Swollen legs

Every summer, or whenever it gets warm Vallu struggles with swollen legs. It's just a little bit fluid consistently in every leg with no heat or soreness and absolutely no lameness! After several summers of this with many vet checks and scans later, this summer I have not freaked out as the vets and I have agreed that it is just his legs stocking up due to fluid accumulation, more than likely caused by his weaker than normal lymphatic system. His body simply struggles to to pump fluid back up from his legs. Because of this, the swelling goes away with movement so it's crucial to keep moving to help the horse's legs.

To help we do the following:

Exercise/movement

Turn out!

Icing

Magnetic boots/bandage legs

Supplements 

The best thing I have found is to have Vallu out 4-5 hours in the morning and when he comes in ice the legs. Then ride later in the afternoon/evening, ice the legs again then either put Back on Track boots or bandages on for the night. This type of routine helps Vallu's legs stay relatively normal looking over the worst hot days, but I don't know if this is just him!! We use Finn Tack's Ice Boots as these are the biggest ice boots that I have found and I like the fact that they cover a lot of leg! 

A quick tip for anyone who wants an extra bit of help for their horse's lymphatic system - feed good old nettles, cleaver and/or marigold. These three have been incredibly helpful in giving Vallu's system a boost. We have lots of nettles around our yard at home so I just go cut some into a bucket, put boiling water on top and then once it has cooled down after a few hours mix into his feed! #cheapfix We had fresh cleaver earlier on in spring/summer which I just chucked on top of his hay, but now that they have gone we are buying this Cleaver&Marigold dried herb mix from Hilton Herbs!

Does anyone else's horse suffer from this?