Oh, if it is that mild, I would not be AS concerned about him being in his regular paddock if he is quiet. I would still ask the vet though!
I would do the handwalking or walking under saddle IF he is quiet enough to do so. But, ask the vet about that too.
[QUOTE=Dressage.For.Life.;7191621]
I should mention that the strain was mild enough that my vet said to do the limited turnout, leg sweating, and ride walking for a monthāand that we would then reintroduce trotting and see where he is at the end of that month. Weāll be doing a recheck when this vet comes though Indiana again in the first part of November.
So would you guys continue to do hand walking or ride walking even if heās out in his regular paddock, walking about on his own? Or would you guys just say that heās likely getting enough walking done on his own? Thanks.[/QUOTE]
If this were my horse and Iād already altered the plan by altering his turnout, I wouldnāt be making him exercise more until after Iād spoken with the vet.
In the past, when āTurn him out in a big field for 12 hours a day with his friends as normalā was a big part of Tipās suspensory rehab plan, hand-walking or walking under tack was also encouraged by the vet. But his injury isnāt necessarily your horseās injury, so, while Iām speaking out of the experiences Iāve had with various fairly mild soft tissue injuries on horses who werenāt total lunatics in turnout, hereās your salt shaker to take with this commentary.
Exercise in addition to turnout is something I think you ask the vet about. Hand or ridden walking is very different than just ambling about in turnout. At least, thatās how my vet has prescribed it, as his idea of walking for rehab is marching right along, not wandering. Your vet may still want you to do some. Or not. Ask.
To the OP :
You can sweat the leg with the horse being out. Use a vet wrap instead of a standing wrap. So put on whatever you are sweating with (furazone? furazone/DMSO?) then the sheet cotton and plastic wrap then the standing bandage or no-bow (if you have combine bandage, that is even better for this circumstance but not necessary) topped with a vet wrap. That will make it more āturnout safeā than a typical standing bandage.
Good luck!
[QUOTE=Dressage.For.Life.;7191621]
I should mention that the strain was mild enough that my vet said to do the limited turnout, leg sweating, and ride walking for a monthāand that we would then reintroduce trotting and see where he is at the end of that month. Weāll be doing a recheck when this vet comes though Indiana again in the first part of November.
So would you guys continue to do hand walking or ride walking even if heās out in his regular paddock, walking about on his own? Or would you guys just say that heās likely getting enough walking done on his own? Thanks.[/QUOTE]
Under the circumstances you describe, I would not do the walk rides. I think that combined with the walking he does on his own might be too much. When you are ready start back with him under tack, Iād start with walking rides and go up from there. Thatās just me. Iām not a vet, but Iāve thought through what I would do in this situation in case my horse ever reinjures.
[QUOTE=Dressage.For.Life.;7191472]
Thanks everyoneāI will be checking in with his vetāI just couldnāt wait to check in with him because my horse was progressively acting worse one evening. I appreciate hearing about your experiences with horses such as mineāthat really helps.
Tonight, I am going to bring him into his stall (he is fine when physically in his stall, and we bring the mini in to keep him company) and sweat his leg. Then weāll try turning him out in the morningāif he goes out calmly it would be great. Iām just not sure if he will go along with that plan![/QUOTE]
Just rememberā¦if you are paying your bills, you are as important a client as any others the vet serves. Your horse is important to YOU!!! Stand up for him and yourself. Good luck.
Having formerly worked for a vet for many years ā call! Pester! We hate when clients felt they didnāt want to pester, changing an RXd routine was even worse. Those that did āpesterā never thought twice & would call anyways, you arenāt going to change that fact - itās a service industry - call!
I would echo the advice here - call the vet and let him/her know exactly what you are doing. Most likely, the advice given will change (ie. handwalking and walking under saddle?) given the horse is now turned out.
My mare bowed her DDFT and SDFT on left hind and I tried stall rest for her. She lasted all of 14 days - my super sweet, calm as anything mare turned into a rearing, pacing, screaming disaster. I did what you did - chucked her back out in her field (only she does have a pasture-mate). As soon as I did, I called the vet. He wasnāt exactly happy about it, but understood and knew I wasnāt about to drug her. Not the same injury as your boy, but same treatment.
