Dog Splint Heals Broken Bones On Calves

Dog Splint Heals Broken Bones On Calves AG WORLD Young calves sometimes suffer broken legs The good news is that their bones heal quickly if you can splint them properly We splinted a calf’s hind leg using a dog splint The leg was broken above the hock which is a tough place to cast and really hard to heal on a big calf but very feasible on a young one “Most of the time when a really young calf suffers a broken leg it’s broken at the growth plate at the end of the long bone ” says Dr Mark Hilton Purdue University “When it’s broken at the growth plate it tends to break straight across If you can get the leg realigned and set the fracture the leg will often respond well in a cast or splint ” He says that if the fracture is above the growth plate it’s generally better to use a cast than a splint because the cast can share weight with the leg “Splints work great for maintaining alignment of the limb but if you have to also support some of the weight a cast is more effective ” Some splints are designed for high limb injuries and can sometimes be used to immobilize the leg enough for it to heal “A plastic dog splint wrapped with stretchy tape to hold it in place may be adequate to support a high break on a hind limb on a newborn calf An older calf carrying more weight may not have such a good prognosis with a high break ” says Hilton You can get plastic dog splints from your veterinarian; just select the proper size for the calf’s leg Place the splint over the leg to make sure it’s the right size then place some padding such as roll cotton between the leg and splint Wrap the splint with stretchy tape to hold it in place with enough layers to make it solid and stable so the calf can walk on it and get up and around to nurse If there are no complications the leg should heal completely within 2 to 3 weeks But on a fast-growing calf you may have to redo the splint if the bandaging becomes too tight

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