Leg Injuries in Horses

common hoof injuries cause the foot to be palpably hot. Pick up the foot to ensure your horse hasnt stepped on something like a nail if you see one call your veterinarian immediately for further instruction without pulling out the object. If the nail may penetrate the sole further unless removed remove the nail after taking photos of its exact location to assist in veterinary treatment. This treatment may include radiographs to assess damage and a tetanus vaccination. Feel up your horses limbs for swelling over joints within tendons or over the whole leg.
The skin on the legs is very thin and horses can often get caught up in fencing or kicking through stall walls. Small pieces of fencing may cause small puncture wounds. Even major wounds can be treated with prompt medical attention. Always practice safety when feeling for swelling or cuts even a good horse may react strongly if it is painful.
Finally if your horse is not severely lame watch it walk and trot on a loose lead over firm level ground. If the horse is lame on one front leg the horse will nod its head. You can determine which leg is lame by carefully noticing when the head goes up and which leg has hit the ground at that moment. The horse will dip its head downward as the sound nonlame leg hits and conversely lift the head as the lame leg contacts the ground. There may be no head nod if a horse is lame on both front limbs its strides instead will be choppy and short.
If the lameness is in the hindquarters the horse will drop or raise the hip more on the side that is lame when viewed from the back. A normal horse should step with his back foot into the hoof print left by the forelimb tracking and so evaluating your horse for a shortened stride from the side may also help in localizing the lameness.
Causes of Leg Injuries in Horses
When looking for the site of injury start with the hooves and work your way up. Only evaluate your horse at a walk and trot if it can put some weight on the affected limb. Some of these causes will result in lameness that still allow the horse to stand weighted on all four legs while others are emergencies because they result in nonweight bearing lameness. The latter are starred with an asterisk below