Video Dex is lame... HHO Good Vibes please!

AShetlandBitMeOnce said:
Thanks everyone, they have just called to say he's just about to go in as they had an emergency come in this morning.
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Hope it goes well. I hate it when you get a call and you're expecting them to say everything went well only to find it's an anticlimax and you need additional supplies of nervous energy to keep going.
 
So just had the call from the surgeon, he has come round from surgery and is standing and walking all okay.

I have forgotten the scientific explanation but basically the chip is removed and okay, it was quite far back in the joint. He has cartilage covering all the bone so that’s positive but he does have a large crack in the cartilage on one side of his knee cap that the surgeon could get his probe into which isn’t good at all, and some weakening on the corresponding side of that cartilage as a result. So prognosis is good, but it will always have that weakness and is a joint that will require management and probably injections from this point forward so what exactly that means is worrying. It seems like we now will have a life of worry with it, which is what I was hoping I wouldn’t have being somewhat prone to being neurotic as it is. I also understand that joint injections become less effective over time so I’m going to need to do some googling there. He said lots of horses out and competing with more joint damage than than this but he is big and it depends on the individual horse of course.

They will x-ray tomorrow and then call me when I can collect and I can discuss more then so if there’s anything I should ask please write it here as my mind is swimming with what ifs and I honestly feel like the air has been sucked out of me right now.
 
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I am glad he got through surgery well. I have been following your journey with him.

Throwing my two pennies in as I have experience with stifle issues; different to yours but soft tissue damage. It might be worth chatting about stem cells into the stifle for the cartilage damage - Mine was injected with stem cells for chondromalacia
(essentially cartilage damage) when he was 9 and came sound (with his stifles at least) and still arguably sound in the stifles 5 years later - arthramid was my next step if the damage/lameness reappears (Many other issues stopping play sadly.)
 
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live2ride said:
I am glad he got through surgery well. I have been following your journey with him.

Throwing my two pennies in as I have experience with stifle issues; different to yours but soft tissue damage. It might be worth chatting about stem cells into the stifle for the cartilage damage - Mine was injected with stem cells for chondromalacia
(essentially cartilage damage) when he was 9 and came sound (with his stifles at least) and still arguably sound in the stifles 5 years later - arthramid was my next step if the damage/lameness reappears (Many other issues stopping play sadly.)
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Thank you, that’s really helpful. I will put that in my notes to mention tomorrow, and to Google once I have sunk the bottle of wine I have just stress bought at the pub!
I’m sorry to hear yours has other issues going on, horses.. who’d have them hey!
 
In 2020 friends cob had stifle surgery.
He had a grade 3/4 meniscal tear with bone chips.
The tear went further than they could see. Cartilage was damaged and removed. Bone chips removed, tear mended as best they could.

Was discharged with very low expectations. Advised 6 -10% chance of return to work.

We followed the instructions to the letter. After research he was given Indiba treatment to aid the recovery.

At 3 months post op, he had an HA injection into the stifle.

At 6 months post op, very came to give steroids, but chose not to as he looked so good.

At 9 months PO, physio advised getting back on him as he looked so good.

He was walked for 6 months. After that, the odd trot was introduced and probably about 3 months after that, I cantered off on a hack and he followed.

He still gets Indiba every 2- 3 months, and is back in full work, and hasn't had any further injections yet.

Have patience, follow the instructions and do a really slow reintroduction to work.

Good luck!
 
I’m sorry to hear you’ve been thrown a curveball you hadn’t been expecting. Fingers crossed for a straightforward and relatively hassle free recovery & rehab (I say relative because I know from a soft tissue rehab that it is super stressful!!) - I hope you can take some heart from the positive stories shared here.
 
Keep the faith - he is young and there are lots of good reports here to show that things can work out well. You've caught it early and are amassing all the knowledge to know how to manage him now and in the future - much better than finding stuff later which turns to be too far advanced to do much about.
 
Just picked him up from the vets, he's absolutely happy as larry.

