365
Days in Horse Country – Stocking Up
Have you ever
noticed the lower part of your horse’s legs looking puffy when you get it out
of its stall? After a bit of exercise,
does the puffiness go away? If so, your
horse is experiencing a condition called “stocking up”.
Stocking up is a caused when blood and lymphatic fluids pool in the lower part of the horse’s legs. This is usually the result of stall confinement, lack of exercise, and sometimes overfeeding. The fluids dissipate when the horse is exercised, and it returns after your horse has been standing in its stall for several hours.
The condition of stocking up is not painful to your horse and it isn’t associated with lameness. It can be distressing to see however because it temporarily distorts the appearance of your horse’s legs.
To help prevent stocking up, give your horse plenty of exercise each day. Provide it with the largest stall or paddock you can so as to encourage movement. If you are feeding your horse alfalfa, consider switching all or some of your horse’s diet to grass hay. Speak to your veterinarian about changing your horse’s diet if you feel it appropriate to do so.
To help
reduce the likelihood of your horse stocking up after a ride, hose down your
horse’s legs with cold water. This will
constrict the blood vessels and help keep excess fluids from settling in the
tissues of the leg.
Michael