Well I forgot to ask the surgeon Dean Richardson important questions like rehab. I got kinda star struck when he called me (can you say horse geek!) He just said to start off with stall rest for 60 days and hand grazing and to keep bandage clean. He did say something about getting him back into work asap after 60 days. My primary vet thought I should be back to training level eventing by mid to late spring so I’m keeping my fingers crossed!
Well it’s been 10 since the surgery and my horse’s left leg is still a bit swollen. Right leg is fine. He is walking fine and has no fever. Should I be concerned at this point or is this normal?
Venture had some swelling at the site of incision, and to this day has very mild thickening at the site (slight scar tissue) that anyone but me doesn’t even notice. Right as he got sutures out and as I transitioned to less wrapping we had swelling (so 10-12 days out). If you look really early in the post you will see details on that part from my experience. Called NC State, and had my local vet look-no infection. NC State thought he might be having a mild reaction to the suture glue internally. He was on a course of antibiotics, we did a week of Surpass and some cold hosing and it resolved. I will say that until about month three he had some mild swelling at incision, but it slowly resolved and remodeled over time.
Good luck on your continued recovery!
I would call your vet just for your peace of mind 
One of my horse’s incisions dehisced so you can still see the scar a little bit but you cannot see the other scar at all.
Echo is continuing to do well!!! Here are some more pictures from our 3rd and last show this year. We did training level 1 and came in 3rd. Probably would’ve won if I would have not screwed up the first 20m circle and turned it into a 19m egg 
LOL!
http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r222/ssilver3722/Echo/chestnutoaks4.jpg
http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r222/ssilver3722/Echo/chestnutoak3.jpg
Thanks for the advice. I actually did ship him down to NB for a checkup and they said the swelling was within normal range. They suggested taking off the bandages and just letting it be for a bit. Thought things should tighten up within a few months. They did ask me to jog him for a few steps which we found that he was two degrees lame on the leg that had the most damage than the jog pre surgery which he was one degree lame. That was a disappointment but they told me that is pretty normal, especially only being two weeks out from the surgery. They thought he should be sound (fingers crossed) by at least the third month. So question, when did you start seeing improvement in soundess? I’m hoping that it is too soon at this point. Good to hear such success stories and hoping that I can add to the thread come spring!
Two weeks out, I would not expect much in the way of soundness. For mine, it took a couple of months and it was over a year before you could not tell she’d been lame unless you looked really, really closely. But she did have a more lengthy recovery period and more complicating issues than most.
I’m back!!
After a major scare in the beginning of August, we dropped back to walking. There was a change of DR (designated rider) and walk proceeded on a daily basis, where before trot 3days a week was all that could be managed.
In the end of September walking up and down (groan) hills was added to the protocol, first every three days then every other day, til the weather and footing went #@%&*%. Length of time increased to 60min of walking but hill work became occasional.
Finally screwed up courage to get an ultrasound. It showed good progress, like almost there.
We are back to trotting, this time in an arena setting. Sound trots had been exhibited at liberty since the end of August, but I wasn’t buying.
So-to all you tearers of hair, keep trudging. Keep your chin up. There’s hope.
Now all I need to do is safely get through the next month.
Just wondering how everyone is doing with their horses and hoping to hear more success stories of soundness. Its been five weeks for me post surgery and we just started daily handwalking last week for five minutes 2x a day with hopes to progressing up to 20 minutes 2x a day by Christmas. His right leg looks great, no indication of a surgery but his left hind has a small swelling right at the site that run lengthwise down the hock. It almost looks like a curb. Just curious if anyone else had something similar early on in rehab? I’m beginning to see that we might not be back to eventing by spring like my vet had hoped for. He thought horse should be sound by the 8 week mark and back to full work by six months. Seems a little optimistic after reading all of your threads.
It takes a lot of patience
About the swelling, ours is just at and below the surgical site. It was explained to me that it was a result of the lesion there being large and tougher than most.
I would check with your vet when you get to 20m of handwalking to see if you can proceed under saddle. I wish we had started earlier.
We have just finished our third day of 15 min a day trots, including 20m circles. We had worked our way week by week from 5min/day, to 10min/day. Just this week we added the circles.
I am resigned to trudging through the winter increasing trot time week by week. I will keep you all posted as I change circle sizes, and if ever I get to canter.:eek::lol: But our recovery was from all I’ve read here atypically slow.
My mare had swelling for a few weeks after surgery and the outside view, even now, shows some thickening even though she’s basically sound. It is not unsightly, just something you’d notice if you were looking for it.
She had a long and complicated recovery, so it’s hard to compare any horse’s prospective return to work to hers; in fact, it does seem that each horse is different. My vet is very much in favor of a long and slow rehab process and he’s pleased with how things have turned out. I did not ride her for 7-8 months and we had a couple of breaks after that for the SI and hock issues, and may be facing another set of injections soon. Another vet I worked with wanted me on her at 3 months post-surgery, but that vet believed she’d never be more than trail-sound, so why not get on and build her strength early? I rode her twice before I realized it was just wrong to ride a horse that lame, and I am glad I went with the long slow approach.
The rehab process is going to be kind of boring, no matter what, but help yourself along by asking at the start of each month, “How is my horse now compared to a month ago?” If you’re working with him/her daily, you may not notice how much (s)he’s improving. My vet also recommends riding on a firm surface like a hard-packed dirt road rather than on “footing” as much as possible. Deep footing is the enemy for these guys!
