The leg lump that won't de-lump

[Meredith_Clark]

My horse got kicked 8 days ago in the field. I was there and saw it, he just didn’t move away fast enough from the dominate horse (all of the horses in question are mine at my farm). It swelled up very quickly and was sore so I had the vet come out that night to do x rays. Nothing showed up on x rays so she had me do wrapping, cold hosing, low dose anti inflammatory and eventually hand walking.

It’s the hind leg, cannon bone area and even after 8 days there’s a lump/swelling and it’s fairly warm to the touch. It has gotten better but I’m just worried that it’s taking so long. I’m so worried that there’s something serious that x rays didn’t show.

Has anyone had something like this happen ? The vet said she’ll come out Monday if there’s no improvement or it gets worse. I’m so bummed this is happening right as the weather is getting good , and yes… his field has been changed!

[GramV]

It doesn’t seem like a big deal. I might try something like furacin, plastic wrap, and a warp over it to sweat it down. If she doesn’t seem lame, that is probably a good thing.

[mmeqcenter]

8 days isn’t that long, IMO, especially for something right on the bone. My mare nicked herself on a fence board two weeks ago, didn’t even draw blood, and there’s still a small lump. If he’s not lame, I wouldn’t worry about it. If he is lame, then yeah have the vet out again.

[Meredith_Clark]

@mmeqcenter

8 days isn’t that long, IMO, especially for something right on the bone. My mare nicked herself on a fence board two weeks ago, didn’t even draw blood, and there’s still a small lump. If he’s not lame, I wouldn’t worry about it. If he is lame, then yeah have the vet out again.

He’s a little bit short at the trot if you really look, but not terrible. It looks like a kid that hit their head and now they have an “egg” on it, except it’s on his leg.

[16_Hands]

I’m going through the same thing with my gelding except he didn’t get kicked but sounds the same. My vet has me cold hosing and applying DMSO gel to the area. It seems to be helping. But like your horse, short on that leg at the trot but not terrible.

[Meredith_Clark]

I ended up splurging and buying ice boots because I don’t have a proper wash stall so all this cold hosing is flooding my farm! I’m just so ready to ride.!!!

[cnd8]

Id do cold hosing and DMSO.

[findeight]

It’s not unusual for these to take time to fully heal and sometimes, especially if it’s on the bone, there will always be a little bump that never bothers them. It takes these things awhile to stop bothering horses or us, how long was your shin sore after you banged it on the coffee table?

By all means ask your vet but sometimes we tend to over treat some minor injuries that just need a bit of time.

[Meredith_Clark]

@findeight

It’s not unusual for these to take time to fully heal and sometimes, especially if it’s on the bone, there will always be a little bump that never bothers them. It takes these things awhile to stop bothering horses or us, how long was your shin sore after you banged it on the coffee table?

By all means ask your vet but sometimes we tend to over treat some minor injuries that just need a bit of time.

Honestly that’s what I need to hear. I work with children with special needs and I’m often kicked in the shin myself! I think it doesn’t help that he lives at home so I just stare at it all the time :lol:

[IPEsq]

I find that in that location, it usually looks worse than it is and can take a while for the lump to go down. There’s not a lot of tissue there, so any swelling looks large in comparison to a more fleshy area. There is a slight possibility that a very teeny fracture would not have shown up on an immediate xray, but the horse would most likely be a lot less comfortable in that scenario.

[mellsmom]

Also, x-rays done the day of are not likely to show a minor fracture, I have seen them be more evident when they begin healing. there could be a sequestrum on the bone… but it could just be a bone bruise. Good luck!

[firefoot]

Like others have said, it’s a weird area that doesn’t always heal that well. There’s not a lot of tissue or blood flow there, so healing takes time and there’s often bumps. Last winter my horse got a big puncture on the outside of his hind cannon and I didn’t see it til the next day. I was already behind on catching it late and it healed really slowly. He was also field boarded at a spot that had no amenities so I was limited in what care I could provide. Now, a little over a year later, there’s still a little bump where it happened. I could DMSO it but honestly I don’t care. It doesn’t bother him.

But, like the person above said – xrays on the first day usually don’t show much. There’s lot of inflammation to hide a fracture – which is good! That helps minimize displacement. While it’s not unreasonable that it’s still sore, it’s also possible there’s a hairline fracture or sequestrum there. I’ve had two horses have sequestrums and they are weird but eventually came out.

[LadyBug]

My old gelding got a small scrape on the outside of a hind leg over the winter. I shaved it, cleaned it, and wrapped it for a few days. It wasn’t significant and doesn’t seem to bother him, but he still has a big, hard lump there. He’s using it fine and is retired anyway, so there’s nothing else I can do for it. The vet looked at it on a recent visit and wasn’t concerned, but it will probably never go away.