Severed Extensor Tendon

[JB]

Proud flesh bleeds like a mo’. She’ll learn how to get up - getting down isn’t the hard(est) part.

Are you using Animax or Panalog for the pf? I used both, Panalog is cheaper, and it worked very well.

At some point we also found the lower portion of skin somehow folded under and was preventing healing, so the vet had to some cut that flap of skin off (it was dying) which meant a new wound to treat, but it started healing quickly, and the rest of the wound healing progressed well after that.

Ugh on the bruising I don’t know the costs of SWT either.

[Cindy_s_Warmbloods]

Mine learned to actually get up and down without even weighting the foot. She seemed really good about knowing which side to lay down on etc. The times I watched her get up she barely even touched it down. So I do think they figure it out pretty quick. It was sad to see her take the first few steps after getting up though as she was pretty sore but walked out of it after a few strides.

I will send you a pm with some pictures of my fillies progress along the way.

[Faiths_CremelloWB]

My experience with this was last June. Severed in 2 spots and vet had to remove 2 inches of it because it was dirty from the injury. Bone was exposed arount the whole front of the cannon. Very bad injury and horse was at hosptial within 2 hours of injury. 2 days at hosptial and then home for the most intense bandage changing Ive ever been through including splints for a few months to steady the leg. 8 months go by and he is sound but still on rehab. Hopefully he will be 100% by the sumer and I can ride him again.

I will say that I am (as is my vet) amazed that he moves like he does with how much damage there was. I would not have believed it, if not having been through it personally.

I did deal with plenty of proud flesh through the healing process. I used many different things to keep it under control. I had to cut is several times and also used meat tenderizer on it (of course nothing was done until the bone was 110% covered). Getting the bone covered was #1. After that I worked on getting the wound to heal.

Also for the first 2 months he spend most of his time tied up so he could not move a lot and could not lay down. He was on a few supplements for his gut because of the antibiotics, pain meds and stall rest.

Best of luck… its a long road, but well worth it. IMO

[Faiths_CremelloWB]

And I used red light therapy on it at every bandage change for a few months. It was a 4 person job to change the bandage every 2 days and it took about half an hour-45 min. One person was the red light person, I did the everything to the leg, one person held my sterile saline bottle that ran a hose for me to rinse the leg down and one person was the runner to get what I needed next.

Here is a link to pictures of the back of the leg which was the “better” part of the injury. The front is about 98% healed now so pictures of it progress to come soon.

This is graphic. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Blazing-Colours-Farm/188357061189488#!/188357061189488/photos/a.189691257722735.50342.188357061189488/929943570364163/?type=1&theater

[Faiths_CremelloWB]

And a new updated picture log of the progress with the front of his leg with dates.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Blazing-Colours-Farm/188357061189488#!/188357061189488/photos/a.189691257722735.50342.188357061189488/979936298698223/?type=1&theater

[eclipse]

Best of luck… I’m another extensor tendon rehab success survivor!! Like others have said it seems to take forever to heal, especially if a sequestron needs to be removed but one day it will just suddenly start to look that much better! My guy was 4 when he did his (bone exposed, followed a week later by sequestron removal and then it looked like half his lower leg was gone)!! Just horrific.

I was lucky that my insurance covered nearly 2 months at the vets but once home it was daily bandage changes to keep the wound dry and clean with proud flesh removed every 2 weeks (bleeds like crazy). We didn’t put any creams on until most of the wound had filled in, and then used dermagel and a green wound cream the vet made us.

1 year later we have a scar Sully wears with pride, some slight swelling which the vet figures “might” go away and other than that he’s back to normal… Jumping 3ft6 with ease and can go bigger and to watch him under saddle and over fences you’d have no idea of the injury

just like everyone here told me, these injuries have more good outcomes than say a suspensory!!! PM me if you want to see pics

[PattiP35]

[QUOTE=JB;8053828]
Proud flesh bleeds like a mo’. She’ll learn how to get up - getting down isn’t the hard(est) part.

