Fittening after injury

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RachelB

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Hmm I wasn't too sure where to put this, but here goes..
Obviously I will talk to my vet about this, but I was just interested in people's opinions - my horse is currently on four weeks box rest after damaging her fetlock (vet isn't sure how, but he nerve blocked the pain out to the fetlock, x-rays and ultrasounds were fine, prescribed corrective shoeing and box rest which seems to be working wonders). She is due back into the horsepital next week to see how she's doing, and if the vet gives me the go-ahead I'll be starting her fittening work from scratch again, aiming for a 2' ODE at the end of the summer. I have read in countless old books that six weeks walking on the roads should be the basis of any fittening programme, but in the newer books I have they seem to suggest much shorter times. How long would you suggest walking and trotting on the roads for? I was thinking four weeks walk and four weeks walk and trot? But I'm totally unsure! Bearing in mind that I will ONLY trot up hills, as too much trotting on hard surfaces is what caused her injury in the first place!
And obviously as I said before I will ask my vet, but it would be nice to get some other opinions!
Cheers!
 
That sounds about right, afterall the books are usually aimed at horses who have been roughed off for the winter. Yours has only had 4 weeks off so her fitness should not have declined too much.
 
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Yours has only had 4 weeks off so her fitness should not have declined too much.

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But fitness due to injury - and an injury of a concussive nature?
 
I have always been told that when fittening (sp) after an injury you start from scratch even though they have retained some fitness, you are protecting not only the fetlock, but also the rest of the horses body.

I would start with 20mins walking in hand for 3-4 weeks, then 20 mins on her back walking only increasing this amount by 10% every three days, would again do that for a month, only then would I start trotting again for only 5 ish minutes and then increase this by 10% again for 4 weeks or so on top of the walking she had been doing.

As for trotting on the roads, even in limited amounts, this is probably for you and your vet to decide, after all it is a concussion injury.

This is a conservative way of getting horses back into work and may not work for everyone but it has worked for me!
 
She went very lame after trotting more than usual on tarmac, on a long hack. She was hopping lame. So I assume it is from concussion in the fetlock joint, although vet seems unsure as to what exactly the injury is (especially after x-rays and ultrasounds were clear of any "evidence of serious injury" - which was what her discharge sheet said). Her major problem was that although she looks very upright in the leg anyway, the bones are actually more upright than they look to be from the outside. This is my main concern when it comes to fittening that I may push her too soon as she is obviously built in such a way that she can easily sustain damage to her legs (and of course will be discussed with the vet).
She hasn't been properly ridden since the end of January/ first week in February, was in light work (walking and trotting for an hour a day) during February, plus in January she had two weeks walking and trotting only, due to another injury (respiratory, totally unrelated). So really she hasn't been in proper work all year! Which is why I want to start entirely from scratch again. She hasn't been on "proper" box rest though, to preserve her sanity she has been in a small pen in a grassy field for an hour or two every day (allowed by vet). So she has been moving around a little.
 
In view of the facts I would not trot on roads at all, and would concentrate on hill work if possible, you can do transitions and walk at different stages of collection as she builds up, check that leg twice a day, any suspicion of heat, lay off for a few days.
Canter on grass, on good even ground, keep trotting to a minimum, plenty of turnout to keep her placid, thought there is always a risk, if it is going to recur.
I would want her sound for three times the time she has been injured before I try anything gymnastic, this is very conservative, but that's horses.
If you want to lunge at the trot, make sure she goes in big circles, only goes slowly, and boot up in case of interference injury. Use the arena for trotting and keep it to grid work and little tiny cross poles, trot in and trot out, do not try combinations or twisting turns for ages, do lots of transitions halt walk trot and backing, make sure she is using her hind legs and lightening off the forehand, just a lot of small undemanding work asking for balance and avoiding concussion .
 
RachelB, If that was my horse I wouldn't have any plans for it this summer, and the autumn would be dependent upon how the horse was progressing.

I know that I tend to be overcautious about bringing horses back in to work but doing things slowly and progressively usually means that they stay sound
 
Agree with The Watcher, my mare tore her DDFT and she has been brought back into work very slowly, walking for weeks only and built up from handwalking to ridden work. We didnt do any trot work for about 3 months and I was advised by my vet to do this only up hill and at a collected pace. Last week we had our first canter. She was brought back into work in Feb this year and if I were you I would concentrate on getting her right and putting competing on the back burner until you are sure shes right. No point in rushing it.
 
walking for about 6 weeks, then walking and a bit of trot for another 6 weeks to strenthen her legs, then slowly introduce school work! agree wouldnt aim for anything this side of christmas! make sure she is very well shod and balanced with plenty of heel support and aim for next spring ODE but only on good going. Good luck its a long road to recovery and soundness.
 
It all depends on what the injury is /was and how fit the horse was before hand.

A horse will not have lost a lot of fitness in 4 weeks or will the legs need a lot of conditioning.

I would not lunge at the moment as this can also increase the stress on the joint.

If the vet gives the OK I would do a weeks walking (Power walking) time does not matter but between 45-50 minutes and on the second week add in a minutes trotting each day so that at the end of the second week you will be doing 6-7 minutes trotting at one time, so in an hours ride you can do 2-3 groups of trotting.

By the end of August you should be able to add canter work in, again build this up during an hours ride so that you are doing some power walking, some trotting and some canter work.

You can add in some work in the school but not too much and make sure the going is good.

When would the event you intend to do be, September ish

This is the kind of work I would do if I was bringing one of my Endurance horses back from the kind of injury you describe.
 
Crikey, how old is this thread??!! She did have the summer off... in fact, she was diagnosed with a badly torn DDFT and had 18 months off, and is only now back to being able to canter - after three years! :)

Some good advice though :)
 
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