Thanks Vicarous and Quietann. I live on your success stories! I had another vet look at him today and his comment to me was that in his experience, this surgery does more harm than good and he has never seen a horse come back sound. As I’m typing this, I’m pouring myself a glass of wine. I should know better to get another vet involved but he is well known lameness vet whom I trust and respect. He is also very doom and gloom when it comes to outcomes so I had a feeling that he wasn’t going to say too many positive things. In any case, I do believe a slow and steady approach is the way to go. I’ve started to keep a weekly journal trying to detail what I see so I can look back and start to see progress. I do have a date in my mind that if he does not get better, I will bring him home and do benign neglect and not even look at him for a year. I really hope I made the right decison. It is so tough for me to see him locked in a stall almost 24 hours a day.
Sounds too much like the vet who wanted me on my horse early. That vet had done chiro work on her every couple of months for about a year and a half at that point, and on first meeting her pointed out everything wrong with her leg conformation and told me I should not expect her to stay sound for more than a year or two.
Another vet I talked to after her surgery, an old-time track vet who comes to our barn occasionally, thought the whole surgery was bunk and told me that if my horse got better, it would be because she was having time off, not because I’d had the surgery done.
What I have, at this point, is a basically sound horse with poor leg conformation and a little “slipperiness” in the back end. Would she hold up to 3rd level and up dressage? No. But she is great for what I want to do.
It sounds like you’re really keeping a good attitude – and if it does come down to tossing your horse out in a field for a year, don’t criticize yourself. That’s where I was around February or so… ready to send her out to pasture board and try to find another horse to lease.
I’ve kept a journal as well. My horse had significant injuries to both hind suspensories that had likely been there for some time and nobody knew about it. After surgery and PRP the tears are totally healed and the suspensories look almost normal. I used my gut instincts a lot with his rehab and did a methodical approach to everything. He is now jumping around 2" courses and is LOVING it.
2 weeks ago I did the alcohol hock fusion because his hocks were still bothering him. He then developed cellulitis from a cut on one of his hind legs so it has pretty much been a nightmare but that has nothing to do with the suspensories I am getting back on him tomorrow I believe, and will do a shorter version of rehab as he is already in good shape. The hock fusion injections were a non-event for the most part… he is just a dingbat and likes to cut himself in his stall! ugh!
Hope everyone’s horses are doing well!
About the surgical naysayers
I have a horse that is trotting sound for 15-18 min a day, and doing 20m circles as part of that 15-18 min.
This is a horse that was turn out for a year, and then on stall rest a year (long story). Both of which did nothing, except make recovery time longer. Recovery has not been without bumps in the road. And I’m not sure when I’ll figure I’m all done. And I’ll chew nails, and go grayer as we, I hope, continue to add min to our protocol.
Those horses who had a quick diagnosis and early surgery lost less time and fitness, everywhere.
So, IMHO those who come up with these highly negative comments, are exhibiting severe cases of sour grapes. Because in many cases the surgery involved is not that different from carpal tunnel surgery in humans. Look ma, no more tingly fingers, and numb hands!
So ignore the negatives!!!
TOTALLY AGREE VICARIOUS
Thanks guys! I know that either way, I’m fine with the outcome. I’ve kinda made peace with the fact that if he comes back, its a bonus for me. Glad to hear the great updates and please keep them coming as you hit the milestones. It gives me great hope.
My vet pushed me to go directly to surgery as soon as the diagnosis was made; he said that rest alone rarely did the trick, in his experience. of course, mine had had that bad suspensory for months if not years, which may explain why she’s 95% back as opposed to 100%.
kiwifruit-In the scheme of things 5 weeks is early. I never considered jogging for soundness at that point. We never jogged until turnout time, when the jog was offered at liberty. And our turn out was way behind if you read back.
quietanne- Hind sight is a PITN, I too am sure that there was a problem lurking long, long, before the unavoidably obvious lameness appeared. This with a horse who won many firsts in dressage. How do they do it???
Hey guys!
On the recovery front, I have a small brag. Venture won last week at his first schooling event post surgery at Jumping Branch farm in Aiken. Here’s a video of us hopping some tiny little jumps, http://vimeo.com/32735109. We have a CT this weekend and another tadpole event the following weekend. He is 1 year, 3 months post surgery.
We did a long slow working rehab if that makes sense. So he had 3 months stall rest with progressive hand walk, 2 more months of small paddock rest, and then a very long and slow trail riding walk/trot progression. I basically trotted 5-6 times a week in straight lines building up time to 1 hour for 5 months, then addeded canter SLOWLY and did not start jumping until he was 1 year post surgery. I still only jump about 2 times a week, my dressage coach and I are caeful about too much circling and turns, and I do a TON of trail ride conditioning in between.
On the long term soundness front. Well, yes my horse like Quietanne’s is a bit straighter in the hocks. He has sloping pasterns front and back. He will not be a prelim horse, but he never was going to be! We inject and give pentosan to keep him comfy. Will he stay sound forever, gosh who knows, but I have also in my life had an 8 year old die of colic, lost a foal once a month before he was due, etc. If you own horses long enough you will win some and lose some. That said, I have been very careful in the hopes that he will stay as sound as he can for as long as he can, he is a homebred baby so I do not take his health at all lightly. I am a CHRONIC worrier, so you better believe I watch those legs, use ice, long warmups and supplement him, but I will tell you he acted happier and more comfortable last weekend at the show than he ever was pre-surgery.
Fingers eternally crossed, and wish you all the best of luck, last year the waiting process was one of the hardest times in my life.
Dbamford- your horse is LOVELY and so is your riding! 
