Anyone with a horse with cellulitis?

[katie+tru]

(I do believe I spelled that right.)


I'm just looking to see if anyone has experience with cellulitis or something similar.

My horse has displayed cellulitis-like stuff in his hindright leg since I got him about 4 years ago. We attribute it to an injury he sustained with his last owner -- a laceration -- that was never properly taken care of. His leg, basically his cannon bone area, used to swell some when he was stressed, especially when he was stalled.

Well, he stalls now just fine and had another lacertation over the old scar a couple years ago. Genius sat on the tractor. It was cared for properly and heeled without a problem. No lameness.

Then, this past winter his leg swelled up again. No injuries or anything. No lameness. Just the swelling. He was brought in and had his hind legs wrapped and was given SMZ and bute. It went down completely in a couple weeks.

He did it again last night. Found him this morning with a big fat leg, fetlock to hock. As usual he was sound and putting weight on it. We gave him SMZ and bute and walked him some and it did go down a bit. My trained advised turning him out because she bet it got swollen from standing still in the arena all night sleeping. Infact, because it happened so suddenly and was so puffy she wondered if he had be stung by something and it caused the leg stress which made it swell.

Does anyone have any experience with anything remotely similar? I'm not too concerned because like I said, he is not lame or off at all. He is eating and alert and we're medicating him like we did before.

[Bobthehorse]

That doesnt sound like cellulitis, just like stocking up. Cellulitis is an infection under the skin, and is very very painful, and doesnt go away without antibiotics.

My horse got it from mud fever last summer, swollen up to his stifle and 3 legged lame. It was bad enough that it took 3 rounds of the injectables to get rid of it. And even then it was still swollen and took about a month of riding to go back to normal. Its actually still slightly thicker in one spot when its humid out. He got the start of it again this summer, it was really wet and hot, and he got a small scrape on his same white leg, and within days it was puffy and hot. Called the vet, got the antibiotics again, and it was fine. It wasnt quite cellulitis though, but on its way.

[katie+tru]

I always thought stocking up meant the horse's muscles stiffened up to the point of immobility. Maybe I'm wrong...

Have you found any other causes for it? Tru got a couple knicks on his leg last week, typical pasture squabble, but I clean any fresh wounds with iodine.

Does ice help? We thought about trying to the find the iceboot my trainer says she has somewhere...

[pday09]

I thought stocking up was a build up of fluids in the leg, causing swelling. My mare has a tendency to stock up if we leave her in all night (like for a show) but it goes down when she is turned out or during work. She also got cellulitis once from an injury but we took care of it immediately and it hasn't been a problem. (Knock on wood)
Does the swelling go down when the horse moves around? I would talk to your vet. He/she should be able to find out of its just a swelling or a sign of an infection. If the horse does have cellulitis, walking him around won't help, he'll need antibiotics.

[katie+tru]

I just looked up information on stocking up and it really describes the situation perfectly! Stupid me thought stocking up meant something different. I've never met or seen a horse with it, so I guess I wouldn't really know.

It's interesting though... sources say it happens from inactivity. He's most active in the summer. He gets a good ride about 3 times a week including lunge lessons. When he swelled up in the winter he probably wasn't getting ridden more than once a week beecause of the extreme cold. However, that probably also met he was inside much more. It just seems funny that he would do this on little to no exercise AND on a good bit of exercise.

[lizajane09]

I always thought stocking up meant the horse's muscles stiffened up to the point of immobility. Maybe I'm wrong...


You're thinking of tying up :).

[Kwdf3day]

One of my horses had similar symptoms. Then he got a life threatening staph infection of the chronically 'stocked up' leg. Temp of 105 + and the worst swollen leg I've ever seen. Get your best vet on this and make sure there is not staph in it. It can linger for a while then blow up. He's only around now because we acted fast and got him cooled down and on the meds he needed. He was in ICU for at least 10 days. Please don't let this linger, get aggressive and figure out what is going on.

[BoysNightOut]

Yeah, that's not cellulitis.

My horse is prone to getting cellulitis after his initial 'bout with it a few years ago. Since then, he's had 1 reoccurance of it.

When he had it, he was completely lame on that leg....it was piping hot, swollen all around, and very sensitive to touch. He also had a fever. He had to have a course of Genotocin, Penicillin, Banamine, Bute, cold hosing, wrapping...the works.

Sounds like your horse could be stocking up.

