[QUOTE=Dubarry;6306139]
Not sound :([/QUOTE]
Don’t give up hope yet, my horse didn’t feel sound when I first started trotting him but it was lack of muscling from being on stall rest. He’s been sound ever since about a week or two into the trotting.
Dubarry, as Samantha said, when they start trotting they’re still out of shape. Mine was certainly not trotting up evenly when I first started with her, and it took a long time. Even now (2+ years post-surgery) she steps ever so slightly short on her left hind, but I mean like an inch short and most people wouldn’t notice it (including judges, dressage judges anyway.)
We had our second schooling show on Sunday, and while she was naughty, we got through the test (T2) with no major explosions. Slideshow with captions is here.
Today’s accomplishments: nice counter canter on the right lead (the left was dicey), and walking through numerous puddles, up to 40 feet long, with NO DRAMA.
She’s probably about ready for injections again, so the vet will be out next week.
I am gutted and need to vent. After 9 months of the most carefull to the letter rehab for my mares front suspensory injury I took her for a “routine” scan today. Up to now all scans have shown good mprovement. She trotted up sound - as expected - but the scan showed a new injury on the prevous uninjured lateral branch and the beginnng of a re-injury on the medial. Ths tme its an actual hole(no holes previously but thckening and fibre disruption). Didnt look an awfully big hole but WHY??? I suspect the adhesions which caused problems a couple of months ago may have somethng to do with it. Vet was muttering about “babies”(for the horse!!) or quiet once a week hack:no:They have an orthopedic specialist comng on Sat and I have an appointment then to discuss thngs/treatments/options. Did ask about PRP as we now have an actual hole to inject into but Im beginning to wonder whether theres much point unless we can identify the cause. Going to ask for an internal/breeding scan also on Sat to help consider options.
Suppose if hadnt taken her today and contnued to work her we would have had a catastrophc breakdown eventually so thats the only positive about this atm. And theres a LITTLE bt of money and three months left on the insurance.
Thanks for reading the miserable moan!!
Sorry Moosie. I hate to have setbacks. Hope all is well by the time I post this.
As for me, I might have a setback as well. The boarding facility that has been great up to this point dropped the ball big time when I was gone for the weekend. They turned my guy out in a large field without sedation and he ran himself silly. Argh. After I left I note and explicit instructions on what to do it comes down to one little mishap. He looks sore up front so I’m hoping that he is just foot sore since he does have really bad front feet (what else can go wrong???) We are at 7 months post op and hoping that he didn’t damage anything. Vet comes out today to give me the news. Please send jingles. I really need it. I just don’t need this setback along with personal stuff going on I think I’m going to have a meltdown.
Fingers crossed for good outcomes for both of you- kiwifruit and moosie.
BIG Update!
Had the vet out Thursday. He did a thorough examination of Feronia, and said she’ll need hock injections “sometime this summer,” told me to keep doing what we’re doing (5-6 rides per week, one by a pro, trail riding, varied work), and … gave her the Green Light for small jumps!
On Saturday, in my weekly lesson with the jumpers trainer (who does lots of pole work with us), we JUMPED. And OMG, it Made. The. Mare’s. Day 
OK, it was tiny crossrail with trot poles set up in front. And we jumped it maybe 6 times. And we’ll max out, if we’re lucky, at 18 inch crossrails in an arena (she gets wayyyyyyy too hot cross-country for me.) But in the mare’s perfect world, she’d be sound and she’d be a Jumper, in the “Get Outta My Way, we’re Jumping!” mold.
The first time was pretty funny as she trotted in and suddenly pricked her ears, nearly stopped as if she was completely surprised that there was a JUMP there, and then launched herself and cleared the tiny crossrail by about 2 1/2 feet. Our subsequent efforts were less silly.
I never jumped her much, but she was much as I remember, eager, in tune, a bit hot, and very pleased with herself. The trainer says her form is fantastic (mine needs some work but is basically safe for the tiny stuff.)
We are both thrilled
- pretty bad. They say with sufficient time she may be ok for steady hacking (NOT her idea of fun!!!). Dont even want to do any treatment so I suspect they think - theres no point and would rather let nature do its thing. She LOOKS sound!!! Now confined to small corrall by day with some “doopy juice” until shes accepted the prison routine again.I was told to re-scan in 3 months and turnout then in small paddock Going to vets on 7th June to be AI ed (frozen semen). Maybe if she can have a foal… but really I just want a clone of HER:sadsmile:
Moosie- I had a horse that reinjured himself. I started the long slow process again, and eventually had many years of flat work with him. We did walk seemingly forever.
