# Hematoma on my horse, please help!



## themacpack (Jul 16, 2009)

That's a pretty sizable hematoma - have you any idea how she came by it?. Most common treatments are applying pressure wraps and/or the use of cold - but I'd likely at least consult with my vet first before proceeding.


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## iridehorses (Oct 22, 2007)

Welcome to the forum!

Personally, I think it's "Vet Time". The last time I saw swelling like that it was caused by a bee bite. Do you have another horse with him that may have given her a kick?


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## NicoleS11 (Nov 21, 2008)

holly...call the vet!


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## HorsieLover09 (Jul 17, 2009)

Yes, she's pastured with two other horses so we are pretty sure it's from a kick. I've done a lot of research on it and there's websites that say that they will eventually go away on their own and they say to walk the horse, message it, apply heat. And there's others that say you can either leave it alone, do the things mentioned before, or call the vet and have them drain it. I've read that sometimes it's better to leave it alone because having a vet lance it to drain it opens it up to infection and that that can be worse than having it swollen like that and letting it just absorb on its own in time.

I'll be calling the vet out though and see what she says about what would be best to do. But I thought it'd be good to see what others have experienced and to see if there are any opinions, thoughts, or advice on what to do and what those did who have had to deal with one before.


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## Walkamile (Dec 29, 2008)

Hey HorsieLover, that's one huge hematoma. Walka has had 2, though a little smaller then that one.

Didn't drain, not always successful. Vet recommended hot packing with moist heat,(towel in hot water well wrung out) for 10 - 15 mins 2 x's a day. After a week started using DSMO and that worked like a charm. Really helped the body reabsorb the blood pool. 

Good luck, and let us know what your vet recommends to do.

Wanted to add, reabsorbed beautifully, no ripples or anything to indicate he ever had any.


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## HorsieLover09 (Jul 17, 2009)

Thanks, where could I get the DSMO?


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## luvsmygirls (Mar 3, 2009)

you can pick up DMSO at most any tack or feed store


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## reining girl (Jan 30, 2009)

my old gelding got a hematoma once, were the girth goes, and it was a little smaller than you mares, but not by much, and i had the vet come out adn he said there is not a lot you can do but wait for it to go away. He said that he could drain it but there is really no need to, the body reabsorbs it or soemthing like that. But being as you mare is in with other horse, i would be worried that she got kicked and that there could be more serious damage. I woudl have the vet come out and take a look and see what the vet thinks. I she sore at, like does seh walk with a limp or anything?


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## HorsieLover09 (Jul 17, 2009)

Nope she isn't limping or walking different at all. Even yesterday when we were taking the other horses on a trail ride she was running around her pasture without a limp or anything. She's perfectly normal other than the hematoma, eating/drinking normal, alert, moving around alot, etc. She's not acting sore or stiff in that leg either.


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## morganshow11 (Dec 19, 2008)

_One morning last fall, I discovered a large lump on the right buttock of my yearling filly. Upon inspection, I found the lump was soft and tender to the touch. There was no broken skin, no outward sign of trauma, but she had bruised the tissues under the skin. An active youngster, she was often running and bucking; she may have slipped and fallen on some rocks. 
What is a hematoma?_ 


