We have recently rescued a 5 yo QH Gelding named Tuff. The back story we have on him is that about 3 years ago he was pushed into a fence by some dogs. When this happined he had a bad cut on his left hind leg near the pastern which he had stitches on and he also had damage to his right eye. (he is now blind in that eye)
When we went to pick him up, the hind leg that had the stitches was extremly swollen (about 2 to 3 times the normal size) from the thigh all the wat down to the coronary band but it didnt seem to bother him at all. He could walk, trot, canter, gallop and even buck around with no pain. Anything above a walk you would notice a slight difference in the gate but only because that leg was so much bigger. We talked to the owner and he said that the leg had been swollen since shortly after the vet stitched him up. He also said that the vet came back out to look at it and said that it was fine and would always be swollen.
We have called our vet and he will be out to our barn on Wednesday to look at him. While we have been waiting for the vet to come out he cut his fetlock (on the left) and some clearish pink liquid came dripping out. It drained for almost a whole day and some of the swelling actually went down. but after it stopped draining the swelling came back again. His leg has only gotten worse and the swelling has spred to the other hind leg. He now seems to be in alot of pain. He doesnt want to walk much and when he does walk he seems to almost tip-toe in the back end. he hasnt lost his appitite, hes still drinking plenty of water and he is not running fever at all.
With all of the research I have been doing. everything is pointing to Cellulitis, lymphedema, and or lymphanigtis. has anyone delt with any of these issues? If so, what kind of experiance have you had with it? How costly is treatment?

ok, well i tried adding photos but its not working so im going to add alink to my facebook. of you look at the album titled "the horses" hes the red dun (should be pretty easy to notice the huge hind leg) Here it is Welcome to Facebook | Facebook

Thank you for any and all input!

Roxy, Sorry to hear about your rescued horse's problems. The swelling does sound a lot like lymphangitis. The condition can be very painfull due to the pressure in the leg. Do you let him have turn out? Moving around could help with circulation. The horses hind legs are more prone to "stocking up" or fluid/swelling collecting in the back legs. Horses have no muscle's below the hocks, it is hard for the body to push blood back up to the leg to return to the heart. When blood flow becomes slow, fluid leaks out of the veins arteries and lymph network and collects in the tissue. By allowing your horse access to a paddock he can move around and help with blood flow. Using well padded standing bandages will also help reduce swelling, along with cold hosing. For the leg with the active cut you may want to keep a close eye out for infection. Using "alum" spray can be very good at keeping an injury clean, the alum spray stays in place and also help discourage proud flesh. I have found cuts on the lower leg are more likely to develop proud flesh. By using a spray to dry out and form a scab over the cut will help. Once you have a good scab try not to pick at the wound, unless you have to open it to get it to drain. How has this horses vaccination history been, perhaps you want to think about a tetanus toxiod shot. Staph infection's have also been a problem so keep an eye on fever, heat, redness. ALSO just because a horse does not have a fever does NOT mean he can not have an infection.
Be sure to reduce the amount of grain fed while the horse is not working, lots of grass hay and little grain to insure he does not tye-up or founder. You might also try MSM and a small amount of bute. He might move around a little better if he is not in as much pain. A small amount of bute will not mask a fever from an infection and help him feel better. Good Luck, you are a good human helping our equine friends.

Hi Roxy, realise that it's some time since you posted and the situation may have changed by now.

It does sound as though your horse has had cellulitis and /or lymphangitis - this one often develops as a result of cellulitis esp. in horses, and the swelling is lymphedema, which results when the damage caused by the infection/inflammation to the lymphatic vessels is sufficient to prevent the system working efficiently in the affected region. The system is responsible for removing fluid and protein molecules from the tissues, when this doesn't happen swelling develops, initially soft, but gradually becoming firmer as the protein molecules change and become fibrotic. the most pressing issue becomes the risk of recurrent infection, lymphedema damages the skin, making the entry of bacteria etc easier, and also affects tissue immunity.

In English speaking countries equine lymphedema is poorly recognised and therefore doesn't receive adequate treatment, i.e. 'combined decongestive therapy'. This is the treatment of choice for people with lymphedema and has been adapted for horses. I would suggest you look at the website Equine mld - Home which carries information about treatment, and a lymphangitis case history.

Meanwhile, you need to protect this horse - as far as it's possible with any! - from getting cuts, insect bites etc on these legs, to avoid inflammation or infection and make sure he gets antibiotics the moment you suspect this. Keep the skin soft and healthy by using a bland non greasy moisturiser as required, and if possible don't stable him as motion is important to the equine lymphatic system. Cold hosing may slow down the transport of fluid from the blood stream to the tissues, but it also slows down the lymphatic system and we now know that this is totally responsible for removing fluid. However, if you are in a hot climate, cold hosing may help heat swelling. There's probably no point in bandaging unless there's another reason for this, research has shown that stable bandages/wraps can stop the flow of lymph in the leg, they are quite different to the compression bandaging used for CDT.