Yeah, I never feel bad about calling the vet back for advice or to go over instructions, etc. I find it useful to have a quick list at hand of questions so I donāt forget all I want to ask. And take notes as we talk. I figure part of what Iām paying for includes this follow up. If not, they will bill me for the consultation (although Iāve only ever had one vet do that).
FWIW, my gelding with a slightly sore/strained suspensory was prescribed full turnout for a month. While yes, the strain needs heal, many vets agree that natural movement is very good for soft tissue.
That said, it was requested that my gelding not be ridden and be kept in a flattish field for the month off. He doesnāt get stalled at all, and does not tolerate stalling well either.
I have s call into the vetās office. I am hopeful that my horse was calm upon going outside this morning and will talk to my BO when I am out to wrap my horseās leg here in a couple hours. Thanks for the additional replies everyone, I appreciate the responses.
I have used Dr. Green on a similar horse but I found it was MUCH better to leave out 24/7 than to put out for part of the day, because when they go out for a few hours they tend to want to trot around a little ā despite pain ā for that first 5 minutes in a ādamn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!ā way. On 24/7, they nurse the sore leg more successfully.
I also am not a big believer in sweating suspensories. WTF is that supposed to do to rebuild ligament material? Sounds like nonsense to me. But I am not a vet so you should listen to yours ā just be sure to ask lots of questions so you understand why he is asking you to sweat it. Off the top of my head I would have a lot of questions as to why that would help. Time off and light movement have fixed the suspensories I have dealt with, but they were fronts which are easier I believe.
I have one exactly like this. Normally on 24/7 turnout, because heās sounder and happier that way. Strained a LF tendon, tried stall rest. That lasted a week. Heās ok in the stall, but HORRIBLE handlingābucking, leaping around trying to take him out hand grazing. Sedatives kinda sorta worked, but I wanted another solution. Opted for half and half. At night he got turned out with a buddy (my 20 year old retired horse), in the morning he came back into a stall. SO MUCH BETTER. He just wanted to graze for a bit or stand in front of the roundbale outside (winter) and never was silly and was back to his gentlemanly self. We did keep him up for really bad icing/muddy weather, he handles a day or two stuck inside just fine.
Lightly aced the first couple days of turnout, then he went out sans drugs, no fireworks. He started walking under saddle again I think 2 mos post injury and came back just fine.
To me it was worth the risk. If I had a horse who was stupid in T.O., I mgiht not have done that, but he is so generally well mannered, especially when itās just him and my retired boyāwas the best option for us.
Good luck!
FordtraktorāI agree with you completely. I am skeptical as to what affect (if any) the sweating has on the suspensory. And I also feel that some movement (as long as itās not out of control insanity) is good for ensuring good healing. With the sweating, is there any chance that it increases blood flow to the area? Iām still skeptical but is this the perceived benefit?
I am still waiting to hear back from my vet. BO said that my horse went out calmly yesterday morning (BO feeds once he is turned out which helps) and he was calmly grazing when I got there in the afternoon. I hand walked him for a few minutes before wrapping his leg last night but it wasnāt for long (10-15 minutes) as I want to talk with his vet more first.
Yeah, I never sweated my horseās leg when he had a suspensory injury. It seems counterproductive to me. I cold hosed, poulticed and wrapped.
About a year ago my horse had a check ligament and high suspensory injury, though it was mostly check ligament related. I was told to put my horse on stall rest for 4 months.
I had him on stall rest for one month and then we kicked his butt outside and gave him a month in the field (he was always quite with his friends) and then started rehabbing. By Feb, the vet came out for their last scan and cleared my boy for regular work, obviously keeping in mind footing and such along the way.
We are now schooling 4ā with no problems. My boy was great on stall rest but found many recent articles that actually suggest turnout instead of stall rest. most ligaments to heal correctly need to be used. Pacing and circling in the stall is worse in my own opinion than quite in the field.
Nothing to add to the above advice, but I wanted to say best wishes for a full recovery! Iāve been there & it isnāt fun. Heāll heal fine & youāll be neurotically scarred for life, like the rest of us. Welcome to the āMy horse makes me nutsā club!
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