What Causes Windswept Legs In Horses?

Genetics, a twin birth or inadequate nutrition during gestation may be factors. If a horse develops it within a few weeks after birth, suspect a nutrition issue, excessive exercise or trauma as possible causes.

What causes windswept legs?

What can cause a windswept deformity? Windsweeping is often seen in individuals that are non-ambulant with cerebral palsy and osteochondritis dissecans. It can also be caused by hip dislocation or subluxation, joint weakness, or contractures.

What does it mean when a horse is windswept?

WINDSWEPT FOAL
An abnormality in which limbs are slanted in one direction in one limb (valgus) and in the opposite direction (varus) in the other. In this foal there is a right forelimb carpal varus and a left forelimb carpal valgus.

What causes windswept legs in foals?

Windswept foals combine one valgus deviated limb and one varus. This is usually the result of being born a twin or being cramped in the womb in the same position. The term describes the appearance of the legs as bending the same direction as if blown by the wind (Figure 3).

How do you correct a windswept foal?

For example a foal with windswept limbs (tarsus valgus in one limb and varus in the other limb). The only treatment that is necessary is rest for these foals. Some foals can suffer from severe deformities, eg: fetlock, that they are unable to bear weight on the sole of their feet (photo3).

Do windswept foals correct themselves?

Foals’ long legs tend to look gawky and awkward with some appearance of deformity, so your veterinarian can tell you whether something is normal or abnormal about your foal’s early conformation. If the windswept condition is mild, it may self-correct over time.

What is windswept deformity?

Windswept hip deformity describes an abduction and external rotation position of one hip with the opposite hip in adduction and internal rotation. Windswept hip deformity may occur in association with hip dislocation and scoliosis.

What are the signs of a twisted gut in horses?

The pain often originates from the intestine but it can come from other abdominal organs such as the liver or ovaries. Typical signs are pawing with front legs, kicking up with back legs, turning to look at the flanks, lying down, rolling, and sweating.

What does it mean when a horse displaces?

Dorsal displacement of the soft palate (DDSP) describes the condition where the soft palate displaces upwards to sit on top of the epiglottis (Figure 2). When this happens the soft palate ends up obstructing the opening to the trachea (larynx), and thereby reduces the amount of air that a horse can take in.

What causes winging in horses?

Pigeon toes tend to cause paddling or winging. Splayed feet encourage dishing or winging in and may result in severe interfering and permanent injury. Long, weak pasterns and shallow heels cause an irregular stride and may predispose to ringbone (Figure 10).

How long before a foals legs straighten?

Most foal leg problems will straighten themselves out after a few days or during the course of the first few weeks of life. The American Association of Equine Practitioners states that the majority of mild to moderately severe foal leg problems will correct themselves before the foal becomes a yearling.

Can you ride a horse with a crooked leg?

If your horse has crooked legs, this can cause strain on the joints. Because the front legs take more than 60% of the weight when a horse is ridden, problems with these legs are more likely to result in arthritis and lameness than the back legs.

How can I help my horse with stifle problems?

Horses with a mild stifle lameness may respond to rest, the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), or injections of a corticosteroid and hyaluronic acid to battle inflammation.

What is shaker foal syndrome?

Shaker foal syndrome is a very serious disease. It is actually a form of botulism. ▪ Botulism is caused by a toxin produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum. In shaker foals, both the toxin and the bacteria producing it are present, so this condition is more specifically called toxicoinfectious botulism.

What are windswept knees?

Windswept knees refer to the appearance of a bilateral knee joint deformity where one knee is in valgus and the other is in varus. The name describes the position of the knees if the wind blew across the legs of a patient, causing this evocatively-named appearance.

What causes crooked legs in foals?

In newborn foals, the most common reason for this to occur is laxity in the ligaments supporting its joints. This typically responds well to confinement with small periods of controlled exercise (eg: 1-2 hours of turnout) for the first 2-3 weeks of life.

What causes twisted gut in horses?

Very rarely the horses gut can spontaneously twist. This can be the result of a gassy distended gut becoming buoyant and twisting around on itself, or a twist could result from a horse rolling about with colic pain. This is a real emergency and if the twists aren’t corrected quickly the gut dies.

How do you strengthen a weak stifle?

In the case of very weak stifles, or horses entering a rehab plan post-injury, the best place to start is with one or two weeks of static, or isometric, exercises for the hindquarters. These routines require the horse to stabilize himself and recruit muscles around the stifle without actually moving the joint.

How do you correct a horse that is constantly behind the vertical?

Your horse will be relaxed in his jaw and able to take an elastic contact when he’s working in the correct outline. To stop your horse working behind the vertical, lighten your rein and keep your leg on, encouraging him to bring his head to the ideal contact.

Can torsional deformity be fixed?

In most cases, doctors do not treat torsional deformities because these conditions usually disappear as children grow older. In very rare cases, when in-toeing or out-toeing is caused by a bone deformity, surgery may be necessary to correct the problem.

What is windswept pelvis?

Windswept pelvis fracture is a complex bony pelvic injury caused by a combination of unilateral AP compression (open book) injury with a contralateral lateral compression injury.