My 17-year-old horse is limping. Should I consider putting her down?

Poor Gigi! If she is non-weightbearing on the affected leg, I would recommend calling out an equine vet right away for an emergency visit, as this is often a sign of a serious injury such as a fracture. If she is bearing weight and acting normal otherwise, you could try stall rest for the next few days with lots of soft bedding to see if the lameness resolves. You can certainly try icing or cold-hosing the hoof, but it's hard to say if this will be helpful or not without knowing what is causing the lameness. If there is no improvement in the next 3-5 days, or if she isn't eating or having any other symptoms, she needs to be seen by a vet right away to find out what's wrong. Your vet can take x-rays or do other testing if needed to help diagnose the problem and see what can be done to treat it.

I would still be very suspicious of a hoof abscess. I would recommend having her checked out by a vet to see what is going on. Some abscesses can be tricky to diagnose and they may not even react with hoof testers, but a good equine vet should be able to tell what is going on after a lameness exam.

You need to have a vet out there to check Phoenix. The vet needs to localize the lameness and take x-rays. If he is not putting weight on the leg it is usually either a hoof abscess or fracture of the coffin bone.

That looks like an abscess may have ruptured in that location or it's a puncture wound/injury. Both can make a horse lame. A hoof abscess doesn't always smell. I strongly suggest you get your vet out there to check him. If the vet doesn't think it's an abscess then he may need to have x-rays taken to make sure there is not something stuck up inside the hoof or that there are no fractures present (like a fracture of the coffin bone). While you are waiting to have the vet out I would confine him to a box stall or at least a very small paddock and I would soak the foot in warm Epsom Salt water to see if that will help draw out any infection that might be present. Soak for 10-15 minutes twice a day. Also, if you can, I would put a boot on his foot to protect it and keep it clean. Do they sell Easy Boots in Ireland? Either an Easy Boot or something similar. https://www.easycareinc.com/our_boots/easyboots/Easyboots.aspx I hope this helps. Best wishes. If you have more questions please post again.

Hello there and thank you very much for your question. Mud fever, as you may or may not know, is simply a skin infection caused by a moist environment. Generally speaking, horses do not show signs of lameness or the symptoms that you are seeing based on this disease only. In fact it would be very rare. Therefore, I strongly believe that there is another reason that may be causing the lameness and swelling issues that you are experiencing. I urge you to have the veterinarian perform a complete orthopedic examination as well as neurologic examination that includes diagnostic nerve testing as well as x-rays so that they can make a diagnosis. Again, I am quite skeptical that the mud fever is the reason for the symptoms your horse is experiencing. Everything is possible but in this case it would be very rare. Thanks a lot for your question. I hope I have helped.

Hi there. It's hard to say why Brunoo might be limping without being able to examine his leg and take some x-rays. If he's been limping for a year, this indicates that something serious may be wrong. He may have a torn ligament in his knee, a fracture somewhere that has not healed, or a joint problem such as hip dysplasia. I would recommend taking him to the vet for an exam when you are able to. He/she can do a complete orthopedic exam under sedation if needed to evaluate the laxity of his joints, range of motion, etc. and check for any evidence of swelling or other issues. It's likely that he will also need x-rays as part of this visit to help determine the problem.

You didn't mention if it was a hind leg or a front leg. There are different possibilities for injuries based on which leg is injured. She may just sprained the leg but if she is holding the leg completely up and not putting any weight on it then it could be broken and she needs to see a vet. If she is putting weight on it but just limping slightly then just watch her for a few days. If it doesn't resolve then she should see a vet.