Bandaging tendons??

Roasted Chestnuts

Roasted Chestnuts

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Right folks :) as some of you may know my mare has damaged her SDFT rather badly. I am currently giving her boxrest, bute and compagel (sp?) as well as cold hosing and her other legs are bandaged for support but vet has advised me NOT to bandage the limb with the tendon damage.

Now my father was a racing jockey/trainer in his day and hes telling me to get a bandage on it to support it and help it heal but vet is telling me not to, something about heat in the leg.

Now all my instincts are telling me to bandage it and slather the compagel and limb coolant on it (as is everyone else) to bring the heat out along with the cold hosing three times a day I have even suggested to the vets bandaging with a fibregee pad then an icecube bag so that the cold is there but not touching skin to burn but he doesnt want me doing that.

The leg is if anything bigger and the heat is not leaving :(
 
Wrap it. It needs support. All tendons get worse before they get better but if it is still getting bigger and staying warm now I would ice wrap it as often as possible during the day then wrap it up in a proper bandage for the night. We don't hose after a week as it doesn't make a difference after that.

We've been given the Compagel for a horse with curbs but as we don't know what's in it and what the withdrawal period is we haven't used it.
 
Ring your vets to get a second opinion rather than relying on forum/hearsay advice. You rfather may well be out of touch with modern techniques, but you obviously don't trust your vet so ring and ask to discuss it with the senior partner or similar.
 
SusieT said:
Ring your vets to get a second opinion rather than relying on forum/hearsay advice. You rfather may well be out of touch with modern techniques, but you obviously don't trust your vet so ring and ask to discuss it with the senior partner or similar.
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I am new with this practice and I dont want to rock the boat, so I am gathering opinions from people who have had similar injuries rather than alienating new vet by casting doubt when his advice may well be the norm. Also I am unfamiliar with the treating of tendon injuries hencewhy I am looking for opinions, all the tendon injuries I have seen or dealt with have resulted in a pretty quick PTS for being un repairable.
 
It won't alienate the practice so long as you ask politely, and explain that you are worried and why you're worried.
 
your vet seem's to be saying the opposite of what my vet told me about 5 months ago to do with mine ,did he ever say why he thought the stem cell wasn't suitable for your horse ?

my local vet who i have absolute faith in told me to bandage (normal stable bandages with gamgee underneith) both front legs and they were on 24hrs for about 3 months

the only time i was allowed to remove them was to either cold hose or ice the leg

i started of cold hosing for 20mins then letting it heat back up for 20mins then hosing again for 20 on my vets advice ,i did this 3 times a day as she said you need to get the heat and swelling out of it

i then started to use ice cube bags (from supermarket) wrapped a tea towel around the leg ,then the ice then a bandage then the same on 20 off 20 on 20 because my yard owner was having a fit about the water (on a meter)

the bags worked out easier as i could get on with mucking out etc


my horse was then refered to horspital about 2 hours away (different practice) as my local vet had a lot of respect for a vet down there that specialised in tendons

he also advised me to keep the bandages on and keep up with the icing/hosing

i'm not saying your vet is wrong as i am not a vet (far from it) and vets are like everyone else i'm sure they all have different views and ideas but if your worried ring vetcell and explain your a little worried and they will go out of there way to help you they are fantastic

when mine was having his bone marrow removed i was really unhappy with one of the practice vets involved and had a wobble ,stopped them and explained i didn't want that particular vet any were near my horse
the vetcell vet (they sent a team) dealt with it fantastically well and was brilliant with me and the horse (who was snoring without a care in the world)

give them a ring i'm sure they wil be happy to help


also i got a herbal supplement called v-calm for mine after trying several to keep his feet on the floor and that was the only thing that worked for mine ,it took a few days but was fab if she's starting to feel a little wild

good luck having recently been through this i know how worried and stressed you are
 
When B did his he was bandaged in a Robert jones for 3 weeks then 2 lots of bandanges on the bad leg and then he got fed up and would pull them off so they were on for about 6/8 weeks. For most of this time he was on bute and box rest. It's been and still is a long road to recovery - he will be ridden again in March one year after the injury and hopefully it will stand to low level eventing!

