crazy horse on box rest... help please

charlie76

charlie76

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Meeka has now been on box rest for almost 8 weeks, 4 of which he was cross tied. He is not allowed to be turned out or let loose. The vet told me to walk him both in hand and ridden for three weeks and he wasn't to go beserk or leap about! Ok, easier said than done.
Well, got mid week 2 and he was bonkers so phoned vet and he said to start trotting him as it was too dangerous to ride him on sedalin or anything similar. Been doing that but to be honest, he is still a bit scary!
I am lunging in the morning, hacking at lunch time and hand walking and grazing in the evening and allowing him a roll in the indoor school.
He is on a magensium calmer and Zyklene calmer.
has anyone else used the zyklene?? He is on 2 sachets a day.
I suppose I just have to lump it, get on and pray to survive, if anyone has any bright ideas chuck them this way!
I am tempted to let him canter on the lunge and ridden as I am sure this would be less harmful that the ninja moves he does.
 
Be careful, box rest is always such a difficult situation!

I have heard people on here mention a long term sedative injection administered by the vet which works well on box rested horses, might be worth asking about that.
 
if you can do it where he's kept, i would turn him out on a small concrete pen (crew yard). it HAS to be concrete, because this is a bit slippery they tend not to prat about on it, and it has to be a small area.
in my experience this is by far the safest and best way to reintroduce exercise after strict box rest. they tend to just mooch from hay, to water, to shelter (ideally in diff corners of pen) very soon, and because they're on their own (not in hand) they don't use the handler as an excuse to blow their top, if that makes sense...
if that's not possible, ACP, in the interests of your safety and his long-term good...
 
Thousands of racehorses are ridden on sedalin perfectly safely. Obviously you want to use as little as possible but it is far safer than the horse getting loose. ACP tablets are also used but we find they don't have any effect on some horses and that sedalin works better. I find that vets can be very impractical about coping with horses that have been on box rest - they seem to think they will just plod around like a dog on a lead!
 
Mine was a nightmare and the vet prescribed Bromide, which is apparently used for TB colts. It is supposed to be out of their system in 24 hours and the doses are tiny. Mine was on about 1/2 teaspoon per day. The only thing, the first day he had it he stopped eating, so there was the immediate threat of colic. He was able to be led in hand, so he was taken out and allowed to pick at the grass to get him to eat something, which worked. This was 11.00 at night. When the vet was consulted the next day she airly said, Oh yes, it sometimes has this effect!

It is cheap to buy, but you need to discuss its use and dose with the vet.

Vets are very quick to say box rest, but they don't have to cope with the consequences.
 
Oh god i feel your pain, i have just one week to go before v gets his wire removed from his jaw and that will have been 8weeks rest, i have actually been in tears because i feel my horse is so unhappy, thankfully i can let him run in the indoor for a bit but only whilstsupervised so he's been getting a half hr each day. tried him on supercalm but i think it didnothing after a week. I have taken him off all hard feed bar spillers low cal balencer which has magnesium in it, and a handfull of chaff and i seen a dramatic difference after a week he is sooo much calmer. I wish you the very best of luck..x
 
I just LOVE it when vets give advice like that. I once famously got to the point of telling one sharply, "Well come and walk the ****** under saddle yourself if you think it's such a great plan!" I was "hacking" it around in the stable yard and at one point found myself looking DOWN on the barn roof . . . :eek:

Sorry, but having a horse leaping about certainly isn't conducive to healing, it's dangerous to you (is he going to come and do your work for you if you get hurt) and runs a very real risk that the horse will get loose and make the whole situation infinitely worse. :mad:

There is a good reason why chemical restraint exists and it isn't just because all the people who have used it over the years are pathetic. There are also a number of options available now and while vets here don't seem to be as well versed in the options as many in other countries, I've certainly met a few now who know damn well and for some reason don't feel comfortable suggesting it to many of their clients! There seems to be some sort of opinion it's "failing". Rubbish. In a situation where your options are limited use what you've got available to keep everyone safe. You don't see too many people complaining about means of physical restraint and quite frankly, my experience has been they can be much more damaging.

Speak to your vet. Slowly and clearly. Explain to that you genuinely feel that the horse is endangering himself (and you). Get past worrying if he thinks you're a "wimp" (again, if he can do better, let him ;) ) and tell him that you need some help.
 
Ive been through it all with my boy, he damaged his Impar ligament which then lead to 4 months box rest. I did have to use Sedalin & it did make life easier for a while but then it caused complications with his gut. He has other issue's which now mean Sedalin or any other sedation cannot be used long term.

He's now turned out of a day but only allowed in a small pen, i change it everyday so he has fresh grass. I was allowed to start Hand walking but without sedation he was a bloody nightmare. When it came to T/O i dreaded it as walking out to T/O & then bringing in was like taking my life in my hands.

I tried Zlykene but it made him 10x's worse, i can't use Mag calmers due to his gut being very sensitive to them. Anyway i eventually found V-kalm which is pure valarian, it's fab stuff he's now back to being a dream to handle. Obviously it's banned for competition use but as my boy may never compete again i dont care, you only have to withdraw it a couple of days before competing anyway.
 
Ditto what Old Vic said..... My girl did 6 months box rest with walking (????) in hand and I eventually put her on this for both of our sakes...... I'd do it again in a heartbeat as it was truly terrifying at times........Good luck.
 
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