5 weeks box rest, first 2 weeks he can be hand grazed twice per day, then at 3 weeks we start the walking in hand. Stitches out in 2 weeks also, and vet is out for another horse next week so will likely look at him then. After the 5 weeks then pen rest to 8 weeks and then review.


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AShetlandBitMeOnce said:
Just picked him up from the vets, he's absolutely happy as larry.

5 weeks box rest, first 2 weeks he can be hand grazed twice per day, then at 3 weeks we start the walking in hand. Stitches out in 2 weeks also, and vet is out for another horse next week so will likely look at him then. After the 5 weeks then pen rest to 8 weeks and then review.


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He looks really well !! Fingers crossed for a smooth rehab
 
Popping back to this thread for a quick update.

So he spent 2 weeks on box rest (turns out the 5 weeks was because the vet didn't realise we could fence a pen off) and then 2 weeks on pen rest with the fence line moved slightly every other day or so (or grass is short and totally burned off). He coped, just about, and tried his best to be a good patient but he does have a busy brain and was VERY bored. He broke: his hay bar, his hay ball, the door, the light switch next to the door, a headcollar, the fence twice, he pulled down and peed on two rugs, shredded a boot, broke a kick pad I put on the door, pulled the foam off his waterer pipework and a haynet.... from memory I think that's it.

He is now back in half his original field, about an acre, on overnight turnout as of Monday just gone and is having a bit of a buck and a play but nothing extreme. He was trotted up Monday and signed off to start walk 'work', I will do 2-4 weeks in hand and then 2 weeks ridden, and then will introduce trot work over another 4-6 weeks and then some canter in straight lines ground dependent and then after another couple weeks back to schooling.

After the prelim 2-4 weeks walk work I will start some raised poles and lateral work in hand in the school too, thankfully we both love our groundwork so I have a good basis on this to draw from. Vet then back out to medicate in 6 weeks.

This is what he is looking like, fat and having lost SO much muscle which is upsetting but I am just happy to have him sound and happy. I was lucky to be honest that the grass is so burnt as it meant he didn't get super fat whilst not working. I have also taken this chance to try and rehab his feet which a previous farrier, and one before that, had progressively ruined and made look very long/low heeled and just awful. They are improving, but still looking terrible especially in front. I am hoping to leave them off as long as possible, even if this delays his return to ridden work as our hacking is VERY stoney.

PSA: He is NOT tied by the bit, that rope is just threaded through the ring so he thinks he is while I picked out his feet, if he walked away it would go with him.

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Our grass at the moment, we desperately need rain - thankfully Dex could eat down this field, as the usual occupant was in on box rest due to lami, so it was mutually beneficial. The hay is to try keep him quiet as this was his first night back on overnight turnout.
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I've just gone back for a re-read - he has lost muscle but he doesn't look at all bad given he had to box rest. I'm relieved his boredom was purely shown through destroying other stuff rather than himself!

Is it the muscles around the stifle the vet wants building back up? There's some good physio exercises to help with building up the quad muscles to support the stifle joint - I think you said up thread you had a physio on board?
 
SEL said:
I've just gone back for a re-read - he has lost muscle but he doesn't look at all bad given he had to box rest. I'm relieved his boredom was purely shown through destroying other stuff rather than himself!

Is it the muscles around the stifle the vet wants building back up? There's some good physio exercises to help with building up the quad muscles to support the stifle joint - I think you said up thread you had a physio on board?
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Thank you! He's looking better than I thought he would to be honest.

I haven't had that much detail on what exactly they want building, I believe it's just to build him up like you would any horse that's been out of work is all I have been told so far, but I do have a physio (who has just had a baby so is off for another two weeks, inconsiderate timing! ;) ) so I'll discuss with her when she comes back out. I will definitely Google it too to see what is best to do with him.

Vet who trotted up Monday said he's not too concerned as the chip wasn't on the weight bearing surface of the joint like you would usually expect with a hock or fetlock chip, so the rehab isn't too intensive - I am taking what he said with a pinch of salt as he wasn't the treating vet, albeit he knows Dex's case somewhat
 
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