Dr. Green success stories

[Turfqueen]

I’m approaching the 10 month mark for my TB and his hind suspensory branch injury. First 4 months were great and he was healing wonderfully, then he reinjured it again (different part of branch) and had to go back to square one, then the recheck 6 weeks later showed another reinjury and now we are in the middle of the third rehab. I’m exhausted. He’s done with stall rest and walking and ACE is no longer cutting it for him. My vet says this is all part of the process but I’m wondering if it’s time to let Dr. Green work on him. I was warned that full turnout could lead to a less than optimal result so I hang on with the program, waiting to turn the corner.

Just looking for success stories of horses just being turnout and returned to some sort of performance.

Thanks!

[sherian]

mine had a mild hind supensory tear, I kept him in his normal turnout - less likely to do himself damage going forward in the big pasture with his friends than pacing and having a fit in a small lock down paddock. Healed up fine, he was back in work after 4 months with no issues but does carry some filling/scarring so not as pretty. He isn’t high performance though - don’t normally go bigger than 2’9 and I am fussy about footing.

[beowulf]

Hind suspensories have a worse prognosis, as you likely know.

I did have a horse with a full blown suspensory rupture, but up front. It was caused by my own ignorance - I did not know at the time to look at feet critically, and he had awful angles up front and NPA behind. The farrier had come about two days before, and we were in the middle of a HJ round when his suspensory completely failed on him. Looking at those old photos of his, I don’t know how he was as sound as he was for years. I was still relatively new to horse ownership and really wish I knew then what I knew now.

He was so unmanageable during stall rest that after only a few weeks in, we just turned him out. He was miserable to the point of causing more damage by weaving and stall-walking. He was out of work for 2 years. At the time we thought he’d never come back to ridden work, so I actually picked up a 3 y/o project who became my main horse. Retired life didn’t really suit the suspensory horse and he started coming to me and being offended when I took the 3 y/o out of the paddock instead of him. He had such a big personality – probably why he was such an awful stall rest candidate

Vet came and ultrasounded him and gave him the clear to return to work. I started him back into work around month 23. It’s been so long that the details are fuzzy, but I remember the first 6 months we only trail rode with lots of terrain. He resumed his prior level of work and then some, becoming a Novice packer for my younger sister for years. During the injury we’d been HJers and did 2’6 classes. Shortly after his injury I converted to eventing, and he became the World’s Best XC horse. We had a solid ten years of good riding with him after he healed from his injury.

In your shoes, if you can do it, I would do Dr Green if the ultrasounds show some fiber pattern healing and the vet okays it. Sometimes they are such bad patients that stall rest doesn’t mean they’re healing. In my gelding’s case, I’m convinced that the reason he came back so strong was because being out on turnout 24/7 conditioned his limbs far better than a stall ever could.

Also consider seriously investigating the hooves. Knowing what I know now, I realize many PSD and suspensory injuries tend to show up with NPA behind. While correlation doesn’t equal causation, I’ve seen enough of it now to be confident that the hooves play a huge part in suspensory injuries.

Something else to consider is, I don’t think it’s a fluke that horses on 24/7 turnout suffer fewer soft tissue injuries.

[Turfqueen]

Thank you for taking the time to reply. Yes, hind leg suspensories are the worse.

My trainer feels the same way as you do, 24/7 turnout will mellow him out. He’s been fairly good on stall test but every once in awhile he does this ninja move that makes me cringe when I see him do it.

My next check up is at the end of the month so I’m hoping he can just go out on paddock rest and then transition to full pasture rest with a quiet buddy

[JB]

It doesn’t matter if the best chance of rehab is 12 months of stall rest, if he’s going to be miserable

It’s pretty well proven that, once the acute phase of most injuries is over, quiet controlled movement allows for the strongest healing.

At this point, if it were me, I’d start him on a mid-high dose of trazadone, give him a few days of that in a stall if needed, and then turn him out full time, or as full time as is reasonable. Night stalling and day turnout is fine

Ace just doesn’t do the right job for long enough, IME.

Trazadone has made an ENORMOUS difference in my horse’s ability to handle the stall rest he was required to be on , and then the subsequent quiet turnout.

[fivestrideline]

I’ll bite - though we haven’t returned to work yet.

