YES!!
Very nice ride, with some nice changes in there.
At this time of year what a terrible place to be. 
Dbamford, thatās such a cool video, and love the horse. If I wasnāt prohibited from jumping, Feronia and I might be hopping over a few tiny Xās from time to time. (Especially since my barn now has a trainer whoās very good at getting the bat-out-of-h*ll jumpers to slow down already!)
sorry guys, another question. The surgeon at New Bolton reviewed the ultrasound at five weeks and was disappointed in the findings. Said that a lot of scar tissue is being laid down in both legs. Iām wondering if this is a result of strict stall rest instead of the standard protocol of handwalking right after the surgery. Anyway his suggestion was an injection of a short term steriod into the site to see if we can work thru the scar tissue and try to get the swelling down. I noticed in some of your post that some of you used Surpass on the site? Was that to reduce swelling?
Iām far from an expert on this but early on in this thread I remember a discussion about just that, handwalking sufficiently to encourage the tendon fibers to go the right way, and to prevent adhesions.
However despite handwalking beginning at two weeks, we appear to have significant thickening in the tendon.
I did not attempt to encourage any trotting. I was afraid to look.
Because of footing and weather, turnout was delayed, but when we got there, in a round pen at 6mo post-op, I was relieved to see a sound trot, which lasted until the first awful melt down.
Thatās when we started walking under saddle. That was months ago.
So now 4 weeks into trotting, Iām still walking on eggshells.
Surpass is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory. Sort alike having ābuteā absorbed through the skin. Instead of giving the whole horse ābuteā, you confine it to the area of concern. But be not confused-overdosing is still toxic.
kiwifruit, itās tough to be second-guessing, isnāt it? I was surprised that your horse was put on stall rest with no handwalking. I think dbamford is right ā that short handwalks help heal the ligament by getting the fibers growing in the correct direction.
My girl had a rehab regime similar to dbamfordās horse, and ended up with a thicker ligament on her bad leg, but she is sound for my purposes, and someone would really have to be looking to find the thickening.
Honestly, I think that a lot of the variability reported on this thread has as much to do with the variability in the original INJURIES as in very minor variations in our rehab protocols. How long the injury had been there, how large/severe it was, etc.
My horse (who had surgery done literally as soon as we could schedule it after detecting the lameness) had 30 days in the stall before the handwalking phase.
His recovery was fabulous ā no swelling, no thickening, sound fairly early out and never looked back.
I have a friend who had same surgery done on similar injury (in terms of severity, and in terms of going straight to surgery) by same surgeon within a week of mine. She followed a slightly different rehab protocol. Had also a very very good outcome.
Donāt get too wrapped up in second guessing what youāve done, if possible ā the āregularsā on this thread have all gotten the best vet advice they could and followed instructions and been super careful. My surgeon said that many times these injuries can creep up on the horses and be there long before any lameness is manifest.
Thanks Asterix for the reassurance. Just hoping that I made the righ decision in the end. Vet injected swelling with a steriod and horse is much better. Just hope we can get it under control. Iām going to ask about either sweating it or perhaps using Surpass for a few weeks to see if we can limit the swelling. It seems that the inflammation is putting pressure on the suspensory so if I can get that under control, things will be good. We are also doing PRP today. Vet thought it would help and it is the last day of my claim so why not try to fit it in? Insurance hates me by now and will problably drop me in the spring. Those who had PRP in conjunction with the surgery, did you feel it was helpful?
Whoa! Kiwi! Do ask about Surpass, donāt use it without an OK.
We had stem cell at the time of the surgery. Did it help? Who knows? We had a major meltdown before any serious rehab could start which probably destroyed any beneficial effects that pile of$$$$$ cost.
Now the long slow way, more than a year after surgery we are slowly feeling our way through trot rehab. Getting grayer and older by the day.
Yes! Some have made it far quicker, but they have been patient, and patience is the most important thing to hang onto. Not that I wasnāt, I just had a different horse, and a different pre-op disaster to deal with.
I realize that at this point in time you, like me wish you had an ultrasound machine in your back pocket and could have an instant read out of āwhere things are nowā, but we donāt. So we go slow, and patiently.
