Barefoot/ligament damage videos - opinions please

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starry23

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After reading a few threads on here and following Rockley I thought it would be sensible for me to take videos to keep track of and improvements Rubic makes over time. I wish I'd take videos from before she went for her MRI at the start of Sept as there has been a definite improvement since then as previously she was very noticeably head-bobbing lame in trot. Now she is just a bit off. She has medial collateral ligament damage to her right fore. Background thread here: http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/foru...l-ligament-damage&highlight=medial+collateral

Slow-mo walk and trot
[video=youtube;G9O5x9iv-40]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9O5x9iv-40[/video]

Normal speed trot
[video=youtube;ALVWehKcuPk]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALVWehKcuPk[/video]

Anyway I would appreciate any feedback from what you see as I see her every day and have sat staring at the videos all night but I'm only noticing a few things. It would be nice to get some outside opinions from people with a fresh set of eyes! (Sorry videos aren't the best)
 
Starry im sorry i cant see the videos on my phone! Didnt want to read and run so will look when i get home. Im hoping you have improvement and sure you will xxx
 
Wots not to like?!

Lovely heel first landing, sound on stones, looks pretty much sound to me after an injury that writes off 80% of horses treated with shoes.

Well done!!
 
cptrayes said:
Wots not to like?!

Lovely heel first landing, sound on stones, looks pretty much sound to me after an injury that writes off 80% of horses treated with shoes.

Well done!!
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I feel like it is too good to be true. I have to say that I have been sitting watching the video over and over again thinking "surely she isn't that sound 4 months after the original injury and after being told she'll probably never come sound enough to be ridden" and I have been actively looking for something to be wrong. I think she does put her right fore down favouring the lateral side but that may perhaps be to do with the fact she isn't walking totally straight and the camera work isn't brilliant. I'm glad that the people I've shown have all said she looks fairly sound! I do think that she is stiff (12weeks box rest and a major operation plus pain would do that to her I'm sure) so will hopefully get the physio out soon.
 
starry23 said:
I feel like it is too good to be true. I have to say that I have been sitting watching the video over and over again thinking "surely she isn't that sound 4 months after the original injury and after being told she'll probably never come sound enough to be ridden" and I have been actively looking for something to be wrong. I think she does put her right fore down favouring the lateral side but that may perhaps be to do with the fact she isn't walking totally straight and the camera work isn't brilliant. I'm glad that the people I've shown have all said she looks fairly sound! I do think that she is stiff (12weeks box rest and a major operation plus pain would do that to her I'm sure) so will hopefully get the physio out soon.
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Now you know why we barefooters are trying to shout it from the rooftops how effective barefoot rehabs are compared to conventional treatment. Keep up the good work :)
 
wow you must be thrilled and she's a lovely horse. Which leg did she injure? what kind of things have you been doing to transition her?
 
Mammoth said:
wow you must be thrilled and she's a lovely horse. Which leg did she injure? what kind of things have you been doing to transition her?
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Tentatively thrilled I think! We've been through a lot the past 3/4 months, infact this year hasn't been brilliant for us, and I keep expecting bad things now to be honest. She is my superstar and I miss riding her so much, she was such an honest jumper and she really always tried her best for me.

She injured her right fore at the very start of July (initially it was a puncture wound to her coffin joint which required surgery and things just kept going wrong from there - we think she got her leg caught in something and damaged her medial collateral ligament trying to get free but we didn't find out the true extent of the damage until the MRI in September).

I have been very lucky in that her feet have always been good (she has been barefoot behind for about a year and a half without much effort on my part) but she was a bit footy in front over gravel to start. I changed her feed about 2 months ago to a handful of simple systems Lucie Stalks and HPD low cal feed balancer (trimmer was out last week and said that there is soya in it which isn't brilliant but the rest looks ok) and I started soaking her hay from the moment she came home from the vet school in July as she is a good doer and needed to lose weight. According to the weight tape she's lost a good 60kg and I'm aiming to get another 30/40kg off her over winter so we have a bit of a head start for spring/summer next year. She has been on a couple of different supplements which I'm now starting to wean her off of to see if they have really been making much of a difference (that feels a bit risky but I need to save some money somehow!). She was on box rest for 12 weeks (11 for her leg and 1 after she colicked due to change in grass and antibiotics messing up her gut a little etc) but I walked her out in hand on our yard road (like the one on the video) as often as I could and gradually built that up. Once I got the results from the MRI we sorted a small paddock on flat ground for her. It started off at 20mX20m but we are up to at least 20mX60m and are slowly building it up with the view to getting her into one of the strips we have with a couple of her calmer friends by Christmas time. I've been using magnetic stable chaps too when she is in overnight. I think I've been very lucky that transitioning her hasn't been much of an issue and the footyness, which was quite minimal to begin with, disappeared within the first month and a half after her injury.

We do still have a long way to go ("recovery" time for ligaments is 12-18months after an injury like that I've been told) and I always said my only aim was to keep her field sound - which she definitely is so I'm extremely happy with how she is doing and keeping my fingers crossed she'll improve further.
 
I think you may end up with a horse that is far more than 'field sound'... :)

I'm 18 months on from a 'soft tissue damage' diagnososis on my mare, I didn't MRI due to costs, and because I knew I was going to take her barefoot. She has bred me a fabulous foal and is now coming back into work, she is looking super sound, stonking over surfaces and moving better than ever. I'm really hopeful she will come back to be an even better little horse than she was, and I can't wait to jump her again. I hope things continue to improve and look positive for you and your lovely girl. Good luck.
 
Crikey starry, thats truly amazing!! What fantastic heel first landing. I would die for that! She looks so comfy over that surface. You should be amazed, I really think you might have more of your horse back than you think in a few more months! Really well done what a lovely horse and what a lovely clever owner!
 
I know. Since posting this, seeing everyone's response and realising that I wasn't just seeing things I think I'm going to keep her saddle rather than continue trying to sell it. I think I'm still in shock at how well she is doing to be honest! I'm just going to continue what I'm doing for now, get the physio out as soon as I can afford it and build up on the walking in hand. Her jags are due in July and that will be just over a year since her accident and I can get his opinion on where to go from there - fingers crossed for some riding (just hacking would be nice!) :)
 
Good plan starry, but dont let the vet tell you she needs shoes back on for you to ride her!! Barefoot got her sound barefoot will keep her that way!! Best of luck. x
 
There is no way I'm putting shoes back on her after all this! I mean we never had a problem with shoes in the first place but we don't have problems now either and if being barefoot is what has got her to this stage I see no point in risking shoes! :) I don't think my vet will push for shoes if she is sound as he wasn't even recommending trying remedial shoes on her after the MRI (whether than was because he thought the damage was irreparable or not I don't know).
 
My horse had the same injury as yours but left fore and djd he was 3 out of four lame. I went down the special shoes he was crippled after two days insisted they came off. He was seventeen when he got his injury hes been barefoot ever since and sound on all terrain. Im not a barefoot person my horse was allways shod but its worked for him and all my othesr are barefoot now.
 
starry23 said:
I know. Since posting this, seeing everyone's response and realising that I wasn't just seeing things I think I'm going to keep her saddle rather than continue trying to sell it. I think I'm still in shock at how well she is doing to be honest! I'm just going to continue what I'm doing for now, get the physio out as soon as I can afford it and build up on the walking in hand. Her jags are due in July and that will be just over a year since her accident and I can get his opinion on where to go from there - fingers crossed for some riding (just hacking would be nice!) :)
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From that short video, I'd be riding her in walk on straight line hacks now. It would be good to see her walk and trot up on flat tarmac or concrete though.
 
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