Good luck
 
angelish said:
your vet seem's to be saying the opposite of what my vet told me about 5 months ago to do with mine ,did he ever say why he thought the stem cell wasn't suitable for your horse ?
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Vet spoke to vetcell who advised the therpay wouldnt help, there was too much fibre damage and the platelets would stick. also with the injury being over a larger area than just the lesion the stemcells wouldnt work either.

Hes talking about other injections now....... hencewhy hes coming out on Wed to reassess and see whats happening but Im very wibbley at the minute with it all....

She had a rather bad flesh injury back in may and I halfed the healing time by not bandaging the leg when told to and stopped her from losing all the skin and hair on her legs asI explained tovets that with all the cotton wool, vetwrap and softban and melolin her leg wasnt healing.

Im not saying that i am better than a vet but I know my horse..... :o


angelish said:
my local vet who i have absolute faith in told me to bandage (normal stable bandages with gamgee underneith) both front legs and they were on 24hrs for about 3 months

the only time i was allowed to remove them was to either cold hose or ice the leg

i started of cold hosing for 20mins then letting it heat back up for 20mins then hosing again for 20 on my vets advice ,i did this 3 times a day as she said you need to get the heat and swelling out of it

i then started to use ice cube bags (from supermarket) wrapped a tea towel around the leg ,then the ice then a bandage then the same on 20 off 20 on 20 because my yard owner was having a fit about the water (on a meter)

the bags worked out easier as i could get on with mucking out etc
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See this was my plan to bandage with ice whilst i was doing stuff then take off then pop back on when doing stuff at night then take off and try tocontrol swelling and heat that way but was advied not to :(

angelish said:
my horse was then refered to horspital about 2 hours away (different practice) as my local vet had a lot of respect for a vet down there that specialised in tendons

he also advised me to keep the bandages on and keep up with the icing/hosing

i'm not saying your vet is wrong as i am not a vet (far from it) and vets are like everyone else i'm sure they all have different views and ideas but if your worried ring vetcell and explain your a little worried and they will go out of there way to help you they are fantastic

when mine was having his bone marrow removed i was really unhappy with one of the practice vets involved and had a wobble ,stopped them and explained i didn't want that particular vet any were near my horse
the vetcell vet (they sent a team) dealt with it fantastically well and was brilliant with me and the horse (who was snoring without a care in the world)

give them a ring i'm sure they wil be happy to help
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might just do that. i reall dont want to rock the boat as there are only so many practices in my area (2) and getting barred from one for questioning leaveme with only one option and I hate that :( But if my mare isnt getting the care she needs I wont hesitate. i would just rather confirm or squash my instincts before I let them loose lol :)

angelish said:
also i got a herbal supplement called v-calm for mine after trying several to keep his feet on the floor and that was the only thing that worked for mine ,it took a few days but was fab if she's starting to feel a little wild

good luck having recently been through this i know how worried and stressed you are
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Thank you very much your post has helped cement a few things in my head. Very much appreciated :D
 
Do you have a good equine vet in your area to get a second opinion from ?
Youre obviously worried about it so speak to the vet who's treating, explain your concerns and ask what the rationale is behind the treatment he's prescribed, and is their research based evidence to support it, depending on whether youre happy with what you hear, let them know youre having a second opinion.
I do think its better to talk to the vet in question rather than go behind their back and talk to another vet in the practice.
I would also get the second opinion from a vet outwith the practice so as not to rock the boat within the practice.
 
SusieT said:
Is this the same horse who had bad bandage rubs last time?
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Yes but that was issues with several layers on ie melolin-softban-cotton bandage-cottonwool-vetwrap, her skin and hair came off.