[ryansgirl]

Has your vet looked at your horse?? Personally I would not be giving meds unless I knew specifically what the problem was and assuming the vet has been involved.

Stocking up is not the same as cellulitis - big difference as others have mentioned. My old guy stocks up when inside... I have him out w/ my mare 24/7 and the problem has been solved. :)

[Divine Comedy]

Stocking up usually happens on brief periods of inactivity (such as staying in a stall overnight). Some horses are prone to stocking up every night that they stay inside. It can also happen when a sudden change in the weather occurs. For instance, my horse stocks up in his hind legs in the summer when it starts to get extremely humid. Riding him helps a lot, as it gets the fluid to circulate and the swelling goes down. You can also try giving your horse a furazone sweat (something I learned when I worked the yearling sales). However, since it happens to my horse when the temperatures are so ridiculously hot, I prefer to leave his legs alone, not even wrapping them, as I think that making the leg hot in such temps would just exacerbate the issue.

So try just going ahead and riding your horse. Every trainer I have ever had always told me that it would actually make the stocked up leg(s) better, and sure enough, the legs always tighten up after the horses move them around for a while.

[whitney159]

Stocking up generally happens overnight and everyone I"ve seen has tended to be in rear legs. There is generally just a fat leg there. If you've ever had issues retaining water (been pregnant) you'll know just what to look for. Exercise and moving around are the best things ever, or just plain wrapping the leg for a few hours can help get the fluid out.

Cellulitis is a totally different thing. I think of that as elephant leg, it's a fat leg, but since their is actually inflammation in the skin, you generally see, well, as if the horse has cellulite, there looks like there is uneveness under the skin. Only ever had it following injury/open wound, or a severe case of scratches. It tends to look like the skin might just slough right off. It can appear to happen overnight as well. You do NOT play around with cellulitis. Last battle I had with it, horse had a little puffiness the night before, then by AM, HUGE leg past the hock. Got her to the vet immediately, had multiple injections there, and was sent home with bute and SMZ, instructions to do furazone wraps etc and if I didn't see radical improvement overnight, I was to bring her in for IV antibiotics and likely a 10 day hospital stay. We managed to dodge the bullet. . With my gelding, I had a case of it that required 3 weeks of antibiotic injections.

[katie+tru]

From what everyone's described I'm sure he's just stocked up.

What one of you said about the weather causing it is very interesting. Yesterday was quite hot and it's been pretty darn humid the past week or so.

He does not have a fever and touching the leg didn't seem to bother him at all. So I'm going to say it's not cellulitis... thank goodness.

I'll be up there tomorrow and I'll make sure he gets a good workout, probably a lunge lesson. I'll hose the leg too, since that seems to be a common recommendation.

Thanks guys!

[JWB]

I've dealt with stocking up and I've dealt with chronic cellulitis. Both get worse when the horses would stand in stalls, however the guy who was always stocked up would "walk it off" quickly while the old guy with cellulitis would limp around the farm for days with a leg so fat he could barely move it.

Sounds like your horse falls into the first category. The best cure is turn out. My guy was fine if he was in the pasture or a paddock where he could walk around. For the times when it wasn't possible to have him out (shows, etc) he got stable wraps at night and I figured 30 minutes of hand walking into my morning routine.

[mybelle]

Can a horse stock up in only one leg? My horse does not seem off, but from time-to-time one (and always the same one) rear cannon appears swollen or fluid filled from just above to fetlock to mid-cannon and it seems just on the inside. I've noticed it 3 times in the past 6 months. Does anyone think this is stocking up? Or something to be concerned about?

[Bobthehorse]

Lots of horses stock up more in one leg, usually from an old injury.

[flyracing]

Can a horse stock up in only one leg? My horse does not seem off, but from time-to-time one (and always the same one) rear cannon appears swollen or fluid filled from just above to fetlock to mid-cannon and it seems just on the inside. I've noticed it 3 times in the past 6 months. Does anyone think this is stocking up? Or something to be concerned about?


Sounds like a windpuff... My horse also has high windpuffs on the inside of one hind leg. His (my horse) are likely because he is a brusher.

On his other leg he stocks up, worse when stalled, because of damage to the lymphatic system caused by a joint infection/cellulitis episode! He also had 3 episodes of vasculitis (all legs) which contributed to the chronic state of his condition. However, because of very aggressive treatment, a lot of prayers and luck, his legs looks entirely normal unless you bend down and feel or look close.