Are you using Animax or Panalog for the pf? I used both, Panalog is cheaper, and it worked very well.
.[/QUOTE]

We are using Entederm… The vet left it with us on his last visit, which I have to say… He did not charge us for He is an amazing guy.

[PattiP35]

A lady saw my update on facebook, and is coming out to help us with Photonic Light Therapy today… Vet emailed and said he is working on plasma therapy for her as well, Did you have issues with the fetlock buckling under? We have to really watch while we are cleaning that she doesn’t put much weight on her foot if she backs it up at all, or her fetlock just buckles… She severed both extensor tendons so there is nothing at all holding it forward It is that buckling that makes me so danged nervous.

[JB]

Ask your vet if there is a way to fashion a temporary splint to put on her while you’re cleaning and tending to the wound to keep things from flexing.

[PattiP35]

[QUOTE=JB;8058140]
Ask your vet if there is a way to fashion a temporary splint to put on her while you’re cleaning and tending to the wound to keep things from flexing.[/QUOTE]

Good idea… For now, we have just been picking up her leg to wash the wound so that at least she can’t put it down too fast… What if we were to vetwrap below the wound area around the fetlock? Do you think that would help stabilize it while cleaning?

[JB]

It could, but it would be using a lot of vetwrap over time

Do you have maybe an old nobow that you could cut to size, and use that, with a pony sized track wrap, to wrap her leg below the wound? That would be a fairly stiff wrap and doesn’t need to be perfect as it’s only temporary each time. It’s all reusable materials too

[PattiP35]

I’m actually planning on buying a bunch of old pillow wraps from a lady today… I might be able to do something with one of those Thank you for the idea! How long do you think it will be before she builds up enough scar tissue to stop that buckling?

[JB]

Without going back to see exactly the details - did the tendons just severe and the length is still there, just snapped back, or is there actually tendon material missing, etc - it’s hard to know. I can tell you with my (then 4yo) it was on the order of 8-10 weeks or so when I first started seeing a sign that he had some ability to control the foot. Maybe another couple of weeks, but that gives you at least some relatively time reference. When the same horse ruptured his peronius tertius tendon (connects stifle to hock), I’d say it was bout in the same time frame that I started seeing voluntary controlled movement of the joints, as opposed to them just moving out of momentum.

[PattiP35]

Well we are 3 weeks into the injury… The tendons were totally severed and material missing… He couldn’t reconnect them She is definitely more conscious of where she is placing her foot, but when you pick the foot up, it just kind of hangs there… Its looking pretty good today, definitely more tissue, and we did the red light therapy on her today, https://www.facebook.com/krazyhorsemom/posts/10203330315532868

[JB]

Most of these don’t get reconnected. In fact, in most cases it’s not recommended to try to surgically re-attach them because it’s such a high tension area and the stitches usually fail, unless you subject the horse to casting and strict confinement.

Omgosh the wound is looking so much better!!! Yes, truly!

As for the foot just hanging there - normal they already just sort of hang there when you pick the leg up like that because that puts the tendon in a lax state. But I DO know what you mean - it’s more hanging

Really - chin up! I know it’s all so freaky right now! it gets better, I promise!

[PattiP35]

Its freaky alright… I felt so bad for the lady doing the red light photo therapy… She knew it was bad, but she was in tears when she saw it first hand. We’ve been dealing with it for so long now, we are getting excited when we see tissue and what not… I thought she might faint for a spell, poor woman.

[PattiP35]

OK… So here is another question from an overly paranoid horse mommy…Little Nova has been on Bute (1g/day) for 3 weeks now… How long do you think she will need this? as I fear for her tummy if she stays on it for too long, especially being a baby… Its her 10month birthday today

[JB]

I would have had her on Ulcergard by this point. At 3 weeks I would be trying to wean her off bute asap, and using it only when necessary

[PattiP35]

I asked the vet, he wants her on it still… He doesn’t think she needs the ulcer guard as I have had her on probiotics and alfalfa the entire time… He does plan on a blood draw next visit to check her levels.

[JB]

Ugh. Probiotics and alfalfa do nothing about the reduction in the stomach lining from the bute.

Id at least get her on ranitidine 1-2 times a day.