrap a few days. He is now the Pasture Buddha.
Intrepid fetlock shields
I had a gelding who was narcoleptic and suffered constantly from fetlock sores. I found fly boots protected his legs and were not hot or compromised circulation
My mare who had these also had some neurologic deficits. We used professional’s choice bed sore boots. They stayed on her skinny legs well, and the fleece inside was nice and soft.
Another vote for upside down bell boots. My gelding has them on when ever he is in his stable. He’s a sensitive thin skinned chestnut FWIW. The upside down bell boots work a charm on him. I tried a couple of different types of fetlock boots, but it’s very hot and humid where i live so they proved to be too hot for my liking.