A hematoma is a swelling or mass of blood, serum, or both confined to an organ, tissue, or space within the body. The hematoma is caused by a break in a blood vessel, as in a bruise. 
I put a mixture of DMSO and nitrofurazone ointment on the lump as recommended by my veterinarian (the nitrofurazone to buffer the DMSO so it would not burn or irritate the skin). DMSO is often helpful in reducing swelling or inflammation, but each day the tissue bulged larger-the skin stretching over a huge balloon of fluid that jiggled when she moved. 
A week after the injury, the balloon was still huge. We were going to have to drain the fluid. We had had similar cases over the past 30 years, and we resolved them by inserting a sterile needle to let the fluid out, as instructed by our veterinarian. 
I held the filly while my husband scrubbed the area, shaved a small spot near the bottom of the "balloon," and poked a sterile needle into it. Fluid ran out of the needle. The filly did not want to stand still, so our daughter-in-law gave her handfuls of green grass while I held the needle in place and massaged the area to get more fluid out (after the flow slowed to a drip). By the next day, however, the bruised area had filled right back up with more fluid, and it needed to be drained again. In past cases, we have spent as long as three weeks draining this type of bruise, so this time we had our veterinarian open it with a scalpel, so it could drain for several days on its own and then heal. 
Our first experience with this kind of injury was when a three-month-old filly crashed into a fence and bruised the muscles over her breastbone. She developed a grapefruit-sized bulge (which for a foal was a very large swelling). As the bulge grew larger over the next few days, we sought advice from our veterinarian, and he drained it with a large sterile needle. The small swelling that remained was resorbed quickly, and the bruised muscle healed. 
The worst and most persistent fluid swelling we encountered was in 1985 on a yearling filly; the swelling covered the whole side of her hindquarter. The first day we drained it, more than a gallon and a half of fluid poured out through the needle. The area filled again with fluid and required daily draining for a week. We continued to drain it every other day for two more weeks until the remaining swelling was finally small enough to resorb on its own. 
*Some bruises need help* 
Bruises are common when horses run and play. Most bruises heal with no problems and require no treatment. The blood and serum that seeps into surrounding tissues from damaged vessels are eventually resorbed, and the swelling from this fluid accumulation recedes. 
Sometimes a serious bruise will produce an excess of fluid. The skin is separated from the underlying muscle, and the tissue cannot heal properly until the fluid is removed. If the swelling becomes as large as a grapefruit or larger, it may need to be drained. 
To determine the condition of any large swelling, cup your hand on one side of it and tap the other side of the enlargement with the fingertips of your other hand. If you feel a wavelike response (similar to tapping a balloon full of water), the swelling is a hematoma-filled with a collection of blood , serum, or both that has accumulated in a pocket between the torn tissues. 
This type of swelling generally increases in size until the traumatized tissues eventually stop bleeding or oozing fluid. Sometimes the only thing that halts the production of fluid is the pressure-there is so much fluid already filling the area that no more can ooze into it. 
Once the serum production halts, the fluid then is gradually absorbed. If the area is large, the absorption may take a long time, and eventually will leave an area of scar tissue-a big knot in the muscle. For faster healing and no scar tissue, the fluid must be drained away. 
If the swelling feels firmer than gelatin when you tap it, the fluid is accumulated within the traumatized tissues (contusion) but the tissues are still intact; this type of swelling will subside in a few days on its own (and even more quickly if you use cold therapy, massage, and DMSO) without any lasting damage. You do not need to drain it. 
*Draining with a needle* 
Fluid accumulation from a large hematoma can be drained with a sterile needle a day or two after the bleeding stops. If the area is still enlarging, wait until it stabilizes or it will just refill with fluid. A large swelling may refill several times anyway and may need to be drained more than once. 
The area must be thoroughly cleaned first to avoid contamination and infection. If the skin is not broken, the bruise and its fluid contents are sterile, with no pathogenic organisms, and you want to keep it that way. Wash and disinfect the area, and shave the place where you will be inserting the needle, since bacteria and tiny particles of dirt can cling to hairs even when washed. After washing and shaving (a regular razor works fine), use a disinfectant such as tamed iodine or Nolvasan solution where you will insert the needle. 
A sterile large-diameter needle (16 gauge or larger) can then be inserted into the fluid accumulation at its lowest point-so most of the fluid can drain out the needle via gravity-taking care that the needle enters only the fluid pouch and not the underlying muscle. 
This is a two-person job, with one holding the horse's head. The horse should be positioned next to a solid fence or barn wall to limit movement when the needle is inserted. 
A sharp needle inserted swiftly will not cause any more discomfort than a routine vaccination injection. If you have positioned the needle correctly, fluid will pour from it immediately and will continue to drain until the pouch is nearly empty. It may be necessary to massage the area to get the last of the fluid out. 
A moderate-sized fluid pocket will usually resolve after just one draining. A large hematoma may require several drainings. For each draining, thoroughly wash, shave, and disinfect the area and use a sterile needle. As a precaution against infection, you might want the horse to be treated with antibiotics. Consult your veterinarian. 
If the draining is done with care, the bruise should heal with no problems. With some large bruises, however, there may be permanent damage to nerves that serve skin cells and sweat pores in the area since the skin has been separated from the underlying muscle tissue for so long. It is not unusual for skin over the old bruise to sweat more freely than the rest of the horse, long after the bruise has completely healed. 

