Thursday, August 7, 2014

Lumpy McLumpersons

If you've never seen a capped elbow before, here's what one looks like:

This is why we can't have nice things.

Cash has been sporting this bad boy for about two weeks now. It's caused by swelling of the bursae over the elbow, usually caused by some sort of trauma when the horse is lying down. In Cash's case, he lays with his feet tucked under him, and his hoof touches his elbow. He's not lame or anything, although the area is tender. 

Since he's retired, the vet and I are opting for the most conservative route - having him wear a shoe boil boot at night, and trying to give him a little more bedding to lay on (never mind he pees in the bedding and lays on the hard ground, right?). The boot will help prevent his hoof from touching his elbow, which should eventually allow the inflammation to go down. We could drain it, do a course of steroids, etc, but frankly it's not bothering him and I don't want to disrupt the delicate balance that is his life. These days the slightest change causes him to worry/pace/not eat, and it's just not worth the risk. 

Anybody else ever had a horse with a capped hock or elbow? What did you end up doing?

24 comments:

  1. Had a racehorse with one in high school. We did exactly what you're doing, shoe boil boot and more bedding. We didn't drain it or go for steroids, and it did go away fairly quickly.

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  2. My mare has a permanently capped hock. It will never go away, but never seems to get worse either. It just IS.

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    1. Yep, the inflammation on this should go down, but he'll likely always have a small lump there.

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  3. Interesting! I don't think I've seen one, but I'm honestly surprised that Mr. Injury Himself hasn't had a problem like that. Fingers crossed that the conservative approach handles the situation!

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    1. Let's hope it's not contagious and your boy doesn't suddenly decide he needs to sprout one!!!

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  4. I had a horse with a capped hock. It mostly resolved on it's own, with just minor swelling once healed.

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    1. Good to know! That's what I'm hoping for too.

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  5. Replies
    1. Alas, I don't think these are particularly "in"!

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    1. Currently he's using it as an excuse for extra treats. Whatever works, right?

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  7. Well that's unattractive. Glad it isn't bugging him.

    I mean, presumably it hurts a little or something, right? I don't know. Never been around one.

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    1. It looks pretty awful, I agree. Fortunately, it does not seem to bother him at all (he's not lame or anything) unless I squeeze it, and then it's a bit tender.

      The thing about draining it is that it often turns into a nasty mess. Vet's advice is to leave it alone as long as it's just a lump, and it should eventually resolve itself.

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  8. Very interesting! A horse or two at my old barn had this, and the shoe-boil boot was the usual solution, though I never knew exactly what 'this' was. Good to know. I hope it resolves quickly.

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    1. It sounds like they never completely "resolve," but the swelling goes down and it doesn't look so awful. Thanks for the well-wishes!

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  9. Yes. I knew a lesson horse in his thirties who had to wear a rubber donut on one front leg at night to prevent that problem. Never gave him any trouble after that.

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    1. The donut definitely seems to be helping, and fortunately it doesn't seem to bother him either. Win-win!

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  10. That is not pretty but at least it'll just get reabsorbed.

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  11. I had a client's horse get one, we did the same thing you're doing- shoe boil boot and bedding. And then basically ignoring it, it went away relatively quickly and never bugged him.

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    1. I'm hoping it will resolve quickly too, but at Cash's age, nothing is very fast!

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  12. I'm late to the party, but here's hoping it resolves on its own <3

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