Field rest help!

J_sarahd

J_sarahd

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As some of you know, Nova was allowed out on field rest as of last Friday. She is on the recommended pen size and I’ve been moving her pen around the bigger field so she has fresh grass every day. The first couple of days, she was really good but she is getting more and more stressed every day - rearing, cantering on the spot, threatening to jump out, completely destroying her fencing (thankfully not escaping once it’s on the ground). She’s out 24/7 as that’s what would work best for her for several reasons - 1. everyone else is so if she was in at night she’d be alone and would get herself worked up at night and 2. I don’t trust anyone else to handle her at the moment - she has become quite sharp to lead in and out, the mornings are done by the YO and another livery and the other livery is quite novice in her handling of the horses. Plus being out as much as possible has helped her sore SI.

I’m going to talk to my vet when I ring up to book our check-up appointment but I just wondered if the minds of HHOers had any thoughts? I’m just worried that all her prancing around is going to undo the treatment we’ve had and we will go back to square one.

I basically haven’t got a clue as to what is the best thing for her at the moment.
 
J_sarahd said:
As some of you know, Nova was allowed out on field rest as of last Friday. She is on the recommended pen size and I’ve been moving her pen around the bigger field so she has fresh grass every day. The first couple of days, she was really good but she is getting more and more stressed every day - rearing, cantering on the spot, threatening to jump out, completely destroying her fencing (thankfully not escaping once it’s on the ground). She’s out 24/7 as that’s what would work best for her for several reasons - 1. everyone else is so if she was in at night she’d be alone and would get herself worked up at night and 2. I don’t trust anyone else to handle her at the moment - she has become quite sharp to lead in and out, the mornings are done by the YO and another livery and the other livery is quite novice in her handling of the horses. Plus being out as much as possible has helped her sore SI.

I’m going to talk to my vet when I ring up to book our check-up appointment but I just wondered if the minds of HHOers had any thoughts? I’m just worried that all her prancing around is going to undo the treatment we’ve had and we will go back to square one.

I basically haven’t got a clue as to what is the best thing for her at the moment.
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My horse was the same with the same issues (suspensories) so i know what you mean about ot not being ideal them pacing up and down churning it up and making it deep is no good for their legs. In the end i had to make the pen bigger so it was big enough to put her field buddy in with her a d she’s been fine since. I know its only meant to be stable size but i thought its better that shes just happily grazing in a bigger area rather than pacing up and down all day and trying to get out

I tried sedaline too and that had no effect
 
Timelyattraction said:
My horse was the same with the same issues (suspensories) so i know what you mean about ot not being ideal them pacing up and down churning it up and making it deep is no good for their legs. In the end i had to make the pen bigger so it was big enough to put her field buddy in with her a d she’s been fine since. I know its only meant to be stable size but i thought its better that shes just happily grazing in a bigger area rather than pacing up and down all day and trying to get out

I tried sedaline too and that had no effect
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Yeah my friend mentioned sedating her but I read that regular sedation increases the risk of impaction colic and as she has already had a pretty scary case of it earlier this year, I don’t want to risk it.

My only worry about that or putting her in the main field is that she loves a hooley and a play with her friends - again, not helpful when rehabbing her suspensories!
 
Would she go in an area say 20x20 with a friend, thats what ive done and its working? Its enough room for 2 but not enough room for them to gallop about. Mines been out 24/7 in that area and because shes out all the time she doesnt hooley about either and i just move the field every 5 days or so
 
I think you have two options - dope her, or turn her out out. I think she's likely to do more harm getting herself worked up than being out and not stressed.
 
I've had to put mine in a bigger area for a suspensory injury. Also bribed with expensive small baled haylage and kept a friend confined to an area close by so always in sight. You can't always stick to the ideal and circling and pacing in a small area are not good anyway.
 
doodle said:
My horse had box rest then pen rest. Pen rest was fine for a few days and then the same as you he got more and more wound up. I let him in the main field. I felt he was doing more damage running around than mooching in the full field.
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We did this with one of mine who did his suspensory branch. Box rest didnt work, he was throwing his 16:3 700 odd kilo elephant self round his pen so he was lobbed out for 8ish months. With field checks etc but basicalky ignored
 
I’ve had to do almost a year of pen and small area turnout. With mine, he’s definitely better if I can make it bigger - maybe the size of four or six stables.
 