My horse injured a front suspensory - I think a combination of idiocy on his part and prolonged awful hoof angles. He also had NPA behind. The initial injury was over a year ago, and I sent him to a rehab barn in August of 2022. Did the whole shebang of rehab protocol; 12x24 stall 24/7 with handwalking and then walking under saddle. He made it to end of February/early March 2023 (coincidentally when we added trotting) before the wheels fell off. He became almost dangerous to handle, did stupid ninja stunts in the stall, blew through trazadone and ace and whatever else we threw at him.

I finally had enough, pulled his fancy shoeing package, quit all the drugs, and turned him out April 2023. We did ease him into it; we started with solo turnout in a large dry lot during the day and stall at night, then eventually pasture with friends during the day, and now 24/7 out with the herd.

As of now (August 2023), the only maintenance he’s on is frequent barefoot trims and monthly massage and I have a WHOLE NEW HORSE. He’s happy, relaxed, and moving better than ever. He does have some lingering back soreness in his lower lumbar area (it used to be his SI was the worst, but now it seems to be lumbar). I’m waiting for that to clear up before putting him back to work. Massage has been essential for his recovery, so at the very least I will continue that along with maintaining his feet.

This might not be a “success story” per se, as I have not put him back to work nor do I know if he will be able to do anything. However, I have a (pasture) sound horse who is a happy and easily handled citizen, and he’s not costing me $$$$$$ to keep him that way. I’ll call it a positive for Dr Green. My horse clearly said his brain wasn’t going to tolerate stall rest anymore, and the fibers were healing very well, so we made the call to turn him out. If faced with another suspensory (heavens forbid) I definitely would do the same thing again: start with stall rest rehab before turning out.

[Turfqueen]

I’m loving all of the success stories. Once I get the next check, I’ve decided good or bad, he’s going to go to gradual full turnout 24/7. I do have a big paddock so I thought i would start there? It opens to a stall so he can go in/out at will. Then transition to full turnout with a quiet partner.

[JB]

@Turfqueen

I do have a big paddock so I thought i would start there?

Yep, start small and work up. Usually the transition is about simply being out, rather than the size.

When I transitioned my recent one - on trazadone for weeks - to some turnout, it was a small paddock that the barn is enclosed in. They ran for the first few minutes out, the first day, and that was that. When I opened up a small section of pasture attached to that, a couple weeks later, I had the gate quietly open before I let them out that morning, and they saw the open gate, walked through it, looked at the bigger space, trotted quickly for about 30 seconds, then settled for the much better grass. When I took down the temp fence between that small pasture, and the rest of their normal pasture, I sort of expected a WHEEEEE and off to the races. Nope, they sort of sauntered on through and that was that.

[ladipus]

Dr Green in my experience has always worked out and been beneficial…I had a horse who had a check ligament tear …we did PRP and after the initial stall rest I turned him out for 6 months -he healed better than ever ! I also have a mare who injured her hind suspensory branch in a stall accident -corrective shoeing and shockwave helped with her and she’s been fine ever since

[Railbird]

I had a free horse who had majorly injured his hind suspensories at WEF a couple seasons in a row. Owner decided to retire him but in a kind of weird turn of events gave him to me and said if I could get him going, he was mine, she just didn’t want to keep paying the bills. He had been turned out for 3 years I believe and I legged him back up and was able to get him working again. We were successful and he showed up to the 3’6 hunters with his next owner and I believe competed until he was 18 or 19. I was careful not to do anything on tight circles, no lunging, not too much jumping between shows, lots of turnout.

[Turfqueen]

Well I did it. After 2 more months of careful rehab I brought him out just to jog a few steps and he was off. I gave him some seditives and turned him out with a senior citizen. He did have some explosive moments that I cringed at but then settled down and is now on 24/7 turnout. He is just perfect and strolls around the field. So just forget about looking at him for a minimum of 6 months, right? When he does occasionally trot to his meal I see that he is the same amount of soreness when I originally jogged him and no visible swelling so I guess we survived the initial turnout? Uuuughhhhhh. I know this is for the best and a weight has lifted off my chest. Everyone said I did it right for 10 months so now it’s up to him. Fingers crossed Dr. Green doesn’t let me down!

[JB]

that transition period is stressful isn’t it!

Yep just leave him be until next Spring. There’s no harm in doing a test jog once a month or so.

