Random swelling of left hind

Vet is coming out tomorrow afternoon but I’m stressing. Has a history of a suspensory injury in this leg. Has been pacing fenceline. Any thoughts? Trainer thinks wait a few days with bute and cold hosing/ icing. Not lame at walk, not dead lame at trot.

How lame at the trot is he/she? Is it worse on a circle than a straight line? Does it palpate sore? Is there a pulse in the foot at all? Any skin issues whatsoever - cuts, scratches etc on that leg? Does he/she have a normal temperature?

My gelding’s leg will blow up like a balloon any time he gets a cut on his leg. He also swells up sometimes pretty badly when he’s abscessing. Doesn’t seem likely since IME usually the swelling is also further down the leg, but you never know!

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I think cellulitis first with random swelling like this. How does the horse look today? Any fever?

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I dunno, I’ve had so many different things cause swelling in a hind leg. It’s been lymphangitis, a hematoma on the DDFT, an abscess, a virus, a small cut, a very small “lesion” from scratches/mud fever, an insect bite, trauma, and the list goes on.

I just try to get the inflammation down and get the vet out because I panic every single time and think it’s some catastrophic soft tissue injury :rofl:

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Me too! Sometimes with my guy if you look at him wrong I swear everything will swell. I always like to cold hose and then wrap or sweat wrap before going to the vet, unless they’re super lame, in case it’s something silly (plus-if they’re really swollen anyways an ultrasound would be too hard to see anything at first).

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Oof should have listened to the trainer. They think it might be a weird presentation of cellulitis. She is sound and they said antibiotics and sweat wrapping. $200 lesson learned!

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If you have the option, try red light therapy for the leg. Its does wonders for swollen legs and inflammation.

Definitely antibiotics for cellulitis. It can get nasty quick.

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I think you did the right thing getting the vet out. You caught it early and got her on ABX before it turned into a big ugly summer-fun-ending drama.

$200 seems very reasonable for that!

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