advice please

[Malibu]

hi so i got heartbreaking news last friday when i got a 2nd oppinion from an equine hospital specialist vet, told me my horse has a severe blown tendon, wont event EVER again, and will only (hopefully) be able to hack! So lost of tears etc!!! Anyway after cold hsoing, peas, ice, bonner bandgae etc he puts a VERY VERY think bandage from kenee right to middle of hoof and says for a month change it every 5 days, so i take it off yesterday and WOW is it hot, now the vet did say the bandage is NOT for protection but so that the tendon is hotter than body heat so that it repairs better! but i take it off and it sooooooooooooo hot and when i touch it he lifts it like i only tickle it as such; no pressure, so im going to take it off today just to make sure he's ok with me touching it as he was before, otherwise will call the vet as not right that i can lightly touch it like i did before!

but what i am asking really is a few things, the bandage, is that what you do when tendon injury? i always thought get it cold and take down swelling and reduce heat?
also
i ahve researched other types of treatments such as A-CELL, SHOCKWAVE, ADEQUAN, MICRO-CURRENT AND the vet mentioned firing and blictering, any thoughts on these?
sorry very long post and maybe bit depressing just want to do the best for him and i have no experiance with such a severe injury so i want to know that i know what i am doing etc! thanks in advance!

 

[miamibear]

I have heard of hot and cold treatment, like hot cloth then cold cloth, but thats a pretty old method i think. I would definately think the hot bandaging should go hand in hand with cold hosing

 

[AmyMay]

Did they mention stem cell therapy???

 

[Nic]

Firing & blistering are now so outdated as to be verging on barbaric, there is no medical evidence to support either technique and the general thought is that the cause the horse so much pain it can't bare to put any weight on the tendon. There are so many proven treatments nowadays that these 2 should not even be considered.

Sorry to hear that the prognosis is so poor but I have heard of horses being written off but then prove everyone wrong. Unusual but never say never.

Hope he is feeling better soon, big hugs xx

 

[Malibu]

he's not sutibel for stem sell treatment as it such a severe injury! the whole of the tendon has been damaged no tendon fibres to told cells in place!

NIC, hugs are much appreciated, it all just seems so unreal, i was so upset and then got it together and then today i got the report and just fell aprt again, the whole reality of it all just seemed to sink in, i looked at the programme and vets suggested no turnout for about 11 months and he's going crazy in the stable and its only been 3 weeks now!
thanks for the hugs though

 

[ihatework]

Poor boy, I know how you feel, mine was injured back in January and won't event again.
Time is the best remedy, let the horses body repair itself naturally. A lot of the drugs you have been posting about are more for OA type conditions, other than NSAIDS has your vet specifically mentioned these to you?

Shockwave and spa treatments may help but neither are proven.

Best thing is just to follow your vets advice to the letter, if he is getting stressed in the stable it might be worth keeping him mildly sedated.

 

[Nic]

Poor boy make sure you get lots of things for him to do, a welly, football & bottle full of pony nuts with a small hole in it to let them out 1 at a time went down with our little pony

Give him a hug from me & PM me if you need a chat xxx

 

[Malibu]

Thanks BJ, well first vist he was given 50ml COLVASONE(now not too sure what that it) and also FINADYNE, now getting bute,danilon. The vet mentioed an injection which i ahve heard of but forgot the name, you will know, given every week i think and used to be used a lot but now scientific research shows its of no use. you know what i am on about? sorry to hear about your horse too!

 

[katelarge]

Oh dear! I can sympathise as my horse was diagnosed with laminits some weeks ago - when I heard the diagnosis I went to bits, totally imagined the worse. As it turns out, he has actually been pretty much OK but nothing can stop that awful, stressed out reaction you have.

How communicative are your vets? Some are very good about discussing alternative therapies, some are siply too busy to give you as much one-on-one time as we'd like.

Where are you based? I don't know if you want to try and get another vet on board, but I know an excellent vet based in Wiltshire who is great about exploring alternative therapies and he will treat the horse as a whole. BTW don't be put off if that is nowhere near you, he travelled to see me in Cambs and the bill was very reasonable. PM me for details if you like.

 

[miller]

My OH's mare was fired 18 months ago - last chance saloon job - after alot of soul searching he went for it.

She hasn't had a day lame since and was sound when he picked her up - managed for first 2 weeks on 2 bute a day on which she was sound - a darned sight less than some horses get for lameness.

Legs have healed nicely and she is just coming back into work - he is happy not to jump her again if needs be but tendon has now been damaged twice and if it gets damaged now there is no chance.

Not sure I could have gone through with it but she's remarkably happy and sound now which she wouldn't have been if the other option was chosen

 

[OWLIE185]

If this is a valuable horse why not try a stem cell implant?

 

[henryhorn]

What rotten news, I am sorry.
CCj rode Jonty today for the first time in 5 months after her tendon tear, the vet wants her to harden things up by road work for a month or two then scan again.
I can tell you we have a retired arab endurance horse here who arrived with the worst tendon injury I have ever seen, an insurance write off in fact. He was turned away and just left to walk round, over the last three years his leg has got better and better and now he is 100% sound, the injury has shrunk to near nothing, so don't just accept what they say as gospel..
I investigated like you and decided just to let time heal the injury, but there is an injection at £500 which was supposed to be a possibility, if like us you are uninsured however it's an expensive gamble.
I am a little concerned re your vet's advice, we had three vets scan and look at Jonty (two from one practiice) and none of them advocated heat. Their advice was spa her as much as possible, then box rest, then in hand walking, then under sadle exercise.
Jonty went potty and would not settle, cutting her legs kicking the walls, so we penned her in a smallish field instead. She isn't a run around type and it seemed to work ok. I know it was against the vets' advice but we felt after seeing the arab, even if it took longer it would work.
The scan last week showed healing is going well, hence the hacking out from today.
I wouldn't use those bandages if I were you, I reckon cold is better than heat, though we did use magnotherapy boots too..
So sad for you, but investigate what paths you can follow, and if your horse is quiet, it may be possible to pen it outside rather than stable 24/7

 

[Malibu]

yes was ready to take him to get cells from bone marrow but not sutibel as tendon basically destroyed so no tendon cells to support the stem cells!

 

[MagicMelon]

Sorry to hear that. Firing - I really wouldnt even consider this. I rode a horse who'd had this done and just looked awful (and actually didnt help at all anyway). Plus, I thought it was done as a precaution rather than as a cure?