FREE EQUINE
VETERINARY ADVICE
Over the past five years, vet Stephen Ashdown has written many articles, spoken on equine matters and contributed widely to horse magazines.

Here he reproduces in the form of questions and answers about 100 topics, all of them common problems which afflict horses.

To access Topics click on Vet Advice Menu.

Preventing Windgalls
Q: My 17.2hh five-year-old CB x TB has been diagnosed with a windgall. My instructor tells me this could have been caused by hard ground and that my mare could have got it while turned out or being ridden.

Can you give me some information on some possible causes and treatments?

A: Such swellings are very common in horses and are usually not a cause for great concern. Windgalls are caused by a little more fluid and pressure forming in the joints than is normal. As your instructor said this can just be caused by concussion or hard work.

One sensible precaution is that you give your horse some supplements that support joint function and provide the right nutrients for strong bones and cartilage. I would suggest a good mineral supplement and one of the joint lubricant formulae.

Some Sulphur supplement would also be useful. Such supplements should be given over a period of several months to give them time to strengthen up the joints sufficiently.

Back to Windgall (1)

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