EQUI-TAPE anyone? Interested in feedback esp. re: chronic suspensory injuries

[4THEHORSES]

So, brief history. Have an OTTB (he’s 8) with chronic injury to DDFT and both suspensory branches. Injury sustained on the track 2 years ago.

Have owned the horse for 6 months and with regular, good quality hoof care his movement and level of soundness has improved to a greater degree than I would have anticipated.

I seriously doubt this horse will ever be sound enough to do much under saddle however, I’m determined to try my best to get him as sound as is possible. For his sake.

I know of a vet in the area who is trying Equi-tape to treat, among other things, chronic suspensory issues.

Wondered whether any of you have tried this and what was the outcome.

Thanks!

[marta]

i never used equitape but i have used kt tape on myself and while it made me feel better so that i could run not hampered by pain, it does not actually heal. i find that it works kind of like acupuncture. small amount of pressure in just the right places and suddenly that knee pain caused by patellofemoral pain syndrome disappears long enough for me to finish my run. but the tape doesn’t actually do anything to permanently get rid of the cause of the pain.

try it on yourself. they sell it at all the local drug stores now.

[4THEHORSES]

Thanks marta, that makes sense.

[Lieslot]

Yes, using it on a horse with DSLD.

The glue isn’t the greatest, does not stick well. It is possible however that because my boy is wrapped all the time, detergents & softeners are making the hair on his legs slippery, hence the glue problem.

It certainly supports, because if I apply it too tight it somewhat prevents his usual drop of the fetlock and it can make him nervous, because he feels the restriction/support.

I can get the tape to stay on, if I immediately wrap over it with polos. Tape stays on for about 2, if I’m lucky 3 days.

Also using it on my other horse, on gluteals, gaskins, after a hard work-out or so, playing a round a little. In those areas it stays on longer.

They say if you first spray the leg with alcohol and let it dry the glue will work better, but it made no difference to me.

[4THEHORSES]

Thanks Lieslot,

I’m interested in this one because it claims to promote blood flow and reduce inflamation in the injured area. More blood flow and reduced inflamation are exactly what a soft tissue injury requires to promote healing.

It’s not expensive so thinking the next time the vet visits, which is soon, I’ll ask how to apply the stuff and give it a try.

I’ll let you know if I come up with any more stickiness fixes

Thanks for the info.

[marta]

not sure what types of treatment you already tried but i had some good results from tendon slicing with prp injection. it’s cheaper than other popular treatments. it resulted in some really nice looking scar tissue on my mare’s hind suspensory. this was her second injury. i didn’t use this treatment on the first injury (the other hind leg). i opted for shockwave and didn’t get the results i got from the tendon slicing with prp. my decision was motivated by finances but really in the end the cost was the same after 3 or 4 shockwave treatments.

my mare is a senior and has a lot of prexisting scar tissue on her hind suspensories so our results were never going to be as good as they could be on a young horse. might be worth a try for you if your finances allow.

[4THEHORSES]

Thanks again marta,

Since this is already a 2 year old injury we can afford to spend some time on the more conservative treatments so I’d like to stick with his hoof care protocol until we meet our end goal and continue working him lightly in hand, increasing the load in very small increments.

So far he’s gone from being supposedly sound at the walk (although my opinion on that differed) and 3/5 lame at the trot on a circle to def sound at the walk and maybe 1/5 lame at the trot at most in a circle. He can be turned out for small amounts of time and center around without coming up sore the next day. That said, his fetlock needs way more work before he can carry any weight, even at a walk.

Even so, I’ll bear your recommendation in mind. I may consider getting more aggressive with the treatment at some point and it’s good to know what others have tried and seen some success with.

Glad your horse responded well to the surgery :yes:

[DQ01]

My mare has torn her hind suspensory twice (3 years apart). The first time around I just did rest and rehab. The second time around I did a PRP injection and was thrilled with the results. Even the vet was surprised with how well it worked. I know a couple other people that did PRP on suspensories and were also very happy with it. If I was to go back and do it again I would do PRP followed by shockwave.
I had a vet recommend suspensory desmoplasty but after doing a lot of researched I opted out and I’m really glad I did. All in all, I think the PRP and really taking my time to rehab her is what made her recovery a big success. It’s been over a year and she is just getting back to the level of work she was doing before.
Best of luck to you, suspensory injuries really suck.

[4THEHORSES]

Brilliant, thanks for the info DQ01. If you don’t mind me asking, how much did the PRP injection cost. Just out of interest. At the end of the day if money needs to be spent on him then it will

[Hermein]

Where can I find good information on Equi-Tape? Dumbed down to the point a layman can understand, if possible. Tia.

[4THEHORSES]

Hi Hermein,

There isn’t really a great deal of information available however, I found their website was decent:

http://www.equi-tape.com/

[omare]

I have a horse with proximal hind suspensory that I switched to the back-to-the-track rehab boot, as his hind legs would look like stove pipes if left open (and he is still mostly stall bound). It has taken a few weeks but his hind legs are llooking nice and tight which is an improvement and credited to inceased blood flow/ circulation. I think they also have a boot for work.

[4THEHORSES]

Thanks omare, I’ll look into that as well.

Tried my boy under saddle for the first time this weekend and he was a real gentlemen. Held up to a 5-10 mins walk on flat ground without coming up sore. So proud of him.

Will stick with mostly hand walking and a little walk under saddle from time to time (once per week, maybe even less). Amazed by his progress so far. Long may it continue!

[coloredhorse]

Just finished a course of study in using it, so kinda happy to see this thread. I’ve used kinesiology tape on myself (under instruction from a PT for post-injury issues) and that sparked my interest in incorporating it into my massage work. What I required could be considered comparable to what would be done to support a healing suspensory or other tendon/ligament injury, and it was helpful. One thing that was particularly striking was the immediate analgesic effect, and I’ve seen this apparent effect in horses, as well.

Keep in mind that taping won’t correct underlying pathologies. But it can be very effective in helping support the more conventional vet care and rehab work. It also has great applications in supporting athletic performance, as has already been seen in human athletes for years.

So if you have a vet, chiro or massage therapist in your area who is trained in using it, you might give it a try. They can also train you in reapplying it (though it can stay on for quite a long time) for certain specific applications to help your horse with his particular issues.

[4THEHORSES]

Thank you so much coloredhorse.

Your comments have pretty much confirmed my understanding of how this is supposed to work and it sounds like exactly what my boy needs. He’s progressing pretty well in his rehab, especially considering the extent of this injuries. Will def try this out as a technique that could compliment his existing rehab program.

Planning on having the vet come out of float my 3 horses teeth sometime in Dec/Jan. Also planning on re-doing my boy’s untrasound a the same time. So, will ask him to give this a try while he’s out. Fingers crossed!

If anyone is interested/knows how to read ultrasound images, feel free to take a look at his injury. This was done about 6 months ago:

https://www.facebook.com/penny.becky.50/media_set?set=a.231193923723570.1073741830.100004988911250&type=3&uploaded=9

[4THEHORSES]

oops, wrong link

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.231193923723570.1073741830.100004988911250&type=1&l=a181643ba6

[omare]

Here was another product I was curios about, for when a horse with a suspensory injury starts under tack.
http://www.westernlegacysales.com/iconoclast_equine_rehabilitation.php

[DQ01]

Sorry for the late reply. PRP was about $800 canadian I think. A friend hauled us to the clinic. I think now they can do it at your barn though.

[4THEHORSES]

Thanks DQ01, seriously considering it.