b'STEP BY STEPveterinary students is that if you have amethod based on the affected area and severely lame horse, there are two dif- personal preference to immobilize the ferentials (conditions to consider thatfracture and provide support so the horse cause similar clinical signs): a fracture orcan walk and stand during transport to a an infection.referral hospital. An accurate diagnosis is important soSometimes you dont even immobilize the veterinarian can stabilize the limbthe fracture, Richardson says. Youre properly to prevent further damage. Diag- just immobilizing a part of the limb (so nostics have come a long way due to mostthat it) allows the horse to walk on it. If vets having digital radiograph (X ray)you have a fractured ulna (which, with units, allowing them to detect fractures inthe radius, forms the horses forearm), all the field, says Goodrich. you have to do is put a splint that stabi-Because it can be more difficult to getlizes the carpus (knee), and that makes an a good radiograph as you move up theenormous difference to the horse. When limb, due to the additional muscle tissue,you splint a horse with an ulnar fracture Goodrich says some veterinarians mightproperly and just splint his knee, you can opt to perform an ultrasound. see them almost visibly sigh with relief because all of a sudden they can bear Immediate Care of the Horse weight on their limb.Both Goodrich and Richardson empha- After a veterinarian has examined size that no one should move an injuredand, if needed, splinted the horse, you horse unless absolutely necessary. If acan trailer him to a clinic for treatment. horse needs to be moved out of a danger- Transporting the horse is the most dan-ous situation or the hot sun, for instance,gerous part of dealing with a limb frac-move him as short a distance as possible.ture, especially if you havent supported A horse can do a lot of damage, andand stabilized it properly. it can be very anxiety-provoking to the horse if you try to move him when youve got an unstable limb, says Richardson.It can be very The veterinarian will give the horse aanxiety-provoking to non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, such as phenylbutazone (Bute), flunixinthe horse if you try to meglumine (Banamine), or firocoxibmove him when youve (Equioxx), to control pain and inflamma-tion, says Richardson.got an unstable limb.They are always given to a horse withDR. DEAN RICHARDSONa fracture, because they are not going to provide such intense pain relief that the horse is going to worsen the fracture byThe smoothest ride for a horse with walking on it, he adds.a fracture is a gooseneck trailer with Goodrich suggests starting antibiot- a ramp. Richardson says he has seen ics right away if dealing with an openplenty of well-meaning horse owners take fracture, because a wound makes way fortrailer partitions out to give the horse as infection. much room as possible to lie down, but The veterinarian might also sedate thethats the wrong thing to do. Instead, he horse to calm him, especially if apply- advocates keeping the partitions and us-ing a splint, although Richardson warnsing the tightest possible space; this allows against using strong pain medications orthe horse to use his body to help support heavy sedation that could make the horsehimself by leaning against something too difficult to move onto a trailer afterfrom left to right and front to back. Dont splinting. restrict his head and neck, however. He advises horse owners to let the vet- With forelimb fractures, ship the horse erinarian splint the horse. The averagefacing backward, if possible, so if you horse owner doesnt often do an appropri- must brake suddenly, all his weight will ate job because you have to understandshift to the hindquarters. Ship the horse the anatomy of what you are splinting,with hind-limb fractures facing forward.he says.Shipping a foal thats sustained a frac-The veterinarian chooses a splintingture is a different situation. Richardson 30September 2019The Horse | TheHorse.com'