How To Treat A Swollen Fetlock On A Horse

Introduction

The fetlock, or “knee” joint, is the joint that connects the cannon bone to the pastern. This is a common area for swelling in horses because it bears much of their weight when they’re standing or moving. There are several different causes for fetlock swelling in horses, and some are more serious than others.

A horse that is walking with its fetlock joint in a flexed position may be suffering from a variety of problems.

If a horse is walking with its fetlock joint in a flexed position, it could be suffering from any number of problems. If you suspect that your horse has an abscess or has suffered from a puncture wound, you should contact your veterinarian immediately. In addition to these conditions, there are several other causes for swollen fetlocks:

• Infection
• Tendon injury (tendon rupture)
• Fractures or bone chips (regardless of whether or not the animal is lame)

The fetlock joint is located at the bottom portion of the horse’s leg.

The fetlock joint is located at the bottom portion of the horse’s leg, where it meets the pastern. It is made up of two bones:

• The cannon bone
• The metacarpal bone.

These two bones meet together to form a hinge joint.

Examine the area where the bump is located to determine what might be the cause.

In order to determine what might be causing your horse’s swollen fetlock, you need to examine the area where the bump is located. Look for swelling, heat, redness or tenderness; puncture wounds; abscesses or infections; signs of trauma or injury; signs of infection or inflammation; and swelling or fluid accumulation.

It could also be something as simple as a bruise from your horse kicking himself while he was lying down. You should always make sure that any bumps are not small stones caught under the skin before attempting any treatment on them.

If a lump has formed on or above the joint, it could be an infection.

If you have a swollen fetlock on a horse, it is important to determine whether or not the lump formed above or below the joint. A bump on or above the joint could indicate an infection, which may be caused by puncture wounds and fistulas. If you suspect that your horse has an infected fetlock, contact your veterinarian immediately so they can take steps to treat it. In most cases, antibiotics are used along with draining of fluid from underneath the skin around the joint for best results in dealing with an infection of this kind.

If you can feel heat radiating from the area or if the horse is sensitive to touch or movement, it could indicate an infection or injury.

If you can feel heat radiating from the area or if the horse is sensitive to touch or movement, it could indicate an infection or injury. If you suspect an infection, take the horse to the vet for treatment.

You should also take your horse to the vet if it’s painful when he puts weight on his fetlock and isn’t willing to bear weight on it at all.

When determining how to treat a swollen fetlock on your horse, watch for additional symptoms of pain or discomfort.

When determining how to treat a swollen fetlock on your horse, watch for additional symptoms of pain or discomfort. These may include limping or increased stride length, changing gait, a warm and fluid-filled sack around the swollen area, or even fistulas (openings) or puncture wounds that can be located on different parts of the fetlock. If any of these additional symptoms are present in addition to swelling in your horse’s fetlock area, there is a chance that it is due to an abscess rather than being swollen from heat.

The horse will often change its gait to accommodate for any pain it is experiencing, so keep an eye out for limping or an increase in its stride length.

In order to treat a swollen fetlock, it is important to know if your horse is walking with an altered gait. If the swelling has caused pain in their fetlocks and they are attempting to avoid this pain, they may alter their gait in any of the following ways:

• Limping
• Walking with a shorter stride length (less than normal) or longer stride length (more than normal)
• Walking with a shorter toe-in angle or longer toe-in angle

Often indicated by a warm, fluid-filled sack on your horse’s leg, abscesses are painful and uncomfortable and should be treated as soon as possible.

Abscesses are painful and uncomfortable, and you should treat them as soon as possible. They can be caused by puncture wounds or fistulas, which are openings between the skin, tendon, or bone of your horse’s leg. When an abscess forms a pocket of pus inside the body, it’s known as an abscess; if you see fluid-filled sacks on your horse’s leg or swelling around that area, this can indicate an abscess has formed.

To treat these types of infections in horses, vets will often prescribe antibiotics to fight off infection; they may also need incision and drainage (surgical exploration) to remove any dead tissue from inside the wound before they begin treatment.

Causes of infections include fistulas and puncture wounds, both of which should be treated promptly when they occur.

The main causes of infections are fistulas and puncture wounds, both of which should be treated promptly when they occur. A fistula is a hole in the skin, often caused by an injury from barbed wire or other sharp objects. Puncture wounds can happen if a horse steps on a nail or something else with a pointy end. Both injuries can lead to serious infections if not dealt with right away, which is why it’s so important to look out for signs that your horse has either one.

If your horse gets his fetlock cut by something sharp like barbed wire or gets stepped on by a nail while walking around outside, make sure you clean out any dirt particles or dirt from around where he was injured immediately after he comes back inside (or takes his first walk outside). This will reduce risk of infection and ensure that all harmful bacteria have been eliminated before they have time to do damage!

Swollen fetlocks can be treated by examining them and looking for things like infections and abscesses.

• Look for an abscess or infection. The underlying cause of your horse’s swollen fetlock is often an abscessed joint, which is a collection of pus that has built up inside the joint capsule. If you see signs of heat, swelling and pain around the joint, along with an increase in stride length or limping then this might be what’s going on.
• Look for other signs of lameness in your horse’s legs. If you have difficulty feeling any joints through their skin as they move past you (as if they’re not connected to anything), it may indicate that there is some sort of arthritis present and treatment would be needed before any serious injury occurs as well as after surgery has been performed so that recovery goes smoothly without complications due to previous ailments causing issues later down the line during rehabilitation sessions.”

Conclusion

That’s it! I hope this guide was helpful. You should now be able to assess, treat and prevent cases of swollen fetlocks in horses. If you have any further questions or comments about how to treat a swollen fetlock on a horse, please leave them at the bottom of this post. I will be happy to answer them as soon as possible.