PS is there any chance that this tendon could be infected? Not bowed? Could the inflammation be coming from an infection? Sometimes people do things that they shouldn’t, like inject cortisone compounds into tendons, which can backfire substantially, and infection can be the result. If so, treat for infection. Antibiotics. A tendon should not stay “inflamed” for as long as this one has, if it was only from a mild strain which did not tear the tendon fibers.
If you still have inflammation it is not OK to turn out except in a small paddock. By small I mean not much bigger than the stall. Controlled exercise is good, uncontrolled could create further damage. I know you are anxious to get him out, and I get it, but if there’s inflammation there’s something causing the inflammation and you could easily undo all your hard work if he gets running.
Despite having to go the year before the small paddock was in existence, when it got created it was perfect. My BO made it by adding a gate to the front of a separation between two paddocks and another gate was used to extend the length of the paddock slowly, so he started out with an area that was about a stall and a half, and I lengthened it one post at a time until it got long enough not to matter if he had the whole thing.
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I know of horses with a small tear who continue training and RACING ON IT, while fresh, who heal without any time off at all. A scary thought, for sure, but I’ve seen it. While most race trainers consider a “small bowed tendon” like being “a little bit pregnant”, there are those and there are times when someone takes a chance (by NOT resting the horse), and it pays off (it heals while still in training and in competition, rather than getting worse). My point is, there is no hard and fast RULE that works every time. A chance is always necessary, at some point, to turn the horse out, or to end stall rest and go back into rehab or training. Appropriate training. Read the Tom Ivors “Bowed Tendon Book”. It encourages physical exercise long before the regimen you are following does. To back this theory up, hospitals for humans also get patients out of bed the day after many surgeries, to start to walk the halls in the hospital. Human medicine has found that movement is necessary to stimulate healing and avoid negative cascade effects of inactivity, that staying in bed is counter productive.
Confusion reigns supreme. There is no right and wrong. What’s good is what works. Everyone has an opinion, and not all are wrong. Your vet has a theory. Tom Ivor’s theory and practice has had success, in bringing bowed horses back to racing sound. The theory is basically that the injured tissue needs to experience an approximation of what WILL BE necessary in terms of strength WHILE IT IS HEALING, to heal to that strength that will be necessary for long term soundness. If left to heal while standing still, THAT is how strong it will be when healed… sound enough to stand still on. If you want to do more than standing still, then it won’t be strong enough. Same theory with bucked shins actually, and bone densification. That full and enforced rest is counterproductive. If your horse is sound enough to move, he should move. Atravet is useful with the first few days of turn out or exercise, because your horse is already crazy due to the stall rest that he has already endured. The avoidance of cascade effect problems is VERY important in dealing with all injuries. Risk is unavoidable. Choose the risks you wish to assume, what you feel best with, and go with that. If that is keeping the horse in a stall for six months, go with that. But don’t think that that is EVERYONE’s choice, and know that there are risks involved with that choice too.
Did this horse ever have a pocket of filling under the pastern? When the tendon issue is severe, this pocket of filling will be evident, fluid dropped down from the injury collects there. For serious bows, large tears, the pain will keep the horse still, quiet, looking after itself until such a time when motion is less painful, and at that point, motion is a good thing (IMO). If your horse has intelligence, he will choose to do the right amount of activity. If he is a stupid horse, he may do too much and make it worse. Darwin’s theory in action.
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Thanks so much this really helped. First off, yes his fetlocks is swollen like dropped fluid.
He does get out for handwalk and 20 min turnout in a 12x20 paddock sedated. I do not feel comfortable riding him even sedated as he rears and bucks.
After he had a rip around in the small paddock a few weeks ago, he was visibly lame afterwards. With handwalk and stall rest he doesn’t appear lame.
Should I just toss him out and assume he will be lame for a while, but eventually come sound? Or is this an indication that he needs more time off?
He is now unwrapped for just over 24 hours. The leg is considerably more swollen than with wraps but not sore to walk on it.
Vet said he is quite painful when deep palpation of superficial flexor tendon but the ddt was totally normal.
I’m concerned he just didn’t “see” a tear. The tendon looked “mushy” to me - a white and black mottled appearance which he called inflammation and edema.
Shouldn’t be infected. It was not injected.
He had a previous bow on that leg, and reinjured it after he went back to racing. So it’s a restrain of an d bow. Vet didn’t see an actual tear but there is inflammation. Interesting you say inflammation shouldn’t last 10 weeks I was told by race vet and my vet inflammation is common up to 6 months?
Don’t worry too much about the leg swelling with no wrapping. Totally normal. It will normalize after some more days of no wrapping.
