Vet Said No Worries - Splint

[GraceLikeRain]

I am so freakity fracking over 2023. I have been going through my own personal version of the 10 plagues and it just never ends.

12/20 mare presented with 1/2” cut and swelling on the inside of the front right. Under the swelling I could feel 2 bumps about the size of half grapes. Honestly, I was fairly blasé because this mare’s legs are like reading braille. She probably has 6+ old bumps across her four legs that we’ve always referred to as “popped splints” but they predate knowing her so I don’t know anything about how they presented, were treated, healed, etc. People talk so casually about “popping a splint” that I initially shrugged it off.

Horse was walking comfortably and didn’t mind poking and prodding. I cold hosed and surpassed for a week. There was still a tiny bit of effusion and the vet was already coming out so I asked for a single view to “just to put my mind at ease”. Well thank you final gift of 2023…splint bone fracture.

On the line she was sound going left, .5/5 going right. Vet called it a “button splint” gave mare a loving shoulder pat and said she’d earned herself 4-6 weeks off, no worries, keep her on turnout, just x-ray again before going back into work. She was very casual and said low fractures typically heal no issue and it is the high ones that are a concern. I was feeling really calm but as we were wrapping up the vet casually mentioned “but if you ask the local clinic they’ll tell you 3 months of stall rest, wrapping, and probably push for surgery”.

There is such a huge chasm between the two options I’m feeling anxious. All of these past COTH posts everyone is talking about surgery, how low is worse, etc. and I’m wondering if my vet is taking a little too much of a farm vet mindset over performance.

Of course horse is literally supposed to move barns in 5 days because there are management issues where we are at and stall rest isnt even an option. Where we are going it is a private barn where i’ll be the only boarder. There are stalls but everyone is out except for inclement weather so the idea of moving in and asking for stall rest and wrapping or making a hour round trip twice a day is feeling like…so much.

Maybe better to push for surgery? Get a second opinion? Start panicking?

[GraceLikeRain]

[RedHorses]

Non displaced splint fractures do typically heal well. I did wrap my horse’s leg - but I also didn’t get a diagnosis until about week 6. His was an outside hind splint, and he broke the tip off. Never lame, just swollen and warm to start. My horse lives outside and stayed outside with a leg wrap redone once a day.

Yeah, I know a lot of people would clutch their pearls over that, but I have confidence in my wraps and in my horse being willing to leave it alone. I did put masking tape over the velcro closure.

[IPEsq]

That doesn’t look like it needs surgery. I think shockwave can help. If horse acts like a doofus, wrapping and/or booting for turnout might be helpful for some protection to keep them from doing something worse to it. But I expect it would heal ok.

[Critter]

My goofball gelding did a similar splint fracture. Did the same…gave him a month off of riding, but still turned him out. At that time he was barefoot, so he did get a pair of shoes back on (there were other reasons for that to, but generally he did need a bit more support). I did surpass and cold hosing…but nothing dramatic. I did a pair of boots for turnout just to keep him from bonking it even more (again, goofball gelding who got it being a goofball). Healed fine and no issues. He was never lame on it either.

[knic]

I had one have a non displaced fracture, just a bit higher than that one. We did stall rest with tack walking for 6 weeks. Never lame, went right back to work once it was cleared.

[MsM]

What is the turnout situation in the new barn? Can she be confined to a smaller area where she can still see other horses? When my horse fractured a hind splint, I dont think I wrapped after the vet wrapped it. Small pen turnout and benign neglect. His was somewhat displaced so we were concerned if it could heal, but it did! It was probably six weeks when xrays showed that he was healed and ready to go.

If you go the surgery route, you will definitely have a wrapping and stall rest issue!

[weixiao]

My large pony had a fractured splint. He had some time off but nothing special beyond that. It was so many years ago I don’t remember exactly how long but I don’t remember it even being wrapped. It was a bit ugly but never caused him any problems other than skipping the model after that. He was sound well into his 20s and when he finally was unsound it was unrelated. I’d just give it some time and not worry too much!

[cnd8]

I’m a worrier…about everything. With a couple different horses, I dealt with popped splints. One was even very high. I did practically nothing either time. Both vets involved said don’t worry. They were right.

I would give it some time.

[Knubbsy]

We’re being aggressive with my mare’s splint break - stall rest for 6-8 weeks with pressure wraps on both hind legs (RH lateral splint fractured in two), SMZs+bute for 1.5 weeks with Xrays at 1 day and the plan was again at 3.5 weeks but we did one at 2.5 weeks because that leg started expelling some tissue that we were concerned about an infection (the first round of xrays are on the splint fracture thread I started the other week, I don’t have copies of the updated rads yet). We are doing a round of Baytril because of the expelled tissue to be safe, in case there is communication between the cut and the fracture.

We spent this past January at the hospital and then stall rest for a hock injury to the same leg, why not close out the year with the same. Argh.

[Pico_Banana]

No experience with your situation, but I wanted to suggest you check out Equi Crown wraps if you are thinking of wrapping. Not only are they fast and easy to use, you have no worries about turning out in these, plus I think the compression in these really does improve blood flow to the leg.

Plus if you are relying on barn staff to wrap for you, these remove any concerns about different skill levels when it comes to wrapping.

Note that the first time you use them, I found it was a two person job to get them on. I think that was true maybe even the second time. But then the material relaxes and you can do it yourself easily.

[GraceLikeRain]

I wanted to give this a quick bump and say that follow up x-ray showed strong calcification and mare was cleared for work. Vet 2 said that if they’d see the original x rays at the time of injury they absolutely would have recommended surgery and stall rest. However, since the body was putting down calcification and she’d been tolerating turnout, they told me to slowly bring her back.

I did boot up front for the first 6 weeks or so of work but am now treating things like normal. I still harbor some anxiety that another hard smack could re-injure it but she could also just as likely do an entirely new break to another leg so I’m trying not to worry too much. Thank you everyone for sharing your insight and experiences. In the event of a re-injury or new injury I feel much better equipped to advocate for more aggressive treatment from the start.