Bringing back into work

[Amye]

Hello everyone,

So I've posted a couple of times about my horse going lame about 6 weeks ago. He's been on box rest since then, had some bute for a week, had a scan and the vet came to check up on him yesterday.

Vet is happy with his progress, he's got low level swelling in his fetlocks but vet has said he will possibly always have this. The problem was that one had become a lot more swollen than the other, now they are back to being pretty even. So he is now allowed to be turned out (yay) and brought back in to work. I've been riding him for the past few days (on vets advice) but only in walk.

The vet has advised to carry on riding, in walk only and start with 30 mins this week and then up it by 10 mins each week. Once we're up to an hour we can introduce some short sections of trot on the flat, then after a bit of that we can introduce on a hill. Once we've done that we can introduce the canter (so will be in a couple of months) and then start schooling again.

I've never brought a horse back into work. The vet said the best thing is the get him fit and slim and get him working correctly so his muscles build up correctly. J has a tenancy to be a bit of a plod and on the forehand when he wants to be, we were working on this with our lessons but obviously these came to a halt.

Does anyone have any advice on starting him up again but getting him working correctly from the off? I want to do everything right and give him the best chance of recovery. I'm working on the slim (or trying as he's such a good doer). I guess the fit will come with time as he can only walk at the moment. I know I need to keep him marching out instead of plodding on his walks.

I'm not a fan of gadgets, mostly as I'm a bit novicey so wouldn't want to use anything incorrectly, but is there anything I could use to help him use himself better?. I know that there's no quick fix or replacement for correct schooling, just pondering if there's something that might help him build his muscles right while we're just in walk. I've seen someone at the yard use a saddle-pad that has a strap that goes round the hind legs, I guess this is supposed to help them use their back end properly?


Thanks in advance for any advice

 

[ShowJumperL95]

Hello everyone,

So I've posted a couple of times about my horse going lame about 6 weeks ago. He's been on box rest since then, had some bute for a week, had a scan and the vet came to check up on him yesterday.

Vet is happy with his progress, he's got low level swelling in his fetlocks but vet has said he will possibly always have this. The problem was that one had become a lot more swollen than the other, now they are back to being pretty even. So he is now allowed to be turned out (yay) and brought back in to work. I've been riding him for the past few days (on vets advice) but only in walk.

The vet has advised to carry on riding, in walk only and start with 30 mins this week and then up it by 10 mins each week. Once we're up to an hour we can introduce some short sections of trot on the flat, then after a bit of that we can introduce on a hill. Once we've done that we can introduce the canter (so will be in a couple of months) and then start schooling again.

I've never brought a horse back into work. The vet said the best thing is the get him fit and slim and get him working correctly so his muscles build up correctly. J has a tenancy to be a bit of a plod and on the forehand when he wants to be, we were working on this with our lessons but obviously these came to a halt.

Does anyone have any advice on starting him up again but getting him working correctly from the off? I want to do everything right and give him the best chance of recovery. I'm working on the slim (or trying as he's such a good doer). I guess the fit will come with time as he can only walk at the moment. I know I need to keep him marching out instead of plodding on his walks.

I'm not a fan of gadgets, mostly as I'm a bit novicey so wouldn't want to use anything incorrectly, but is there anything I could use to help him use himself better?. I know that there's no quick fix or replacement for correct schooling, just pondering if there's something that might help him build his muscles right while we're just in walk. I've seen someone at the yard use a saddle-pad that has a strap that goes round the hind legs, I guess this is supposed to help them use their back end properly?


Thanks in advance for any advice

With horses coming back into work I like to hack them and Long Rein them. I have on occasion and still do now put a pole maze in the school and walk them around it on foot and getting them to bend and become supple without us on their back plus it's great bonding and keeps it interesting for them. There is only so much you can do in walk

 

[Honey'sMum]

My big lad has been back in work for nearly 5 weeks after having nearly 18 months off due to various ailments and an injury! We're up to walking out for just over an hour. I've tried to keep it simple and varying his routes. He does 2 longer rides and 2 shorter rides per week currently and is enjoying it. I don't ask him for too much and try and keep him long and low with periods of loose rein to stretch where it's safe to do so. I'm planning on introducing small amounts of trot after the 6 week period. I'm being over cautious as he's a big lad and he takes longer to fitten and muscle up than your average slighter horse. You need to do what you think is best and not rush it. Just take it week by week and trust your instincts.

 

[Aaida45]

After time off, it is not uncommon for horses to be excited and keen, however, this should not be mistaken for fitness – it wouldn’t be out of the question for the horse to experience muscular soreness after returning to work. Introducing the horse back to exercise after a winter break should be done very gradually, preferably not on a sharp, windy day! The frequency and intensity of exercise should then be slowly increased to avoid more serious muscular fatigue such as tying-up. This should also be partnered with a thorough warm up and cool down. After all, we wouldn’t proceed to run 10km after no training or warming up!

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