Bit of reassurance needed please!

[madhector]

I have just got Blaze's vet report through from the AHT, and part of it has got me a bit worried.

It says that the box walking is a potential problem because the collateral ligaments of the distal interphalangeal joint are stressed particularly when the horse is turning. Now in order to stop him box walking I have rigged up his stable so he cant complete a circle. This has worked and he isn't box walking. However he does walk round, and then have to do a tight turn to get back, due to the tyre hanging in his way! He doesn't do this obsessively but again he does do a bit.

Would this be a worry with his injury? I am paranoid that I am going to do something wrong and he isn't going to get any better

Any thoughts?


ETA - know this should really be in vets but everyone knows the history in here..

 

[Sags_Deer]

Have you tried a mirror? a lot of people swear by them.

 

[madhector]

Yep, and he has a window through to the next stable with comapny in it. We have stopped the box walking completly, its just by doing that it means he does some fairly tight turns just when he moves around normally.

 

[Flame_]

Tie him up for his own good.

 

[Jellicle]

Why don't you call them and ask if you're worried? It might be that it would be better to have him in a v. small fenced off area instead of a stable.

 

[TarrSteps]

If he's not doing it obsessively then there isn't the same danger of RSI and you have to do something, don't you? Obviously no tight turning would be great but as discussed in your previous posts, options are limited and you have to do the best with what you've got.

This is one of the problems with box walking and weaving in general though, especially if not very well managed. The repetitive nature of the movement and the apparent "thoughtlessness" on the horse's part can set up for repetitive strain injuries. Is it possible the sterotypie (it's not a "habit", technically) has contributed to his problem in the first place.

Tying up . . . I know people do it but I have to say I'd struggle to do it in good conscience. Any horse that already has a locomotor stereotypie (which stems from free movement being thwarted in the first place) is going to be driven mad by being tied up. I'm sure many horses come out of it okay but I have to say the two I know that were tied for weeks and weeks (one broken hip, one pelvis) really did not come out of it mentally "okay". I think that's one of those things where we don't want to know what a horse thinks, even though we can give it a good guess, just because it's not convenient for us to do so. which is verging on inhumane in my opinion. If you have to do it for his future soundness I guess that will have to be the choice but I wouldn't assume with any horse it would come without its own set of problems.

If he absolutely has to be kept as still as possible, what about some form of long term sedation? Again, there are risks but chemical restraint has got to be easier on a horse, mentally (which has a bearing on the physical) than straight physical restraint.

 

[georgiegirl]

Im going through the same worries with twig. shes in on box rest rest due to suspensory injury and she weaves. Not all the time but if the yard gets busy or its tea time she will shift about. Cant even put a weaving grill up as she just stands behind it and does it.

The only thing we have done is rubber mat and deep bed right up to the front of the box.

Another thing to consider is his shoes..... not sure of the nature of your horses injury but I know with twig she has had egg bar fitted to bad leg and heart bar to the opposite leg all giving extra support.....maybe worth having a word with vet/farrier??

 

[_jetset_]

Someone I know used a long term sedative for their horse for the very reasons you have mentioned... She ummed and ahhed about it for quite some time because the drug is administered to humans for schizophrenia, I think it is called something like modicate. It is not licensed for horses, but her vet offered it due to the need to keep him calm to heal.

 

[madhector]

Thanks everyone

He is very calm now and seems quite settled, no box walking at all but due to the tyres in his stable he has quite tight turns when he moves about, but he doesnt move anymore than is normal on box rest. Just worried it might not help the injury...

Spoke to them about cross tying him and they were very against it as they want him mobile but not box walking. Had him sedated for the first few days but dont need to now as he is so calm.

It is just the turns that worry me... but is it any worse than a normal horse on box rest?

 

[Mike007]

What have you got onthe floor of the box.I would be strongly inclined NOT to use any form of rubber matting.The reason is that on rubber matting it is harder for the hoof to rotate on the ground and any axial rotation must therefore occur in the joints.
Best regards to Blaze.

 

[gingerspice]

Ditto T-S above - you have to work with what you've got. The vets have said no cross-tying so you can't do that. He doesn't need sedation and your main priority was to stop box walking - which you have done.

By rigging up tyres etc he obviously will have some sharp turns to make, but it doesn't sound like he is turning a lot in there and in order to move a bit (which vets want) he will have to turn sharp sometimes, and it'll certainly be no more than normal box rest and remember where ever he was he would make sharp turns sometimes! My horse does it out in a 4-acre field

It sounds like your doing all the right things for him to give him the best chance here so relax, accept that nothing is absolutely perfect but it really doesn't sound like you have a problem

.

Oh and give Blaze some yummy cow parsley from me!