Young horse with a broken mandible

[LaraNSpeedy]

So I noticed a few weeks ago, when my 2 year old was playing in the field with a boarder’s pony, my young horse had a little swollen spot on the underside of his mandible and it had a bloody spot in the middle - so I gave him a little bute, cold hosed it and got even an ice bag - I wanted to get the swelling down to make sure nothing was in the wound. Everything seemed ok.

A week later I noticed the area was swollen on the side - like his mandible looked like it had grown backwards - just making him look like he has a pointed mandible - I wish I could share a picture. It felt hard - he is eating and happy EXCEPT he doesn’t like you messing with it - but otherwise he is playful, happy - actually has put on some weight.

I did move the pony to another field.

So I called my vet. She determined that he broke something in the mandible and its healing. He said the bones there are very stabilized and when they heal, there is a lot of extra bone there calcified and after the initial break is healed, the extra weird distorted stuff will most likely start to break down and he should end up looking normal or very close to normal. I mean, if it was half way there, he would look normal but not if you could look at both mandibles side by side which would be impossible really.

She put him on an antibiotic and bute.

I looked all over the internet for other horses with this and I keep getting taken to pictures of people kicked in the jaw by a horse - fun. Anyone know of a horse that was kicked in the mandible and share the experience?

Basically we are giving it 3-4 weeks on the meds and then if I think I need to take him in for an xray, we will do that. That was my vets recommendation.

[ReSomething]

Try googling horse with broken jaw and then go to images? About 50 percent are actual horses.
Equine with broken jaw images also.

[Nestor]

Well, my horse wasn’t kicked, but he’s currently recovering from a broken jaw. His lower teeth could flop up and down at least an inch. I’m too squeamish, so I looked away every time the vets looked at it.

Anywho, my horse actually broke his jaw on a speculum while he was getting broken teeth removed. So luckily he was already numb and sedated, and he was in surgery 8-9 hours later. His jaw had to be wired back together, and he currently is still wired. I have to ride him in a sidepull because of course he can’t have a bit yet.

No word on how he’ll be long-term. He has another surgery ahead to remove the wiring and plaster in his mouth, some recovery time, and beyond that I have no idea what his life will be like. Right now, he’s coping fine. Eating normally, other than apples/carrots, riding well, and looks almost normal. He has plaster covering the wires on his lower teeth so his lower lip looks bulkier than normal, but otherwise you’d have no idea he’s got a broken jaw.

Good luck with your boy!

[Foxtrot_s]

Wow - I’ve seen two horses who survived accidents that broke their lower jaws -

Both were from getting their lower jaw hooked over the door latch of their stall door - the latches were home crafted out of horseshoes and a bored horse can flip it up and get the shoe hooked on to where the bit would sit.
One can only imagine how one wold get that off the jaw. Both recovered amazingly well.

PSA not to have open horseshoes on the latches.

[PNWjumper]

I know a horse who broke his jaw in his stall as a 6 or 7 year old…they have no idea how. He was a very fancy young jumper who ended up getting a bunch of time off and went in a hackamore for maybe a year? I think he’s in a normal bit now, but either way he’s jumping around like a million bucks in the grand prix classes.