So don’t get too entirely frustrated. Take a deep breath.
Warmbloods Today Magazine
Has anyone a copy of the May/June issue.
There was an article in it on Suspensory Injuries in Sport Horses. I meant to tear it out, and didn’t.
Very useful article.
thank you Vicarious!! it seems as the leg simply hasnt stood up to the rehab process (not helped, no doubt, by her behaviour at times). theres also now a “unhappy looking” area on the superficial tendon:cry (sounds like “pack of cards” syndrome to me) Ive confined her to the little corrall which Im moving each day, picking her loads of grass as well and doing what I can to help her feel that life is half ok. She had just chilled out in the field with her friend and was sooo happy up to now. :sadsmile:So if she gets in foal and holds etc it will be 18 months from now when I will be thinking of trying again.
If she doesnt take/hold etc I will have to re-think how to do things. According to the vet she will be ready to AI on 7th June (was internalled on Sat and at least everything in that dept SEEMS to be good)Its not really frustration I feel as almost grief and mega guilt…though I thought I was doing everything right. They arent machines!!!iI feel Ive let her down big time as well and failed her.Prob sounds stupid to some people but thats what I feel.
you have a PM
Hey guys just curious if you’ve had setbacks late in the rehab? I’m 10 months in, started to canter and my guy came up sore in the left hind. I’ve pulled him from turnout and stall rested till vet comes out to see what is going on. I’m frustrated! Maybe I expected too much too soon? I’m hoping it’s his hocks since he did have DJD prior to our suspensory issues. I’m almost thinking it might be SI as well? Argh! I guess I’ll wait to see what ultrasound says. Anyone else have a similar setback? Thoughts?
[QUOTE=kiwifruit;6464570]
Hey guys just curious if you’ve had setbacks late in the rehab? I’m 10 months in, started to canter and my guy came up sore in the left hind. I’ve pulled him from turnout and stall rested till vet comes out to see what is going on. I’m frustrated! Maybe I expected too much too soon? I’m hoping it’s his hocks since he did have DJD prior to our suspensory issues. I’m almost thinking it might be SI as well? Argh! I guess I’ll wait to see what ultrasound says. Anyone else have a similar setback? Thoughts?[/QUOTE]
When I brought my older horse back from a suspensory he needed 3 coffin joint injection within a few months of each other to get him comfy again. He had been gettign joint injections for a few years already but only once a year. But standing around for so long (he really didn’t have any stall rest unless the paddocks were muddy or something, but was on stall/small paddock board) made his joints mad. After those 3 injections he went back to 1-2 injections a year.
Another horse that had an undiagnosed issue (most likely soft tissue but super mild and didn’t ultrasound, x-ray was clean), he had a couple bouts of little things. After we started jumping, he was doing fine, felt fine, but was a bit bucky and we weren’t sure if that was due to hyperness/excitement from coming back, or if he felt sore upon landing and that’s why he bucked. Vet came out and when he flexed him (pretty hard) he was lame on the same leg he had his initial injury on. Luckily it blocked to his hoof, so the vet thought is was the coffin joint. But instead of just inject it he wanted to try 5 days of bute and light riding. He was also having back pain, which I thought was due to the saddle, but after switching saddles, and the 5 days (actually was a week and a half due to me going away) of light riding his back felt no better. We had already started him on legend (IV I think) a few weeks earlier. He came back totally sound. Then a monthish later we had worked him quite hard for a few days to finally try to resolve this bad attitude he had had since coming back (he is not a horse with a bad attitude but after his injury he for some reason had one). Working him really hard for a few days finally pretty much halted his bad attitude. A couple days later unfortunately we had torrential rain and the horses were stuck inside for 5 days due to paddocks being complete mud and nasty. We continued to work him good works with some jumping, then on one day he came up VERY lame on the same leg as before. Lasted about 1/3 around the ring then he felt much better, though lunging him I could see he wasn’t as long strided and smooth as usual. I was devastated thinking he had reinjured and we made an appointment with the vet (couldn’t get it for a week). Kept him in work cause if he was gonna be lame we needed him to be lame enough for the vet to see. Well by the time the vet saw him (they had been able to be turned out again for a few days), not only was he not lame, but the vet said he looked better than ever. We took it a bit easy on him for a couple weeks. It’s been probably 6 weeks since then and we have continued to jump him, and prepare him for a show and he hasn’t taken another off step. I think that he was a bit sore in his coffins, but now the legend has really taken effect and he feels great. His back is also nearly 100% unsore now. MAYBE a tiny bit left over on his right side if I really curry it hard but virtually completely gone of pain.
