bowed tendons, opionions please

A

alfielola05

Well-Known Member
Joined
26 July 2011
Messages
70
Location
dundee
Visit site
my gelding came in from the field a few weeks ago with a lower bow on his tendon. No lameness at all. Was advsied by vet to do a weeks box rest, a week walking and is now turned out and i have to ride in walk and trot only and see how he goes. Has anyone had a similar experience? He is five. Will he ever be able to return to full work or is it too early to tell?
 
Slightly different, but our now retired tb. (he's 28) has a HUGE bowed tendon. So huge that the vet always makes students feel it. He's had this nice before we got him aged 19 and he did sj and xc with her previous owner. We've done some low level jumping and hacking with him and he's never had a lame day with his tendon. It's huge, but stable :)
 
When my mare blew her tendon last year the leg was massive and I was told that she would always be like that but I bandaged with ice twice a day and arnica and soft stable bandages overnight and this brought it right down.

I am going to be truthful and say she didnt return to full work IE jumping etc hence why i found her a nice hacking/flatwork home where she is happy :)
 
Did you not scan? You really can't assess tendon or ligament damage without doing so, unless your vet is some sort of mind reader.

My WB came in with minimal swelling in the region of his check ligament last year, sound as a pound. On scanning he was found to have extremely severe damage to his check and his sdft. He is unlikely ever to be ridden again (but he is older).

At the moment you won't be able to tell anything, because you haven't actually diagnosed what is wrong. Fingers crossed you get it sorted x
 
Black Beastie said:
When my mare blew her tendon last year the leg was massive and I was told that she would always be like that but I bandaged with ice twice a day and arnica and soft stable bandages overnight and this brought it right down.

I am going to be truthful and say she didnt return to full work IE jumping etc hence why i found her a nice hacking/flatwork home where she is happy :)
Click to expand...

Oh dear, im glad you found a nice home for her though. I just worry that my boy wouldnt settle somewhere else, he is a bit of a highly strung rascal, I think i could be stuck (i adore him, i dont really mean stuck in a bad way) with an exceptionally high maintenance horse that I can only walk. Could you tell me how you determined that she couldnt return to full work?
 
alfielola05 said:
my gelding came in from the field a few weeks ago with a lower bow on his tendon. No lameness at all. Was advsied by vet to do a weeks box rest, a week walking and is now turned out and i have to ride in walk and trot only and see how he goes. Has anyone had a similar experience? He is five. Will he ever be able to return to full work or is it too early to tell?
Click to expand...

Has he had an ultrasound scan?
There's really no way of telling if, and how badly the tendon is damaged without one.
Just because there is swelling at the back of the leg, doesn't mean the horse has tendon damage and likewise, I've known horses with career-ending tendon injuries that showed no bow at all, just a bit of heat in the leg.

The fact that your vet only advised one week of box rest and then one week of walk and trot suggests that he doesn't actually believe the tendon is damaged at all, otherwise you should be boxresting, buting and coldhosing until the leg is scanned at least.

Even if he does have tendon damage, lots of horses return to full work after, provided they're rehabbed correctly and given enough time to recover. :)
 
alfielola05 said:
Oh dear, im glad you found a nice home for her though. I just worry that my boy wouldnt settle somewhere else, he is a bit of a highly strung rascal, I think i could be stuck (i adore him, i dont really mean stuck in a bad way) with an exceptionally high maintenance horse that I can only walk. Could you tell me how you determined that she couldnt return to full work?
Click to expand...

Vet scans after nearly 4 months of box rest, then SLOW walking rehab. Was doing short bursts of trot then went for final scan and was told yes would be sound for hacking and flatwork only. She was VERY highly strung was on sedation just to keep her in the stable, she weaved weight off herself and without the sedation I came home one day to her hanging by the back legs off her stable door she had tried to jump out and not made it :eek:

The mare liked a job to do and I personally wasnt in the position at that time to have horses (loooong story) so I advertised her in a few places being honest and upfront about her and a nice girl took her and is now out competing dressage on her and hacking her around the countryside.
 
Having the tendon scanned would give you a clear idea of what is going on... Otherwise it is purely a guessing game.

