All those who have brought horses back into work after time off due to injury...

Meowy Catkin

Meowy Catkin

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19 July 2010
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... were your horses very enthusiastic :rolleyes: to begin with and how long did it last?

I've had two very exciting and very fast rides and have struggled to tack up on both occasions and I'm just hoping that eventually she'll calm down again.
 
V lucky my girl kept her sane head on! Prob helped that I brought her back into work in the summer - she is much more sedate in the hot than she is in the cold fresh weather!
Sure she'll settle soon, must be great to be out there again, the chilly breeze doesn't help them keep their heads though!
 
Mine's in week 4 (40 mins of walk) post op and lay off.
Surprisingly he has been on model behaviour, I think he is just so grateful to be doing something again!

Given my work hours and lack of light he's being done on full livery .... he has been nicknamed 'beach donkey'. He's taken me by surprise I have to say :)
 
Had a terrible time, after total box rest he was virtually agoraphobic and exploded if a leaf rustled. I made great use of ACP tablets and my body protector.

For us I had to get the turnout stage before he went back to normal but these days he's a complete donkey.

Just hold on to the though your real horse is in there somewhere and will come back.
 
Mine came back after months off (injury first time, pregnancy second), pure arab so very enthusiastic. Would suggest riding after thay have had chance to blow steam off in paddock for an hour or two (so don't ride straight from stable), & also use a calmer to try & take the edge off them (topspec one pretty good). Once started ro reguarly, otherwise each time they go out it's a big thing. Only thing worse than unfit horse whose feeling good is a half-fit one who feels good, as they can be a pain fopr longer being slightly fitter! Good luck!
 
She was shaking with excitement and was trying to box walk while I tacked up. I must give her her dues though, she stood perfectly for me to mount, went straight past the alpacas and we were barked at by a dog and she only shot forwards two strides before I regained control, so she's not being dangerous.

She is tug, tug tugging at the reins (never normally does this) and wants to trot the whole way. So I'm having trouble keeping her in walk and it's very frustrating as she's lost alot of fitness and really does need to keep to walk.

She is also being very impatient and had a small strop when I asked her to stand so that a car could pass us. It was on a single track lane and I wanted her to stop in a lay by. She did eventually stand nicely (third attempt) and the driver was very patient (I thanked him lots).

Can I swap with the 'beach donkey' please? :D

ETA. She was only on box rest for a week and has been on field rest for the last few weeks.
 
My lad was on box rest for 3 months following a stifle injury. 8 weeks into the injury, vet said he would benefit from gentle walking, either in hand or under saddle. In the school, he was as good as gold, but on a short hack round the block, I thought I was going to die!
To be fair to him, his previous owner took him out a couple of times for me and he was ok with her (she is a much better, more confident rider than me) and once he'd had an opportunity to stretch his legs, this settled him.
He was turned out in a small pen once he got the ok from the vet. He bucked on the spot for about 5 minutes and then he was back to his gentle, polite self and hasn't looked back!
 
Mine was on box rest, then box confinement but in work before being turned out in May 24/7. Shes was ok as I had walked her out in hand for a time before ridden work began. When I first rode her she was in a bit of a trance, then she woke up!!! If we passed any horses in fields and they happend to run about or make much of a movement, she would boing and launch on the spot with excitement. We always went out with someone (she does hack out on her own) for safetys sake and 95% of the time she was absolutely fine. I fed her NAF Magic calmer and I do think that helped. She had a tendon injury so couldnt go out in the muddy fields hence the box confinement. I now have my horse back as she was, healed and very fit, we had out first gallop yesterday and it was great!
 
mine was on box rest after surgery on hind suspensories and i was amazed at how calm she was when i restarted ridden work .however that was in may and i know it would have been completley different at this time of year.even my very calm horse gets her grouchy fizzy head on in winter.shes off again now having done a tendon and i will wait until spring to return to work
 
Much to my surprise, the horses I've had off through illness, both straight from box rest and field rest have been really good when ridden out for their first walks. Better than their usual selves,probably just glad to out doing 'normal' again.
 
mine had 5mths off this yr and my first ride consisted of 15seconds before he reared vertical and then fly bucked until i hit the deck. next few times we treated him like we were backing a youngster and he was fine. we stayed in the school for a week then tried hacking him out as he was meant to be walking in straight lines on firm surfaces. he felt like an unexploded bomb but so far he hasn't exploded again!
 
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