Any tips for holding "box rest explosions" ?

Gingerwitch

Gingerwitch

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I am hopefully onto my last leg of box rest - i have just over a week to go before vet due out.....! that will be a laugh - how can you judge a horse to be sound if it will only put 2 back legs or 2 front legs on the ground at anytime aghghgh.

Ok so have sedalin - trying not to use it - walking horse out with bridle - rubber reins with martingale stoppers as the first point of stopage with my hands, knotted reins, and holding all of this "as ridden" in right hand, with short whip for reminding of the "no rearing, no plunging, no stricking out with front legs and no shoulder barging" and then the left hand holds the buckle end of the reins as an emergency aid.

I can cope pretty well on the 10 mins walk in hand but my issue is the 20 mins in hand grazing on a night. Now cheeky lad is in his own field, no other horses and has a sniff and a graze - but every so often he just "explodes" i have managed to keep hold each time, and am getting pretty good at holding his antics - i am not scared of him, but am warey of his hooves and him getting loose. I stand to the side of his shoulder, do not let him have much movement on the reins even if this means bending down with him, but he did a super fly back tonight and has ripped the muscle in my shoulder - it hurts but it hurt him more than me - poor thing you could see his eyes buldge - so dont think he will try that one again.

Any tips off any racehorse folks or stallion handlers or just good horsefolks? by the way i wear gloves, hard hat, good boots, and long sleeved tops.
 
Sorry, no real tips but to hang on in there. My chap was a nightmare and I vowed never to attempt to "walk out" anything on box rest ever again. You seem to be coping much better than I did and are obviously taking all sensible precautions. I suppose the alternatives are a chiffney (but no good for grazing in hand) or perhaps a pressure halter such as the "Be Nice". Good Luck!
 
I can only reiterate what I've said to you before, please don't risk it if he is playing up :( I've handled big, sports horse stallions since I was 13, but I still couldn't stop my usually calm horse, but who went nutty after boxrest, from exploding and causing me a terrible injury, when I tried to walk her in hand as part of her re-hab.

It's just gone 17 months now, since I was double barreled in the face. I saw a new specialist plastic surgeon today (who after checking out my xrays couldn't believe I am alive) and I shall be having quite a bit more surgery on my face in a approx 4 months. It really isn't worth the risk. :( If he will walk in hand, but not graze, quietly, then stick to the walking.

Please, please take care.
 
use a lunge line through the bit rings or if you can find one with a chain pop it over his nose, my horse was on walk excersise for a while after a leg injury and i used a chiffney to begin with she would shoulder me out the way and lock her neck and take off (COW!!) but you use the chain over her nose looped through the headcoller never pulled or exploded. If needs use the sedalin sometimes safer in certain situations better than getting hurt by flailing hooves.
Another thing to try if he will is with some of the really fresh stallions to walk them we would tack them up with saddle,bridle and sidereins as though you were going to lunge them.
 
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this is about the only time i would recommend a well constructed walker! and a chifney to get the horse to the walker and back again! as for the first turnout boot up well all 4 legs and overreach and dope well ahead of the turnout time! it is so easy for the vets to say box rest! so hard for the horses and even harder for the owners! ounds like you have done well! please be careul!
 
My horse was a pain in the butt, in the end I turned out him completely and it did him the world off good, not more flying bucks or rears, no more lameness, my dually halter was a godsend at the time!
 
Ooh no I would not go with the walker at all! Having had one at a yard I worked at, they are fine with nice sensible horses but reallynot with one likely to explode, a couple had quite unpleasant accidents as a result of trying to escape the walker, one jumping out and flipping itself over, getting stuck etc.

Sounds like you are getting on quite well though I wouldn't bother with the grazing in hand myself, just sounds too dangerous. Maybe a lunge line and keep your distance a bit? Or stick to walking?

Good luck andbe carefu' (body protector??)

Puppy - your accident sounds awful, I do hope you are recovering ok. A friend of mine died in such a way a few years back so I can see where your surgeon is coming from. These things really cannot be taken seriously enough. Take care.
 
take him out hungry so he's more likely to want to eat than do anything else.

And try and chill out yourself - treating him like a violent beast doesn't help matters as he'll tell your nervous. Best way is to take a rubber curry comb with you so when he's stood eating you can get on a give him a good groom and a massage. This way there's something going on which he can pay attention to and the noise of you doing that to him and chattering away also stops his mind looking for other stuff to react to (combined with missing his breakfast he'll want to eat!). Waving a stick at him is more likely to exasperate the matter - even if you don't mean to.

Hand handwalked many a crazy beast and not had one escape yet - or get boxed in the head - must be doing something kinda right!

just tell him he's a silly boy and to put all 4 legs back down on the ground and get over whatever his problem is! - keep it simple :)
 
If he's OK when you're walking him out but not when you graze then I would stick with the walking.

In our case a walker was out of the question even if I'd had one as he had damaged the soft tissues in the foot and the constant turning can make that sort of injury worse or at least slow down healing.

The one time I tried the rope round his nose he completely panicked and went bolt upright.

So about 6 of the little magic yellow pills kept us safe and sane and a bridle and walked him within the confines of the yard.

I was okay if I kept him moving, if I felt an explosion coming I would keep him flexed towards me and actually moved him faster with more purpose which redirected the energy a bit. The problem with grazing is if something sparks them off, there is that whole length of rope to reel in before you've got control again so didn't risk it until much later and then stop for a mouthful or two and get moving again.
 
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