3Beasties
Well-Known Member
My TB sliced his leg at the beginning of September so has been on Box rest (with on average 10 hours 'turn out' a week) and obviously out of work. We are now getting to the stage where the wound is closing up really well and hopefully in another few weeks he will be fully healed.
This leads me to think about bringing him back into work. A bit of background - He's 19 and was in light work prior to the injury. He was ridden about 4 or 5 times a week, mainly hacking with the occasional light schooling/jumping/fast work session and a few fun rides scattered through the Summer. He has navicular and arthritis in his hocks which seems to do best with a bit of work but other than that was fairly fit and healthy.
Since being injured he has dropped weight (fully expected - I actually thought he'd lose more!) and a lot of muscle/topline. He has never looked particularly great topline wise anyway due to his shape but at the moment he currently looks like this -
They ^^^ were all taken today but he looks a lot worse in some of them than others!
Anyway, on to the point of the thread. Obviously I will consult my vet but I'm just interested in a few opinions first. Once healed he will be moved back to my other yard, in at night, out during the day. He'll have company again (currently on his own) and will be able to go on a more conditioning feed so 'should' technically pick up quite well.
Do you think I should give him a couple of months off to build his weight back up with the aim of getting on him in the new year?
Or, would it be best to very gently hack him, 3 or 4 times a week for 20 to 30 mins, just in walk, to start gently building up his topline/fitness?
I can see the benefits to both so am a bit unsure which way to go?
If I went down the gently working route he would need to be clipped as I know he will get too hot. I would only do a trace clip though (would usually have a blanket or hunter) and he would be adequately rugged so I don't think this would really be too much of a concern.
That's my first sort of 'problem' to solve but my next one depends on the answer to the above!
IF I go down the 'out of work till new year route' I am unsure about what to with with him regarding shoeing. He is currently shod all round but is due a farrier visit (hence this post really!). If out of work should I take all shoes off until back in work?
Concerns about this are - He has always been shod apart from one short period when I tried him without hinds which made him lame all round as he was putting too much pressure on the front to compensate for no shoes behind - but he was in work during this time.
Current route to field is stoney but once moved yards it's all grass.
I guess I'm concerned that if I take his shoes off I will end up kicking myself if it causes more problems (lameness) and he ends up worse off for it!
Sorry for the long and rambling post, any thoughts/opinions would be much appreciated!
And for any one interested, this is what he did -
and where we're at now
Can offer Pringles and terrys chocolate orange mini segments for anyone who made sense of all of that!!
This leads me to think about bringing him back into work. A bit of background - He's 19 and was in light work prior to the injury. He was ridden about 4 or 5 times a week, mainly hacking with the occasional light schooling/jumping/fast work session and a few fun rides scattered through the Summer. He has navicular and arthritis in his hocks which seems to do best with a bit of work but other than that was fairly fit and healthy.
Since being injured he has dropped weight (fully expected - I actually thought he'd lose more!) and a lot of muscle/topline. He has never looked particularly great topline wise anyway due to his shape but at the moment he currently looks like this -
They ^^^ were all taken today but he looks a lot worse in some of them than others!
Anyway, on to the point of the thread. Obviously I will consult my vet but I'm just interested in a few opinions first. Once healed he will be moved back to my other yard, in at night, out during the day. He'll have company again (currently on his own) and will be able to go on a more conditioning feed so 'should' technically pick up quite well.
Do you think I should give him a couple of months off to build his weight back up with the aim of getting on him in the new year?
Or, would it be best to very gently hack him, 3 or 4 times a week for 20 to 30 mins, just in walk, to start gently building up his topline/fitness?
I can see the benefits to both so am a bit unsure which way to go?
If I went down the gently working route he would need to be clipped as I know he will get too hot. I would only do a trace clip though (would usually have a blanket or hunter) and he would be adequately rugged so I don't think this would really be too much of a concern.
That's my first sort of 'problem' to solve but my next one depends on the answer to the above!
IF I go down the 'out of work till new year route' I am unsure about what to with with him regarding shoeing. He is currently shod all round but is due a farrier visit (hence this post really!). If out of work should I take all shoes off until back in work?
Concerns about this are - He has always been shod apart from one short period when I tried him without hinds which made him lame all round as he was putting too much pressure on the front to compensate for no shoes behind - but he was in work during this time.
Current route to field is stoney but once moved yards it's all grass.
I guess I'm concerned that if I take his shoes off I will end up kicking myself if it causes more problems (lameness) and he ends up worse off for it!
Sorry for the long and rambling post, any thoughts/opinions would be much appreciated!
And for any one interested, this is what he did -
and where we're at now
Can offer Pringles and terrys chocolate orange mini segments for anyone who made sense of all of that!!
