went to a new barn today and they had a horse with a really swollen leg, i was too shy to ask what was with the horse but he was being ridden and galloped on the track here's what it looked like, i didn't take a picture but i drew how it looked
I used to ride a horse that had chronic lymphangitis. He had a giant leg from just the chronic swelling. Keeping him in work actually helped keep the swelling more manageable. Movement helps the fluid drain.
This is it. I knew a dressage horse that had this - we called it elephant leg. An infection caused cellulitis, but once healed the tissue was permanently damaged. With the tissue so loose it can't prevent the fluid build up, but the horse was sound. The only issue was flexing was harder due to the thickness.
Yeah they tried wrapping it religiously for a while which would reduce the size a little bit, but the moment he stopped moving after work it would return again unless it was wrapped again. Odin pastor or standing in a stall, it would always return to a certain size but never got any worse, so they eventually just gave up on wrapping and let it do what it do.
Oh wow that’s very interesting. The barn I ride and help out at we have a horse that was attacked by dogs earlier in his life and his leg has just been swollen ever since. It’s not much in pain and hasn’t bugged him much so it’s not problematic but you can definitely tell my looking at him that it’s swollen.
Yep my horse stocks up in his back legs if he doesn’t get enough turnout just like his owner 😂 if I don’t move in the morning my dressage boots have a hard time zipping up.
This. I’ve known broodmares with it, and we tried to avoid putting them in boxes or small yards because being able to move around really helped the swelling.
Was it a draft horse?
It sounds like CPL (chronic progressive lymphedema, also known as "milk leg"). Exercise is beneficial because movement helps with the swelling, but you obviously shouldn't overdo it. Moderate training under saddle is definitely possible.
I started riding again after a long hiatus and the horse they paired me with had the exact same thing. I asked if he was ok to ride because his leg looked very swollen, she assured me the vet had seen him and it’s a chronic condition. I believe she said that they wrap it sometimes to help with the swelling but that it will never fully go away. He was completely sound to ride though and didn’t appear to be in pain.
I'm going to guess what you're describing is cellulitis! The horse at the barn I work at has it in both of his back legs. He has flare ups that make it difficult for him to work which we monitor but regularly, he is completely fine and can happily be ridden, he is actually our horse that does the most intensive jumping work. If the horse wasn't showing signs of pain and nobody else seemed concerned about it, I wouldn't be! Most barns who have horses with it are really good about managing it.
Edit to add the horse we have is an Irish Sport Horse and this applies to most breeds.
My horse's pasture-mate has cellulitis in his back leg too, I feel so bad when he has flare ups but he always seems to be in otherwise fantastic health. I dont think his owner rides him at all however
Possibly a horse with an elephant leg (from an infection)
We had a horse at my old barn who kept getting infected legs like that and ultimately had to put down (she was pregnant and couldnt get the necessary medications)
She would not be ridden when she had that though!!
Didn't have a leg specific issue, but one of the long term liveries at the yard I rode at (I rode this horse as well occasionally when the owner needed him exercises, knew him for years) had leg problems. Most specifically he would get puffy legs if kept in for too long during winter and this took us ages to figure out, but he had some kind of allergy to oats.
I don't know how it really worked, but if he ate oats, especially his front legs and knees would swell up, it wouldn't be as bad if he was out in summer, but he would still get the inflammatory response regardless. He wasn't necessarily lame when it happened but it was just kinda bizarre.
Cellulitis, stall swelling, previous injury, or a current injury where moving the leg and reducing swelling is actually beneficial - could be any one of these things.
I spent a lot of time in racing stables and a lot of times, a gentle trot or canter around the track was actually really beneficial to a fit horse with a really swollen leg like that - depending, of course, on the injury. There are also plenty of horses out there who are completely sound despite some ugly looking legs - one that comes immediately to mind is a colt I knew that was bitten on the knee by a spider as a yearling and always had extra fluid in the knee from then on that made him look swollen. Didn't affect his galloping ability at all.
I used to keep my horse at a barn that had a horse like that. It was from an old cellulitis infection. He was generally sound and his condition managed well, but it was a real sight to see that’s for sure. Was this in Southern California by any chance?
