Injured Steer Therapy...

My son's steer strained his front right leg and is having difficulty. He has had two shots of banamine to keep the swelling down and make him comfortable. Most swelling is located between the shoulder and the knee. He likely injured himself riding a heifer that was in heat on a slick morning in our pen.

We've isolated him from the others and he is in a dry barn. He has limited room to exercise, and has only been out once on a halter to gently walk him. It has been 6 days since he injured himself, any suggestions to loosen him up so that he will be ready to show again in February?

I would consult your Vet but I would say two shots in six days is not enough.  You may also ask him about using Dexamethasone instead. Other than that it sounds like you are doing everything right.  I would think about using hydrotherapy on the shoulder and knee as well.  We have had these types of injuries before and they should resolve within a few weeks.  If it doesn't a trip to the Vet will be in order. G-Luck

wouldn't restrict his exercise, leave it up to him, they are not stupid, if it hurts, he won't walk, but he should have the option to move around and loosen up if he wants to, try putting some DMSO in his water, it will take some of the inflammation out of his muscles, i agree with demaethasone, and banamine evry day for 5 days,

dcbehle, as with all drugs make certain you check with your Vet on withdraw times and rules for using certain drugs on animals intended for slaughter..

renegadelivestock said:

wouldn't restrict his exercise, leave it up to him, they are not stupid, if it hurts, he won't walk, but he should have the option to move around and loosen up if he wants to, try putting some DMSO in his water, it will take some of the inflammation out of his muscles, i agree with demaethasone, and banamine evry day for 5 days,

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it might be worth an x-ray or two. If you have muscle damage in that area it will take sometime to heal. Their are so many more options today for long acting pain relief. I would get a vet to check him out. We are very lucky to only be 45 minutes from State Vet School center. They do an excellent job. Strains and sprains sometimes take more time to heal. it sounds like you have some time and money invested in this animal what can it hurt to have a vet check him out.

we had one a few yr ago that was hurt on front leg and shoulder are friend in sd told use to kick him out in the pasture and it would get better that what we did in2 weeks he was better we did not wash or mess with him just left him alone untill it got better

Thanks for the tips. We have actually done several of the things recommended. The first night he was given banamine under guidance from our vet. On day 2, the vet checked him out and gave him a shot of dex. On day 4 he had another shot of banamine.

We have not put him out on pasture as we have nothing on pasture due to winter conditions and pastures that suffered from a severe drought this summer. We did use the pasture five years ago on a steer with shoulder issues and it cleared it up quickly.

I am interested in the hydrotherapy. Never have used it with cattle before. What specifically do you do?

On a positive note, he is moving significantly better now. But I do worry that he may have done something to his shoulder. His right side appears to bow out more than his left (non-injured) side. We've kept him isolated in our barn in dry conditions. Later today he will be moved to a neighbors barn where he will have more room to roam in an isolated pen with a barn for cover.