I feel your pain! B was supposed to be on pen rest from Mon last week. Having seen the shapes she was trying to do, I bought her back in, sedated her then turned her out in a small paddock. She is in at day and out overnight for another fortnight. Reason for that is that a, too much grass and b, she's more settled to go out and intent on eating and mooching with little chum if off the grass for 9 to 10 hours.
Vet in agreement with this.
 
Arabi won't go in a small pen just rears and bucks the whole time so I opted to sedate him and put him in my small paddock with Louis.

Luckily it had been rested so they just wanted to eat at first I gave him half a tube of sedalin for the first few days and kept an eye on him, then I just reduced it for the next few days and he was fine after that.

I would try and use a smallish field and another horse and just sedate the first day or 2 maybe.
 
Have a chat with your vet; there used to be a long-acting (3 months, I think) anti-anxiety injection, which was helpful in this sort of situation.
Although I know it got abused (aren't humans wonderful), so it may not be readily/available any more.
 
I’ve left a message with the receptionist to ask my vet what to do as he’s not in today. Also just got a message from someone on my yard to say she has managed to escape, which is brilliant…!
 
We gave up with penning one of ours who had a suspensory injury last summer. We kept moving the pen to keep him in grass but after a few days he got fed up. We made a sort of chicane so he could have a bigger pen but couldn’t get up to speed. However, he got fed up with this too, so we had to put him in with the others and let him get on with it. He was much more settled.I think vets can give you a rather idealistic idea of rehab and you have to adapt it to what works for your horse
 
Could you have another horse in a separate pen next to her. I feel your pain. I had a real stressed mare who wouldn’t settle on box rest but was happy in the field shelter with a tape across. Not live and would have come away if she pushed it.
 
J_sarahd said:
As some of you know, Nova was allowed out on field rest as of last Friday. She is on the recommended pen size and I’ve been moving her pen around the bigger field so she has fresh grass every day. The first couple of days, she was really good but she is getting more and more stressed every day - rearing, cantering on the spot, threatening to jump out, completely destroying her fencing (thankfully not escaping once it’s on the ground). She’s out 24/7 as that’s what would work best for her for several reasons - 1. everyone else is so if she was in at night she’d be alone and would get herself worked up at night and 2. I don’t trust anyone else to handle her at the moment - she has become quite sharp to lead in and out, the mornings are done by the YO and another livery and the other livery is quite novice in her handling of the horses. Plus being out as much as possible has helped her sore SI.

I’m going to talk to my vet when I ring up to book our check-up appointment but I just wondered if the minds of HHOers had any thoughts? I’m just worried that all her prancing around is going to undo the treatment we’ve had and we will go back to square one.

I basically haven’t got a clue as to what is the best thing for her at the moment.
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I did a lot of hand walking before 1/2 hr turnout sedated, gradually lengthening it.
 
I had a jumping pony who needed box then pen rest after an operation. She jumped clean out of the pen, every single day, no matter how high I made the fence. On discussion with the vet we decided to keep her on box rest for an extra three weeks, then turn her out 24/7 with the herd. 9 months later she was fine.
 
Is she likely to settle wi a unit companion in a field with grass?
If so I would try and make that happen.
Pen rest can do more harm than good if the horse does not settle to it
 
I had a horse on pen rest with a ligament injury. He became such an idiot I turned him out properly and hoped for the best. He came back fine and hadn’t had any issues since. I figured he would do more harm spinning around bucking in a small space than 1 good gallop then settling.
 
I tried pen rest. It didn't work. My solution in the end was to buy my horse a companion and stick them in a big field together!
 
Ahrena said:
I had a horse on pen rest with a ligament injury. He became such an idiot I turned him out properly and hoped for the best. He came back fine and hadn’t had any issues since. I figured he would do more harm spinning around bucking in a small space than 1 good gallop then settling.
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I remember this well :D The most feral of them all.
 
I had a horse that had a tendon injury did similar in a small pen and in the end the vet advised just turning out with the others in the main field as he would do less damage in a large area than spinning, turning and bucking in a small area. He still healed after a period of rest and was much happier and a lot less dangerous to handle!
 
always a fan of just sedating them, putting them out out (24/7) and then giving it way more time than the vets suggest, but with the horse's mental health prioritised

I think a lot of veterinary approaches are only focused on the physical health of our horses and can result in horses that are severely mentally distressed and are then really difficult to get back into a place where we can sensibly work them again
 
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