Box rest to 24/7 turn out

Buzz1

Buzz1

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My boy has been on complete box rest since end of april but now looks as though he will be getting out in a week or so, he will be getting out 24/7 but im worried that he will hurt himself over doing it first time out as he has been in for so long, I am going to start walking him out in hand this week how much/long should I do this before turning him out? I cant put him out for short periods as once he's out he will freak about coming in again and wouldn't settle, all advice appreciated :)
 
I also used sedalin after my horse at 6 months in 24/7 with a fracture. He still went insane even though i thought he may fall he was that dopey going to the paddock. It wore off the second he realised the rope was undone!
I put a quiet horse he knew long side the fence (not in the paddock in case he hurt her) after a few minutes of craziness he was more interested in her and i turned her out with him. She kept him very calm and he was completely chilled for the rest of his recouperation.

Good luck, dont worry too much these things always stress us out no end and are not as bad as expected half the time! xx
 
He has got a wee quiet pal that i was going to turn him out with and I know he will go mad but was worried because he hadn't really moved about he'd pull muscles etc do you think taking him out in hand will make any difference or just chuck him out?
 
After my previous gelding had colic surgery and box rest I was advised by then YO to turn him straight out with his mate in the school (cut in half) for a few hours and then into his paddock sectioned off with electric tape into a much smaller area and slowly built it up (increased the area) over a few days until the tape came down. He had a few buckaroo episodes in the school but couldnt go too mad as it was small and the ground was at least soft. Once in the field he stuck his head down and just ate - probably couldnt believe his luck to be back on grass! I also had to watch his grass intake though as it was just as all the new grass was coming through and that is why the smaller area. Good luck - I bet you are glad the time is here for him to go out :)
 
Seriously cant wait feel sorry for him when everyone else is out stuffing there face with grass and having fun in the field, also no more mucking out woo lol
 
I have dealt with this situation many times and it can be a very risky time!
I do not like sedating them at all, they can still go ape **** but their reactions are slowed and that is when they can run into the fence or fall over or, when it wears off take off like a lunatic.

What I do is to have the farrier rasp their feet right down so that they are foot sore in front, then they are more than happy to just graze for several days. The soreness wears off and all is well with the world.

You wil find that the feet are soft anyway from standing in and your leading out might make him footy anyway.

When it comes time to turn him out, casually walk into the field (have a longe line on him) and let him graze when he is happily grazing just let him loose.
 
Be careful putting him out on too much grass to begin with. If you can, hand graze him as much as possible (I was able to turn my boy out into a small grassy area for a few hours a day before he went out 24/7 and even though I thought he'd hoon about in there to begin with he was so obsessed with the grass that he put his head trsaight down).

I think in-hand work is definitely a good idea, especially if he hasn't done any. I found it also helped to lead my horse up to the field gate and let him just look for a bit (and to let the horses in the adjoining fields get excited about him from a distance and get that out of their system). It defnitely took the edge off him when I turned him out for the first time as he wasn't barging to get into the field as he thought we'd just turn round and go back.

Good luck. And try to stay calm yourself.
 
You don't say why he was on box rest. My boy had to do months of box rest after a ligament opp last year. We had a chat with the vet and decided that he would go nuts when turned out so I would put him back into work. We would walk for 15mins then build up the time and the work this would also allow the the leg to harden up a bit then when he was upto 45mins of walk and trot we turned him out. He did go nuts but the leg was fine. The sad news is that he now won't stay out in the field for much longer than a few hours and the other day he got so worked up he has done the other check ligament, back on box rest. B***dy horses.
 
I would avoid leading out in hand because you risk an explosion, mine did try to explode a bit and fell down on the way out to his field [he was unco-ordinated due to Sedolin], I had him in a bridle and had two people walking behind me, it was a five minutes walk to the field and he was subdued by that time.
 
My mare was on box rest for several months due to a tendon injury. We did the handwalking and the ridden whilst stabled work due to it being winter time, and the winter fields being too muddy to turn her out in. She was turned out in May and the vet gave her a mild injection to sedate her, couldnt really tell that much. She is very food driven so she was turned out on a fairly bald paddock so she spent the bulk of her time searching for grass. It worked well and she was fine.
 
I had mine sedated by the vet after 3months box rest to 24/7 turnout. He was really sleepy and just stood in one spot and slowly came back round and snuffled about.
 
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