Recovery / rehab protocol after freeze firing?

[purpsgiraffe]

Hi all.

I’m new to these forums so please bear with me if there is anything glaringly stupid about this post.

I have a 6 year old, 18hh (yes, really) OTTB gelding. He came to me with a very very weak, toe-dragging left hind, due to an old curb on that limb which was not properly rehabbed (an injury sustained on the track). With targeted exercise and IRAP he has made huge improvements over the last year or so, but we have kind of reached a point of diminishing returns with that approach. The horse is still weak and lazy with his left hind, and still has occasional flare-ups in his curb that take him out of work for 2-3 weeks.

My vet, after talking with some other vets who were experienced with curbs, suggested I try freeze-firing it… apparently that is one of the only treatment options for long plantar ligament strains. So, he had the procedure done on Friday (5 days ago). He has been walking normally since Saturday, and there is very little swelling (almost not even discernible). No sensitivity on palpation.

My question is this: what exactly should his recovery protocol be for something like this? The vet who did the procedure gave me instructions for an acute case (as in, a horse being freeze fired right after the initial injury) but wasn’t sure what to tell me for my horse as his is a chronic case. My own vet suggested 3 weeks off followed by a 6 week return to normal work, but by his own admission he is not super familiar with the procedure.

Anyone out there have experience with a similar situation? Any help or information would be very much appreciated

Thanks in advance!

[keysfins]

Look at post #13 in this thread:

http://www.chronofhorse.com/forum/showthread.php?470431-Freeze-firing

Also, just below the reply box on your current thread here, you’ll see a list of similar threads related to freeze firing, from previous dates. You might peruse those to get an idea of what to expect.

If you can, it might be helpful for others if you post some updates as your horse recovers, and how the recovery progresses. That way, your thread will add info, like the related threads below.

[keysfins]

Another similar thread with several posts:

http://www.chronofhorse.com/forum/showthread.php?412239-Tell-me-about-pin-firing-freeze-firing

[purpsgiraffe]

[QUOTE=keysfins;8834438]
Look at post #13 in this thread:

http://www.chronofhorse.com/forum/showthread.php?470431-Freeze-firing

Also, just below the reply box on your current thread here, you’ll see a list of similar threads related to freeze firing, from previous dates. You might peruse those to get an idea of what to expect.

If you can, it might be helpful for others if you post some updates as your horse recovers, and how the recovery progresses. That way, your thread will add info, like the related threads below. :)[/QUOTE]

Thanks for the response I had actually already looked at both of those threads before I posted this, but neither of them were exactly what I was looking for because:

1. They mostly contain information about pin-firing (not freeze-firing).
2. They mostly refer to acute cases, where the horse sustained the injury shortly before the procedure. My guy’s curb was old and healed when it was freeze-fired (albeit not healed well).

I’m thinking that pin-firing would necessitate a longer and more difficult recovery period than freeze-firing. My horse seems to be completely comfortable and there are no open wounds or swollen areas on the leg that was treated. At this point I’m thinking I might just go ahead and start easing him very slowly back into work and see if he gets better or worse…

[purpsgiraffe]

Anyone?

[TheHunterKid90]

I’ll bite. I had a nerve freeze fired on a mare a few months ago. Recovery was about two weeks. Kept the freeze marks packed with furasone because they eventually turn into burns that discharge a little. Wrapped in gauze, vet wrap and then a standing bandage over top. Leg can get some fill in it so eventually we sweat that leg down with a furasone, dmso, dex combo. No complications, easy and we are back to full work.

[NancyM]

Freeze firing works well on curbs, and splints. Recovery is quick, and easy. No problems expected. Light work can resume within a few days.

We had a boarder (we winter TBs off the track, send them back into training in the spring) here a few years ago, came in with a fresh curb (about a month old when I saw it). I suggested freeze firing at the time, but that was not done. It was a LARGE curb, with substantial lameness. Horse went back into race training the following year, left here sound, but the lameness came back as it re heated in training. THIS time, they freeze fired it, and he came back here the next winter. Problem solved, much reduced in size, and the horse stayed sound racing on it from then on.

As long as it is ONLY the curb that is your horse’s problem, good prognosis for success with the decisions you have made for him.