Wish I could help more!
kiwifruit, sorry you guys are having some issues! Venture did have some swelling at the incision site right after taking off the monster wrapāabout 10-12 days post surgery and it stayed there for about 3 months. It DID however, gradually reduce during that time. NC State thought he might be having a reaction to the internal stitches dissolving, but just in case we also did a round of antibiotics. I cold hosed everyday, never slowed down my handwalking, and we used Surpass. But I was not using any more bute at that time, just calming drugs and Surpass. I did the Surpass for about two weeks. It did reduce quite a bit, but he did keep a bit of thickening, that to this day is ever so slightly visible (by me, no one else can tell and the vet thinks his leg looks like he never had surgery). Venture is one of those that would swell from a paper cut, so not surprised that he had some issues. I also used Back on Track wraps after the first two months (once incision was well healed) for about two more months overnight. Not sure if it did anything other than make me feel like I was doing something. Agree with Asterixāthere are most likely many paths to recovery, and so many paths to how we all got here (they still have no idea if Ventureās was a longer term issue). And, Venture actually had THREE surgeriesāthe high hind suspensory fasciotomy/neurectomy, tenoscopy for a windpuff on same leg from compensating, and cutting of his annular ligament which was restricting that windpuff. Soā¦we were quite unique, unfortunately. We did not do stem cell or prp as NC State never even mentioned it at the time, so not sure if it will definatively help or not since no personal experience.
Best of luck, always here for you!
Update on my horseās HOCK FUSION with grain alcohol- for those of you whose horses also have hock pain and you are considering it.
After a nasty bout of cellulitis in one of the hind legs right after the injections, we are finally back in work. He feels amazingā¦ Much more push from behind and willingness to go forward. I donāt know if that is from the cold or feeling better but whatever it is I am LOVING it! 
My barn owner has also noticed a difference in his stall- we think he is actually picking his feet up now instead of dragging his toes around the stall and churning it up. Overall I am very pleased that I elected to do this and am happy to answer any questions I am able to if anyone has any.
Samantha37, Iāll play. Venture definitely is āhocky.ā We are still on a pretty early maintenance plan of injections once a year, and we just started pentosan (did loading and now monthly). It helps but we are most likely delaying the inevitable. How old is your horse, what made you decide to try the alcohol injections? Recovery time, etc? I will most likely hold off a few more years, but want to know all my options should we not be able to maintain comfort with āregularā means.
Just an update on my horse. I got the PRP done with just five hours to spare before my insurance claim closed. They were not happy and again are requiring me to jump thru hoops. Same company that said the N word (neurectomy) is a dirty word and would not pay for the procedure even though it is in the same area as the faciotomy. Oh well. Live and learn. We also injected the swelling with a short term steroid and that helped a lot. I did ask about Surpass and vet said we could try it although he said the best results are right away, not waiting. Iāve used it for two days now along with a standing bandage and I do see some results.
Question for the thread. We are now up to 20 minutes twice a day of handwalking and now approaching the 60 day mark post surgery. According to my instruction, I can now do small turnout (paddock) for an hour a day. This was before I got the PRP done so Iām thinking I should continue another month of handwalking and stall rest? Also what are you guys using for drugs for turnout? Unfortunately the place that I board at is not very rehab friendly. They will do the bare minimum like give drugs or take off a sagging bandage but that is it. Right now he is getting Ace tabs every morning and afternoon before handwalking. My worst nightmare is that they give him the ace, he blows thru it and starts to run in small paddock before they even really notice it. It there some kinda drug that I can give him to keep him really mellow for a couple of weeks while he gets use to turnout again? Of course I would run this by my vet but just trying to get an idea on how to manage his turnout if I canāt be there to watch. Damn stupid job!
[QUOTE=dbamford;6029850]
Samantha37, Iāll play. Venture definitely is āhocky.ā We are still on a pretty early maintenance plan of injections once a year, and we just started pentosan (did loading and now monthly). It helps but we are most likely delaying the inevitable. How old is your horse, what made you decide to try the alcohol injections? Recovery time, etc? I will most likely hold off a few more years, but want to know all my options should we not be able to maintain comfort with āregularā means.[/QUOTE]
My horse has been on Pentosan since August. I LOVE it and I think it really helps overall. I decided to do it because the injections we did in July lasted less than 2 months 
My insurance was running out and since they paid for it, I went ahead and did it when I did.
My horse is 8 years old. He had 2 weeks off and now is back in full work (well, coming back into full work after I needed a vacation!). He feels incredible. I didnāt realize I would notice this much of a difference! He used to drag his toes which we just attributed to laziness but now there is no more toe dragging. My barn owner commented that his stall is a lot cleaner and we suspect it is because he is actually picking up his feet now. His gaits feel more springy and he is much more forward. Again, we always just thought he was really lazy (which he is, but not that bad) and now I feel kind of bad that I let it go this long!
Overall Iām happy with my decision. If we hadnāt battled cellulitis right afterwards (from a totally unrelated cut) then Iām sure he would be back in full training at the level we were at.
Samantha37, Thanks for the info. Still a few questions. What did his xrays look like prior, were they just about fused? What was his behavior like? Did the process seem painful (I have heard that it is supposed to be, but hey so is surgery!). And, have you had follow-up xrays confirming that they are fused? Just curious on this as I have heard a lot of good and bad on the alcohol fusion. NC State actually said they recommended the drilling and mechanical fusing when I was up there a year ago for Ventureās surgery when I asked them about the long term options should his hocks get too bad.
