Box rest for a hyper horse (check ligament/tendon)

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BBP

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Crazy little bonkers black pony has swelling and heat in near fore, medial upper area of tendon. I assume he must have done it on the gallops yesterday, I must have done too much or let him go too fast. The vet says the swelling is pretty minor compared to many she has seen but he is 5/10 lame, worse than she expected.

I am trying to gear myself for the worst scenario of prolonged box rest. He is a feisty, sensitive, hot little horse, who I have always kept a lid on by turning him out as much as possible and letting him have a good belt around the area once every week or two, otherwise he bubbles over into a firework with multiple fuses lit.

I wondered if any of you have any hints or tips on how you managed your sharp horses when on box rest? So far I have the option to give him my sisters horses stable during the day so that he can see his friend in the field (his own stable faces the wrong way). I can also fence the little bit of concrete yard between his stable and the borrowed stable so he can stand outside if he wants to, so he doesn't feel so cooped up (vet says this is okay). I have a couple of snack balls I can use. Unfortunately I don't have a companion pony to keep nearby as the ground off the yard is too boggy to graze at the moment.

I will search through old threads but its making me feel better to write it down. Feeling extremely down at the moment, my sister has just gone through 2 years of box rest and rehab with her horse who is much quieter than mine and ive just gone through 2 years of a slipped disc.

Thank you.
 
Sometimes I think it’s better to keep a horse turned out if they are that fizzy… maybe just fence a small section off? My horse did his check ligament back in jan and was in for 14 weeks and a complete nightmare to bring back to work! Was actually dangerous. In hindsight I would of just turned him away and not gone through the dreaded box rest. Good luck
 
Try getting a mirrow worked wondersd when I had mine on 7 months box rest. Try and keep something in to be around to keep him company. Other than that I found the less stimulation the better, it took about 3 weeks for her to really settle. There was always food available.
 
I also have a fairly hot horse, TB, on prolonged box rest - nearly three months now - the best thing I did was to keep another one in, in the stable next to him. Sure its hard work keeping another one in 24/7 but it is worth it in the long run.
 
My 5yo gelding has got a fractured pedal bone needs at least 3 months box rest. Unfortunately he had to watch the other horses go out into the field each day and was on his own in the yard, with full view of the fields, which sent him totally bonkers!
He got more and more unsettled and wild, and after 3 weeks I decided to move him to a rehab yard, where he can recover quietly and with other horses on box rest stabled with him.

I think if you have the option of keeping something else stabled next to him, that will help massively. And I would definitely keep him without view of the fields!

My boy would have been fine with a friend and without the views... Unfortunately that was not option for me, so I had to move him. Now he's no longer stressed, and neither am I. Just the bank account getting the beating... but it'll be worth it for an uneventful and full recovery!

Seeing your horse riot in the stable when he should be resting is very stressful...

Good luck, I hope it goes well!
 
Going through a similar thing - my mare was kicked in the field and has damage to the DDF tendon. My worst nightmare as her nickname is fire breathing dragon -although fantastic in the stable, the prospect of quiet walking inhand made me literally cry. The first 4 weeks walking were really, really tough. I was just reaching the point of giving up and turning her away for the winter when suddenly she went from doing a lippizaner impression every time we left the stable (half a ton of horse above your head is not fun...) to a Blackpool donkey on the end of the reins. It was like all of a sudden she resigned herself to a life in the stable. We are now up to 40 min walking inhand, and I have just startled letting my lighter, younger, fitter and braver mate hop on her. We only do this at weekend due to daylight, and we are only three weeks in, but the horse has been amazing. Previously you couldnt even get on her after two days in. I have a leadrope attached to the bit via a coupling so if anything goes wrong Loren can bail out and I still have the horse. Crazily we only stay on the road, as the school is an exciting place where 'going fast' is permitted. We have a long way to go, but the hard work has been worth it as the vet has pronounced my girl 100% sound. We still have another 4 or 5 moths to go and there is every possibility something will go wrong betwenn now and then, but we are cautiously optimistic.

Anyway, my point is that its possible your pony cound turn a corner in his behaviour. However its a balancing act between bravery and stupidity so dont perservere if one of you is going to end up dead! Only you know your horse and just as importantly your capabilities. Have faith in your gut instict, keep talking to and questioning your vet, and do what works for you.

Good luck!
 
All great encouragement but I'd be careful about turning out too early as this could be counter productive defending on his injury and size of turnout area.

I used seddolin which is a mild sedative before turning him out for the first time after such a long box rest. As you know it's the first ten to fifteen minutes that are the worst when they are wound up. I'd also turn him out on his own I initially and on a very long lead rope or similar. The sedative is available from your vet and worth the well worth the fuss. Good luck.
 
All great encouragement but I'd be careful about turning out too early as this could be counter productive depending on his injury and size of turnout area.

I used seddolin which is a mild sedative before turning him out for the first time after such a long box rest. As you know it's the first ten to fifteen minutes that are the worst when they are wound up. I'd also turn him out on his own, initially and on a very long lead rope or similar. The sedative is available from your vet and worth the well worth the fuss. Good luck.
 
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