A large hematoma also can be treated by opening it up with an incision and allowing all the fluid to drain. This is generally the best option for horses that spend most of their time in fields or if you do not have the time to drain the hematoma each day. Your veterinarian should perform this procedure. With the horse properly restrained, the veterinarian usually will administer a local anesthetic at the incision site and then make a three- to four-inch slit at the lower edge of the fluid balloon. Some local irritation and inflammation may occur, but the long slit will allow the hematoma to keep draining on its own until it is no longer producing fluid. These surgically opened bruises often heal with less scar tissue than those that are drained with a sterile needle. 

-heather smith thomas


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## 7Ponies (May 21, 2009)

I'd be thinking that was more a bee sting or bite. If she got kicked that hard, I think you'd see indications of brusing and she'd be in pain, perhaps limping.

My old mare got stung by a bee on her teat. It swelled up like a football. I simply used the hose and ran cool water on it several times a day. In a couple of days the swelling went down and she was fine.

If your mare is not showing any signs of distress, I don't think you need a vet. Just treat it as mentioned. It should begin to dissipate in a few days.


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## HalfPass (Jun 12, 2009)

Hey there...
This is interesting...
A woman who has her paint horse (older horse) down the eisle from me recently about 3 weeks ago had her gelding get cast..No he did not have that big of a hematoma, but inbetween his butt cheecks he looked a lot like this...Is this soft feeling or hard feeling?

Interestingly she had the vet out and I know there was some type of Inj. done.

The hock was also swollen and also the sheath...he was pretty trashed...Still kind of is..
Now when I found out how bad it was I had noticed that she was out everyday and hoseing the horse off to get the swelling down, so I offered to hose in the am and her in the afternoon...
It has now been about 8 days of doing this and the hock has gone down but there is still sweeling in the buttocks and sheath area...

I would have my vet out and make an assesment....
I know the lady form the ranch has now been walking the older paint everyday as well but best to have your vet look....

Interestingly enough....I was stung by a hornet yesterday at the ranch and had also noticed these hornets everywhere living in the greren pipe fencing....
I got a good darn wallop from that hornet and have felt sick like since and I iced it right away...

I am not sure what this could be from other than a kick....but as some others stated a kick may hove left evidence...

If the vet has not come yet...Cold water and walk slowly for cirrculation....
That is what I would do with my horse....
Half pass


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## HorsieLover09 (Jul 17, 2009)

Thanks for the replies. It's definately a hematoma (feels like a water balloon), unless a bee sting/bug bite fills up with fluid like that. Maybe it wasn't a kick but maybe she hit up against something or who knows, we'll probably never know what happened. It seemed to look a bit better today after walking and putting a warm moist towel over it yesterday and today. I'm going to continue to do it over the next couple/few days and see, if it starts getting worse or she starts acting different I'll be getting the vet out to check her out. I'm also going to call around and see if any of the vets can give me any input over the phone. Thanks again for all the input everybody!


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## HalfPass (Jun 12, 2009)

Hey Horsie...
How is the hematoma???
I hope that your horse is getting better by now.
HP


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## HorsieLover09 (Jul 17, 2009)

Well the hematoma seemed to be gettin' better (maybe it was just my imagination) but now it's looking a bit worse so the vet is coming out Wednesday morning. I'll let you guys all know what she says after the appt. and what all she decided to do. Thanks again for all the replies, I appreciated them!


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## HorsieLover09 (Jul 17, 2009)

*Update!!!*

Well the vet came out and said to put Stormy on stall rest and to just wait and watch her for 2-3 weeks. After 2-3 more weeks if it's not getting better or if I notice a "soft-spot" I'm supposed to give her a call and she'll come out and drain it. So basically just let it run it's course is what she advised which is what I was doing except I didn't have her on stall rest. So we'll see, I'll keep you guys updated. :wink:


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## ShannonSevenfold (Oct 11, 2008)

Hmm.. Good luck.

I don't know anything about hematomas in horses, but I work on a dairy farm and our cows will often get them on their hocks. They generally will either drain or absorb on their own.

That is one sizeable hematoma though. haha

Again, good luck!


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## HorsieLover09 (Jul 17, 2009)

*Update! 7/25/09*

Stormy's hematoma is MUCH smaller this morning, amazing what just 3 days of stall rest will do. I'm attaching some pictures below so you can compare how it looks now to before when I first posted.


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## peace love and paints (Nov 10, 2008)

my two year old filly had a hematome a few weeks ago and she had swollen up almost identical to yours except on my girl it was on her left chest. it seemed to have a lot of pain could just be location tho. good luck with your baby


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