I have a mare who we believed had "done" one tendon, it turned out following scan that both front legs were in trouble. Luckily we were insured, and she had stem cell therapy treatment which cost about £5,000.00 She seems OK, but we put her in foal and she's rather turned into a field ornament. She has stayed sound though. (albeit she is hardly ever ridden these days) I would rather have her sound for low level occasional work rather than lose her completely by allowing her to return to her former fast and furious workload (ACE gymkhana pony and colt hunter, also raced)
 
Last edited:
rhino said:
Did you not scan? You really can't assess tendon or ligament damage without doing so, unless your vet is some sort of mind reader.

My WB came in with minimal swelling in the region of his check ligament last year, sound as a pound. On scanning he was found to have extremely severe damage to his check and his sdft. He is unlikely ever to be ridden again (but he is older).

At the moment you won't be able to tell anything, because you haven't actually diagnosed what is wrong. Fingers crossed you get it sorted x
Click to expand...

thank you Rhino, i appreciate it. I havent had a scan yet, vet said i could but it wouldnt make a difference to what I am doing and no further harm will be done from not at the moment. I think a part of me doesnt really want to know how bad it is but I now have a niggling guilt that maybe i am doing the wrong thing by not getting it. Would you suggest I do get a scan done now? x
 
alfielola05 said:
thank you Rhino, i appreciate it. I havent had a scan yet, vet said i could but it wouldnt make a difference to what I am doing and no further harm will be done from not at the moment. I think a part of me doesnt really want to know how bad it is but I now have a niggling guilt that maybe i am doing the wrong thing by not getting it. Would you suggest I do get a scan done now? x
Click to expand...

For the sake of about 100 quid GET IT SCANNED!!! Your vet sounds well lazy!!!
 
alfielola05 said:
thank you Rhino, i appreciate it. I havent had a scan yet, vet said i could but it wouldnt make a difference to what I am doing and no further harm will be done from not at the moment. I think a part of me doesnt really want to know how bad it is but I now have a niggling guilt that maybe i am doing the wrong thing by not getting it. Would you suggest I do get a scan done now? x
Click to expand...

If you were box resting I would agree, I didn't get my vet out immediately as it takes about a week for the swelling to go down enough to get a good quality scan, but had I turned him out and he'd had a mis-step, then the tendon would have completely ruptured and he would have had to be put down :( In your position I would definitely be phoning your vet and discussing the possibility of scanning, and for peace of mind more than anything I will always push for scans in the future if I ever have any doubt.

There is a good possibility that it is absolutely nothing to worry about, so don't panic x
 
I would definitely get it scanned!! My horse developed bowed tendons over 10 yrs ago when she was 10 this was when I was hunting her twice a week, (she was never lame either) a summer off and they had completely disappeared she returned to hunting just once a week and they have never come back. Different circumstances to yours but get it scanned so you know what you are dealing with, hope he comes sound
 
Last edited:
The ideal treatment with any kind of tendon issue is cold therapy, which consists of ice, ice, ice. Everyone should have an emergency supply of instant ice packs on them (I have two in my boot always for when I travel to compete). You burst the capsule inside the bag and shake them and they are instantly freezing cold. Its my own personal opinion based on my experience that the better you can treat the tendon with ice/cold the better the outcome.

We have 'ice cups' in our freezer at the yard as well as a selection of ice boots that anyone can use in an emergency situation such as a pulled tendon.

I know its a bit late for that now but your vet should have advised you at the time regarding cold therapy for that type of injury and I am suprised he didn't. You need a scan to determine the type of injury, if there is any fibrous tissue growing which is impeding the strength and texture of the tendon fibres and if this is the case then they may need to be broken down with LW ultrasound as this had to be done in my horses case.

A scan will tell you all you need to know. No use hiding behind the worry, you need a diagnosis NOW!

xx
 
Last edited by a moderator:
thank you everyone for your advice, i got the legs scanned today and the results made me :) !!! It turns out, much to the vets suprise, that the bow is actually a fluid swelling between the skin and the tendon and the tendons themselves are undamaged. He is unsure how or why it happened but we have decided to give him the rest of the year off and then bring him back into work slowly and the prognosis is good, fingers crossed x
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top