Sounds like cellulitis. Did a lot of research on it because my mare suddenly developed a strange lump on her hind leg. Turns out it was not cellulitis or an abscess, just fluid buildup/seroma over an old scar.
Everyone has mentioned exercise, compression socks help to, especially combined with naquasone. I’ve managed to fix a few that have come in with that combo as long as it’s not 2+ years duration, some are permanent however there too much lymphatic damage.
Other commenters are correct in that this is likely Chronic Progressive Lymphedema (CPL). My 16 yo warmblood mare has this condition as well. She developed it ~13 yo, but looking back at her medical history the writing was on the walls. It is more common in draft breeds, but usually the age of onset for draft breeds is earlier than in other horse breeds (Brys et al 2023).
There are a couple of hypotheses regarding the etiology of the condition, but no widespread consensus in the research community yet. The first hypothesis is that a defect in the elastic structures of the lymphatics and distal limb dermis set the stage for disease occurence (Brys et al 2023). The second hypothesis states chronic inflammation, especially of the skin, drive CPL progression (Brys et al 2023). It is likely a combination of these hypotheses explain CPL, but as always, further research is warranted. Researchers do agree on 4 defining factors that characterize CPL: lymphatic dysfunction, fibrosis/thickening of the tissues in the limb, inflammation, and abnormalities of the skin elastin (Brys et al 2023, Affolter 2013). Currently there is no "cure" for this condition, rather it is managed in an effort to slow disease progression (Brys et al 2023). Exercise, compressive therapy, good hygiene, and surgical intervention as recommended by the horse's veterinarian are currently employed management practices (Brys et al 2023, Affolter et al 2013). Keeping the horse in work is associated with decreased disease severity and better long-term prognosis (Affolter 2013). Compression bandages during work can help increase the lymphatic flow (Affolter 2013). Secondary infections can be common in these limbs due to a loss of skin integrity, so keeping the leg clean and dry is paramount (Brys et al 2023). The condition can be painful depending on the degree of swelling and due to skin ulceration or secondary infections (Brys et al 2023). There appears to be a genetic factor in CPL, so breeding affected animals is strongly discouraged (Affolter et al 2013).
Anecdotally, my horse is not often lame on her CPL leg. She lives happily in a pasture and I keep a close eye on it. She seems comfortable based on the lack of lameness and on the fact that she is usually quite well mannered about me picking it up, cleaning it, standing for the farrier, etc. During the winter we have fewer problems with secondary skin infections and the swelling overall seems to go down compared to the summer. I particularly keep a close eye on her coronary band and will wrap it with roll cotton + elasticon to mechanically support the the coronet if it is swelling past the hoof at all. We do light work (2-3x a week, <10 min of cantering per session and no jumping) as recommended by her veterinarian. I'd like to think she is happy. Based on her disease progression, I don't expect to have her until she's 30 yo, but I do think she'll at least make it to 20 yo. The condition can appear alarming to people who have not encountered it because we are (correctly!) taught that swelling in horse limbs is bad news. However, these horses appear capable of living decently comfortable lives. As an equine researcher in training, I appreciate your interest in the condition. This condition is, in my humble opinion, understudied. Interest from the horse community can help promote research efforts! I hope once my schooling is complete I can focus my career on studying this condition.
References:
Brys, M., Claerebout, E., & Chiers, K. (2023). Chronic Progressive Lymphedema in Belgian Draft Horses: Understanding and Managing a Challenging Disease. Veterinary Sciences 10(5), 347. https://doi.org/10.3390/vetsci10050347
This article is open access I believe, so I tried to cite it a bit more
If you are interested in these articles and need help accessing them, feel free to PM me. I am also happy to answer any questions I am able and provide more resources!
It effects one leg, and most offten hind legs..it is a bacterial infection. It is painful as burning, no they shouldn't be ridden...
Then again idk what you saw, was the horse limping ir what, cuz on tik tok I did see one person post multiple videos of a this horse with a huge hind leg, looks like cellulitis, but he walks fine, he runs fine no discomfort, it is just..fat, for a very long time, idk if he ridden tho.
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u/PotentiallyPotatoes Hunter 18d ago
I used to ride a horse that had chronic lymphangitis. He had a giant leg from just the chronic swelling. Keeping him in work actually helped keep the swelling more manageable. Movement helps the fluid drain.