Thanks Elislove for your story. The people at the barn say he is mildly off when they watch him go and thought it was overkill of me to stop exercise and turnout till vet comes. I’m in the other camp of thought of what if he reinjured his tendon? Any more exercise and turnout could result in more of a setback or worse permanent injury. I hate self doubt!
Yup, it’s hard to say.
If you give him time off and he is sound for the vet, then you don’t know what it was or how you should continue. It could just keep coming back when you work, then you stop working, wait for the vet, sound for the vet. Work again, lame, stop working, sound for vet, ect.
But if it is the tendon, you don’t want to injure it further, so you don’t want to keep working it.
It’s a hard call.
Just more of an update I had my horse worked on by a Myofacial release specialist today. I had the appointment set up prior to his lameness last week. He found him to be very reactive to the sacroiliac area as well as the ribs on the left side. So much that when he tried to work on his ribs he tried to rear up to get away from him. He has never done this before! He thinks it is higher up and once we see vet Friday and rule out anything on the ultrasound go back to lots of trot and cavaletti work to get him thru this. I decided to turn him back out in a small paddock while I wait for the vet and handwalk. I could use lots of jingles the next few days while I wait!
Kiwifruit- I think you are wise to back off and wait for the vet. Yes, your horse may appear sound, but an ultrasound will set your mind at ease. Or else!
There may be other issues, but deal with this one first!!
Well ultrasound did show a little edema in the left suspensory. I did ask way too much, too fast. Luckily vet said it was very minor and told us to go back to trotting only for a month. He is actually 9 months post surgery and vet told me at least a full year to maybe even two when he said, “I won’t have to think about it anymore” I was so hoping to get the fall season in with him. Looks like I’ll have to wait till spring. He found him to be a bit back sore as well so we are now on a course of Roboxan. When did all of you really start serious work with your horses post surgery? And when did you start to add jumping? I’m sure every horse is different but my biggest fear is that he won’t come back at all to hard work. I guess it’s up to time now but I am so impatient especially when everyone at the barn is out and about!
Gosh it is SO hard to be the only one stuck at the barn not doing anything except hand walking… walking under tack… trotting for 15 minutes, etc. I went to all the horse shows with my friends and it was so hard for me even though I was helping and happy for them.
My horse had an amazing rehab (knock on wood) and we were back 100% one year later. In fact, I tried to do my first HT exactly one year from the date of his surgery but some naughty behavior prevented it. He is now competing at the Novice level with a professional and I am aiming for a BN at Difficult Run in a couple of weeks.
I’m so sorry to hear about your setback Kiwifruit 
That just plain sucks.
Hi guys, its been awhile since I posted. Had a busy spring/early summer with personal stuff and horsey. Good to hear lots of other successes, jingles for anyone with setbacks or just joining the club.
Venture is doing very well now almost 2yrs out. I have to say we took it pretty easy 1st year (I didn’t jump until late the first year) with enormous quantities of trot in straight lines, but now (knock on large amounts of wood) he is doing great. Actually just had his maintenance hock injections yesterday, but he has been doing better dressage and jumping than pre-surgery by margins. I think I will always baby that left hind pre and post ride, and I will randomly make myself cross-eyed thinking that I see some issue (I am a known horsey hypochondriac though). But he works as hard as he did before surgery. I stay on top of his hocks (2x per year injections) as I was told that he may have injured himself compensating (even though his arthritis is pretty minor), give him pentosan every 3 weeks, and will surpass after a long weekend showing or a hard clinic.
If anyone is interested here is a link to a schooling HT we did a little bit back with a friend before it got so blazing hot, (For the love of god don’t look at my equitation).
Kiwifruit, so sorry to hear about your setback. Take a deep breath and just ramp down slightly. Venture and I sure had our moments of setbacks (as you can tell from my hysterical moments early in the thread) and lots of tears within first year.
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