Her other legs have been fine for the last three weeks with soft non elastic fleece bandages on that come off for an hour or so when she is being mucked out, her leg hosed and treated then they go back on and she has no rubs as the bandages are just there to support her legs and stop them swelling with standing :)

Im not talking a full set of the above just something to see if i can get the fluid to disperse and the swelling to go down as its turning lumpy with pockets of fluid.
 
marydoll said:
Do you have a good equine vet in your area to get a second opinion from ?
Youre obviously worried about it so speak to the vet who's treating, explain your concerns and ask what the rationale is behind the treatment he's prescribed, and is their research based evidence to support it, depending on whether youre happy with what you hear, let them know youre having a second opinion.
I do think its better to talk to the vet in question rather than go behind their back and talk to another vet in the practice.
I would also get the second opinion from a vet outwith the practice so as not to rock the boat within the practice.
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Thank you :)

all of the info given is making me think and thats what the point of the thread was, to gather info, process it then ask questions, also to get ideas for questions as I am a fairly straight forwards person and that can be misunderstood, especially when I am confused about things I blurt and the vet doesnt know me as well as other vets do and I dont want to offend as we may have a long relationship ahead of us and I really dont want to get it off to the worst start but I am already questioning based on my instincts and knowledgable family and friends observations :)
 
You really havent had much in the way of luck this year have you? Your poor mare, and poor bank balance :o, I hope she comes sound and is back wokring away with you OP.

Im sure with the level of care you provide and the nursing skills you have gained you will have her back to health and bouncing about in the next 12 months :) Trust your guts, they normally tell me if I am doing right or wrong and listen to experience, it tends to work.

Good Luck
 
Thanks we have had a rough time of it but hey ho thats horses, some you never have bother with and some are a right pig in a poke :rolleyes:

Onwards and upwards from here really, just looking to get as much of other peoples experiences as possible as what works for one doesnt work for all and hearing about what others have done to help their neddies is all helpful inspiration :)
 
When topaz did her suspensory, 2 years ago, I told the senior partner of the vets practice, that although I had tremendous respect for him, I wanted to use people who were experts in this field and were dealing with this type of injury day in day out.
He was very supportive, helped me find someone, who I then checked out myself independently and used them.
Incidentally they had a completely different treatment plan to the one originally suggested and my horse is currently sound on her suspensory.
I do not think I upset him in any way and don't think it affected my relationship with the practice at all.
Good luck, and follow your instincts.
 
How long ago did your mare hurt the tendon? I was given a TB who had broken down racing in February - I had him 2 weeks after he injured himself. The vet who had been treating him advised me that icing / hosing / cool gels etc wouldn't be of any use - the heat has to be addressed straight away. He advised the best treatment was to bandage during the day and put magnetic boots on overnight. I still put cold boots on him while I mucked him out as I felt it couldn't hurt, but the rest of the time he had either boots or bandages on.

It worked wonders for my horse - he does have a bow in the tendon still but it is going down with exercise now. He is back in full work and fingers crossed, touch wood etc he is holding up.

Hope all goes well for yours.
 
Marmalade said:
How long ago did your mare hurt the tendon? I was given a TB who had broken down racing in February - I had him 2 weeks after he injured himself. The vet who had been treating him advised me that icing / hosing / cool gels etc wouldn't be of any use - the heat has to be addressed straight away. He advised the best treatment was to bandage during the day and put magnetic boots on overnight. I still put cold boots on him while I mucked him out as I felt it couldn't hurt, but the rest of the time he had either boots or bandages on.

It worked wonders for my horse - he does have a bow in the tendon still but it is going down with exercise now. He is back in full work and fingers crossed, touch wood etc he is holding up.

Hope all goes well for yours.
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Been about 3 weeks now :( Vets was supposed to be coming out today but now coming out tomorrow instead.
 
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