My horse just had pastern arthrodesis surgery two weeks ago. All is going well so far. Trying to figure out whether to take him back to our previous boarding facility or put him in a rehab program. Leaning towards the latter because I think he would get more supervision and care while he’s on 3-4 months of stall rest. Any experience/advice with rehab programs versus bring your horse home to your regular facility?
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I think a lot depends on the particular horse as well as the care and facilities available and their setup/layout at the boarding barn. And I think as the owner you have to do more and be available more when the horse is at your boarding barn, unless you have a trainer or other professional there who is capable and available to take on some of the annoying things for you…potentially more supervision, periodic short hand walks, being there for other therapies or to administer meds or supplements, etc. Even if the horse would do ok at the boarding barn, if it’s not staffed right for rehab (including owner schedule), then a rehab barn can be very helpful.
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I think I would choose a rehab facility. My TBs were very sensitive and set in their ways and didn’t adjust well to change in their home environments. Stall rest at home was difficult, with friends going out to pasture without them. One of my mares would work herself into a nervous colic from the stress, and my gelding would almost take the stall down.
But in a strange environment, not knowing what the routine was, they settled into their new temporary normal much more easily.
Between that and having the extra sets of trained eyes, I think rehab would be better. As said above, YMMV depending on your horse.
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It really depends on your what you and your home barn can reasonably manage and your budget. If you can afford to send him straight to a good rehab facility, then this would be ideal. But if you need to be very strategic about how/when/where to spend your money on this journey, then if you can reasonably manage him on stall rest at your home barn for the first few months, then I would choose to send him to a rehab facility later when he’s actually ready to start an real rehab exercise/fitness program. That will be the most bang for your buck. Otherwise, you’re going to be paying expensive rehab facility premiums for him to sit in a stall there until he’s ready for the next steps.
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I chose rehab facility. Because my barn wasn’t set up for the stall rest, and he’d most likely have tried to tear the barn down when his friends went out. There also wasn’t enough staff to handle the extra work, and I didn’t have the schedule to accommodate 2x daily handwalks. However, an old barn on the other side of the country was perfectly fine rehabbing a suspensory tear on someone else’s horse, so I would’ve been fine keeping him home if we were there.
It also depends on the rehab routine - is it plain stall rest and then back to daily hacks? Or are you looking at multiple handwalks, icing, etc. Is there someone at your barn able to do IM/IV injections for sedatives if necessary (and are they good at it? Even the calmest horse can become a moving target while on extended rest). Do you have a covered ring or indoor, or somewhere like a driveway with good drainage that you can still get horsey out if the weather is crap? Have you asked home barn if they’re willing and able to take him?
And most importantly: does the person in charge understand and respect the vet’s recommendation? The worst thing is a BO who thinks you should just chuck the horse in the field and “let nature heal him” when you’ve chosen the more aggressive route. You don’t want to hear from another boarder that “oh Dobbin looked so good galloping and bucking around his little paddock today! He was at it for hours!”. Ask me how I know.
A good rehab barn will have good eyes and handlers on staff, and sometimes a treadmill or eurocizer (which is super helpful). You won’t have to worry about all the little details as much, and might be able to take a vacation at some point 
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Had a horse kicked on his hock and it took surgery and several months of rehab to get him pasture and light riding sound.
There is a local great rehab facility, they even have a water treadmill.
His attending vet goes by every so often to check on patients.
They did an excellent job and he recovered better than vets ever expected:
https://runningtfarms.com/equine-sports-therapy/
For any long term serious rehab, experts in rehab facilities are worth checking out.
Your vets should know who to recommend.
Thank you for all the responses. I am definitely leaning towards the rehab facility. Its expensive, but my trainer at my normal boarding barn would charge me a $500 monthly fee for rehab anyway so not much of a cost difference. Ultimately I feel my horse would be safer and happier/less bored with all the attention and supervision he will get in rehab - AND I might be be able to go on a vacation without worrying about him every second. The surgery was such a huge thing to put him through, I want to make sure I do everything to give him the best chance of a good outcome
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Another vote for rehab facility. I put my horse in one after a bout of laminitis where she was coming out of 3 weeks in the ICU, along with a lovely skin infection she picked up at the hospital. She needed stall rest with tons of shavings, lots of monitoring, weighed and soaked hay, daily baths to deal with the skin infection, dealing with therapy boots, wrapping every night, etc. And then when she was ready to come off stall rest, they had lots of options in terms of turnout. They were also ready with ace for when she graduated out of the 12x12 paddock into one where she could actually move around a bit, without my having to say anything. It was a huge comfort to know that whatever she needed, she got and without my having to say anything. And vet instructions were followed to the T.
Most boarding barns just aren’t set up for this kind of personalized attention and don’t really have the staff for it. So even with the best of intentions, it’s not always that great.
I went with one that was very small and didn’t advertise - I learned about it through a friend. It was primarily a one person operation and that worked really well for our situation. It was a hike from my house, but totally worth it.
I good rehab facility has lots of options for horses that are even on full stall rest. My cousin is a vet and runs one. Every horse is groomed and does core exercises in the stall daily. They also have vibration plates, bemer and a cold laser. All of these can happen for a horse on full stall rest. Once movement is allowed they do actual PT exercises and use the water treadmill. I also think being a barn full of other stall rest horses is significantly less stressful for recovery. I think picking rehab is the right choice.
I’ll be the dissenting opinion I suppose! My horse had coffin bone debridement and I sent her to a rehab facility across the state from me (4hrs) after researching them heavily, speaking to the owner/ BM at length, and asking around for opinions and recommendations on them.
It was hands down the worst choice I could have made and cost me so much money. My horse was there for all of 5 days before she was brought home only for me to have to figure out what to do with her as I was leaving the country for 10 days shortly after we brought her home from the rehab. Despite having all of the therapy tools, glowing recommendations (how? Idek), and certifications they were absolutely terrible. They refused to bandage her the way the surgeon instructed, even after we went over several times and they agreed to it, supposedly couldn’t figure out how to get meds into her mouth as she was “too difficult” (my non horsey SO gave her meds for me sometimes once she came home without issue), and the time I showed up to visit (and they even knew I was coming) her stall was trashed and her waters were disgusting to the point that a BOARDER stripped her stall and rebedded and did her waters. The entire thing was absurd. We had gone over (and over and over) how important her meds (antibiotics as she had just been released from a 3 week hospitalization for a life or death infection) were and how important it was to keep the stall spotless (they assured me it would be cleaned every few hours).
Obviously, this isn’t everyone’s experience as there are other who had it go well up thread. BUT the surgery and then having to leave the country for vacation (the timing of it) was stressful enough without all of the rehab barn craziness. I will never send a horse off to a rehab barn again unless I personally know the manager or am close enough I can check on the horse frequently. I believe they are better off in a situation they are familiar with, with care you know meets your standards having done that coffin bone surgery twice - the first time she went back to her boarding barn and I was charged extra for shavings and hay and had to do bandages myself and then the second time we tried rehab and then I ended up bringing her home anyway and doing it all myself - the first time was less stressful.
If you are in the Midwest, I can send you a PM with the name of the above rehab barn.
