box rest or not??

[madmuppet]

What do you do?? My horse has been in the large animal hospital and i have been advised that they think he has pulled his ligaments where they join at the coffin joint? He is very very slightly lame at the trot..they have injected him into the joint yesterday and today he is getting shod with egg bar shoes and i am collecting him tonight..So far hes been in his stable a week and i have been walking him out in hand for two ten min walks a day and letting in graze inbetween times as advised by the vet, however he has been going mental.. bucking and leaping round his stable, when i have been leading him out hes been getting more and more difficult to hang onto.. He wont stay in himself so i have had to keep my older horse in for company and turn that out when i take my guy for walk then i have to stay with him and groom him and make a fuss of him so my older guy can just have some time in the field. I explained the problems i was having to the vet yesterday and she said to turn him out in a barn but not the field.

I asked what was the difference between a barn and a very very small paddock, say the same size as dressage areana but she said no field only barn turn. I out..

I dont have barn but can section the field so its very small and flat. god.. i just dont know..the vets are great but they dont have to deal with him.. cause hes not that sore hes just going mental.. got only knows what hes going to be like tonight.. He almost smashed the lorry on the way into the large animal hospial! What do you guys advise.. I know you arent vets but what have any of you done in this situation?

 

[the watcher]

I do think you need to restrict the space this horse has to move around in, at least while there is still some healing going on - can't they give you ACP or similar to take the edge off him for a few days? Global Herbs do a powder for box resting horses too this might help, but you don't have time to wait for that to arrive or take effect

 

[madmuppet]

The vet had suggested that i could use sedaline paste. I think that hes going to damage himself more by racing round his stable, Its the walking out in hand thats causing major problems too as hes rearing up and running on the spot which is just nothing like what is usually like.. Hes normall very laid back.. Hes only been in a week so far.. I know if he was out once hes calmed down he will graze as hes a greedy horse and i can put haylage out for him and put him a very small paddock by himself next to his old pal who just wont run around. I want whats best for him.. the vet basically said i will just have to do what i can, if i really cant manage him in inside then,,, and then she didnt actually finish the sentence..

 

[Fairynuff]

if he were mine Id give him hay only, lead him out in a chifney or bridle and let him loose in a tiny space where he cant even attempt to jump out unless from a standstill. Other than that , Id shoot the bugger

! Good luck, Mairi.

 

[YorkshireLass]

Current thinking favours turnout in a restricted area or barn in preferance to box rest... for the very reasons you describe!

 

[angiebaby]

I've been in the same position. After an op on his suspensory ligament, mine was supposed to have 1 months box rest, with in hand walking for 10 mins a day. However, he had other ideas, and, even with a chifney bit he managed to get away from me and leg it up a neighbours drive

; Bucking, leaping on all fours etc ( this was after just 2 weeks ). He trashed their lawn! I called the vet who said to turn him out into a small paddock for a few days, then into the bigger field with his friends. That was two weeks ago, he is doing much better; windgalls completely gone and all swelling around his scar.

 

[DuckToller]

I had two ponies with tendon injuries, one I did box rest and a month walking in hand etc, the other I just turned out and let nature take its course. Both now sound, but it did take longer with the second one, if that helps.

 

[Marchtime]

It does depend on the ligaments involved. It sounds to me like you might be referring to the collateral ligaments - if this is the case I would strongly recommending gritting your teeth with the box rest for as long as you can. I know how difficult it is because my TB had 3 months box rest for a suspensory injury when he was 4yrs old and was nearly impossible to handle but it worked. There is no other known treatment for collateral ligament injuries, other than joint injections to relieve swelling. If you do have to turn out then I find sedaline gel is a life saver. Not only does it make it far easier to get the horse to the field but it also keeps them fairly calm once there and is easier to give than ACP tablets. Whilst you know what is best for your horse it might be best to try to keep him in for a few weeks just to give the soft tissue some time to heal and allow time for any swelling in the joint to settle.
Good luck.

 

[debradley]

Hi one of mine did a check ligament in June this year. No way she would do box rest. We put her in a small paddock (improvised with electric fencing) about 20 x 20m during the day and stable at night. If she was really silly she had a bit of sedaline, but she was soon really happy to be in her restricted area as long as that was with the other horse. It also helped to stop her legs filling, which was happening after just a couple of days box rest.

Good luck really don't envy you. Healing vibes being sent your way.

 

[_jetset_]

I have to say I would do exactly what the vet was telling me with this kind of injury. I suspect the reason the vet is saying definitely no turnout in the field is due to how easily they can slip etc when the field is wet. A ligament needs time to heal in exactly the same way as a tendon does.

I would get some ACP and keep him on box rest walking out every day as the vet has instructed. ACP will help a lot and make him more relaxed in his stable.

If he slips in the field, and the ligament is already damaged, you could looking at something much more serious. Sorry to be a bit doom and gloom but I have looked into ligament injuries quite closely since Grace injured her suspensory, and nothing but rest will heal it I am afraid.

 

[angiebaby]

I agree, really, but at the end of the day, you have to look at the horses welfare. If they don't like it, they don't like it. Walker is much happier out, he had started to kick me and bite, which he has never done before. Only time will tell , he will be seen by the vet again Feb next year.

 

[madmuppet]

thanks guys for all your replies.. I got him back from the large animal hospital last night, he was in getting injection into the joint and egg bar shoes fitted.. Hes much calmer today (god only knows why!) Managed to walk him out in hand without any probs.. going to try and keep him in as long as poss but when he starts to become totally wild i think i will have no alternative other than to turn him out in a very very small paddock.. I dont want to but hes such a laid back guy normally. thanks for your advice.. I just wanted to know what all you guys had done in situations like this..

 

[pinkcatkin]

I had the same problem with my mare after 3 months box rest. She was impossible, launching into the air and being totalling dangerous even with two of us leading her from either side. I tried her on ACP but it had a really strange effect on her and made very neurotic, not helpful at all. The only think I could do was pen rest her which gave her something to munch and she was much better.

Good luck.

 

[henryhorn]

What they really mean is they don't want him to have enough space to charge about and risk more damage, so it's up to you where you think he will settle.
We have successfully penned horses in the barn, and in the field, but the fence has to be very high or they can jump out. the optimum size for a pen is I think 15 feet by ten, you then move it along the fenceline very day or so to give fresh grass and avoid a morass.
Your dressage sized paddock is way too big..
try sedalin just a small competition sized dose to start with, and it may help calm him down if done over a few days, once he settles you should find he accepts the restrictions.

 

[madmuppet]

Hes had to be turned out now! he was going mental.. running round is stable, bucking and kicking the walls with both back feet! rearing up in the middle of his stable and then running round again i really thought he was going to injure himself. Hes been getting walked out in hand and been getting to graze and hes been not too bad but hes just been not coping with the stable bit.. Hes had company the whole time and stable toys, the lot.. On saturday he was just mental and i thought he is going to damage himself more in the stable than he would outside. I turned him out in a small paddock and after a few yahoo's he settled down and was grazing, he had a wee yahoo yesterday after i turned him out but today he was fine and just started grazing, hes got hay and haylage in his wee paddock and there is no mud in it yet,, when it gets muddy i will move his paddock, (its electric fencing) hes still sound at walk and when he was trottting in his paddock he looked sound too, i feel bad about turning him out when he was ment to be in but he was going to do more damage i am certain or injure something else by the way he was acting. thanks guys for all your advice so far.