Fingers crossed he just needs time with free choice movement

[fivestrideline]

I felt the SAME way when we kick my horse to pasture board. I’m about to start him back (ever so so lightly) after 5 months of turnout and over a year since we started rehab.

He looks great, from the pasture fence. He’s pasture sound at least, and very happy. Bodyworker said there was a HUGE change just between day 1 and day 30 of turnout, so if you choose to do “something” I highly suggest just massage.

[DarkBayUnicorn]

My mare suffered a 1cm tear in a front check ligament while out on lease last year. She does not do stall rest well at all (imagine handwalking a rabid kangaroo), and given she was 17 at the time, I opted to bring her home and turn her out in a huge grass field with two quiet companions for the summer.

Original injury occured late May. We turned her out first week of July. At her ultrasound check in December, she was at 99%, so I opted to do three rounds of shockwave to help her get over the line to 100%. Got clearance to return to work first week of Feb, with a faster rehab plan than if she’d been stuck in a box. (she stayed living out through winter/spring)

She has spent this summer happily teaching two young sisters how to horse show. I have put a limit on jump height and number of shows (she’s 18 this year regardless of the injury), so she is now the queen of the 2’ hunter division, 2’ derby and walk/trot equitation. One show left to go on that circuit and she’s leading her division by 250K points so I think she has it in the bag! Absolutely zero soundness issues so far.

If she had not healed properly, I had a Plan B to breed her again (her first born is my current A/O hunter), so going with Dr Green was an easy choice.

[FromTheGalaxy]

Firm believer in Dr. Green here. I’ve had 2 success stories so far and hoping for a third (these dang young horses can’t seem to keep from injuring themselves). Some horses handle stall rest okay, but I really think that for many the prolonged confinement does more damage to their mental and physical health than it does good. I would much rather give a horse 6 months to a year off in a field than attempt a strict stall rest and rehab protocol.

[Turfqueen]

Update! I turned horse out at the end of August and today when he was trotting around, he looked sound! It will be almost 13 months since the original injury and 3 months of 24/7 turnout. Swelling is gone in fetlock as well. So do I wait till spring to get a vet out to look at him? Weather is kinda crappy around here so perhaps I should just give him another 2 months?

Is it a good sign that the suspensory is holding when he is running, leaping and bucking in the pasture? He is definitely showing me retirement is not an option!

[fivestrideline]

@Turfqueen

Is it a good sign that the suspensory is holding when he is running, leaping and bucking in the pasture?

No. It’s not a sign it ISN’T either - my 3-4/5 lame suspensory horse was still doing all that

That said, sounds like time off and turnout was a good call. IIWM, I’d give him until spring, unless you’ve got an indoor or perfect footing and also drugs for back to work (winter zoomies are not conducive to a rehab program). Oh and time to go work him at least once a day if not twice - the holidays for ME are not the time to do that

I’d give him turnout and time until you’re ready and able to jump into a full commitment rehab plan. At this point, more time probably can’t hurt!

[Turfqueen]

Good advice. We are going to trailer him to an indoor next week to see his initial soundness and then start in spring.

[WavyRider]

@Turfqueen I hope you don’t mind me resurrecting a zombie thread. How is your guy doing now?

[Janet]

So far so good.

Belle went lame in April 2022. After a bunch of different possible diagnoses and tests, and an MRI in May, it was determined to be a ligament in her RF fetlock.
“Mild to moderate desmopathy of the lateral, abaxial palmar ligament of the pastern.”
“Mild to moderate desmopathy of the medial collateral ligament of the distal interphalangeal joint.”
None of the expensive modern treatments were considered appropriate, so she was given pasture rest and red laser treatment.

By mid August I was cleared to start riding her again, and by late October she was back in full work on the flat. We did our first jumping school in late November.

Then, in January 2023 she was lame again in the RF, and it was determined to be the same ligment(s).

She has been on pasture rest ever since, and on red laser through April.

She has been trotting “almost sound” for some time, but each time I flexed her fetlock (I don’t do it very often) she would flinch.

Yesterday the vet was here to do fall shots, and teeth, and I had to flex it VERY hard to get a very small flinch. I asked the vet if it was OK to start riding her gently, and she agreed.

So today, for the first time in a year and a half, I rode Belle. Just a walk and just for 10 minutes, but she seemed happy to be out, and offered a trot several times.