Kiwifruit, Venture was on resurpine and then Fluphenazine. Both of which have some scary symptoms if not administered properly. I think folks on here have used both Ace and the longer term ones, but I donāt think you can use both together. With Resurpine Venture was great for about 14 days, and then it was like all of the sudden one day it wore off --BAM-- and he would go balistic. Plus he peed a TON on it and it made his sheath swell so it made me more nervous. I had much better luck with Fluphenazine, no side effects and no all of the sudden AWAKE. You might get away with just giving Ace about 1/2 hour before turnout while he is still on just an hour turnout, and going to a longer acting one once he is on longer turnout. There are lots of options, and lots of opinions.
sigh guess I can start joining in this diary - a friend suggested this forum to help encourage me a little bit. My horse is scheduled for a fasciotomy and nuerectomy next month for high hind suspensory. After reading everyone elseās stories and progress, I feel a little better however still slightly depressed. Hello new friends!
Sorry to have you join us Dubarry There is hope, yet!
dbamford- His x-rays showed significant changes and narrowing/collapse of the channels (I think thatās the correct term- they were smooshing together already) and he was just had that weird hocky gait. Like I said, he had a toe drag and was always hard to get in front of the leg. He never seemed to be in any pain- like no ear pinning, kicking out, etc. Always seemed to be happy enough but now I really have noticed a difference in his demeanor.
There didnāt appear to be much pain associated with the injections themselves but 24 hours later when he got cellulitis of the RH there was significant pain. But the LH has never bothered him so we really are just attributing it to the cellulitis (he cut his lower leg the day after the injections and it just was a mess). I havenāt had him rex-rayed yet because it has only been about a month but I believe he is finally 100% without that hocky gait. My coach got on him and said he felt great to her as well. The toe dragging has been a huge indicator for me.
I just really didnāt want to have to inject him as often as it was going to take to keep him comfortable. He is so young and has so much time ahead of him for me not to try this to keep him sound.
My vet said they do the alcohol fusing on several horses per month and have had a great success rate. I would not have done the surgery because I donāt want him under anesthesia again if possible and I know it would be another hard recovery. I would retire him if this didnāt/doesnāt work but we are all very hopeful that this is finally be it for this craptastic year! 
Dubarry, sorry you have to join us, but you are among friends!
Dubarry, youāre joining a very supportive group.
Any equine surgery is tough on the owner/caregiver, and having support is sooo useful.
The veterinarians are seldom the ones in the trenches, doing the day to day wrapping and rewrapping, medicating, and hand walking.
So, if you start with this thread at the beginning, youāll find a lot of variation in our journeys but that most of us sooner or later get an improvement over the initial problem.
I for one am pleased to announce that we are up to 25 min a day of trot work, and look forward to increasing that time.
In the meantime, I hope you all have peaceful, productive Holidays, and continue your progress into the New Year.
I would talk with your vetā¦Iāve never turned out before they were cantering under saddle. I havenāt had one do the surgery though. I do have two currently with suspensory injuries āand have had to re-hab several from other injuries.
One is in his hind leg. Chronic it looks like. He is not a likely candidate for the surgery as he doesnāt have a lot of swellingā¦just lost the elasticity in his suspensory. His days eventing are probably done (at age 7). We did shockwave with him and stall rest. He was walking 50 minutes. We have just started trotting so we backed the walking down to 30 minutes and will add a minute of trot every 3 days. Then I think we start to add a minute of canter every three days after he is trotting 20 minutes. I will not be turning him out until he is doing 3-3 minute canters.
Heās being a good boy with just Ace to ride.
Other boy did a VERY mild suspensory up front. No lesion, just mild inflammation. We did PRP. He was dangerous to walk (even drugged) so has been sent off to a rehab place. He is trotting 15 minutes on their large walker. We have taking probably 2x as long with his rehab and they will turn him out before we sit on that bugger. So he will get turned out before cantering undersaddle but only because of how dangerous he isā¦and because of that fact, we spent a LOT longer walking and trotting. If I could have safely ridden him insteadā¦we would have but even drugged, he wasnāt remotely safe and I didnāt want him to get loose and re-injure himself.
Good luck with your boy but Iād be really surprised if you should be turning him out before he is at least trotting. I guess if he is dead quietā¦but Iāve never owned such a horse.
I will sayā¦best $$$ Iāve ever spent was sending my horse to a professional re-hab facility. It costs a lotā¦but he is happy and looks fantastic. Hellā¦his stall is so nice that I would sleep in it! They know what they are doing and I donāt have to worry. If your farm is NOT rehab friendlyā¦Iād strongly suggest you consider sending your horse to someplace that is for the next couple of monthsā¦and give him the best chance to come back fullyā¦and you will not need to stress.
