Fractured splint bone experiences please! (preferably positive)

BeckyC

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Well after a really good day at Tweseldown on Saturday it all went back downhill again with the horse I was riding at Tweseldown fracturing his splint bone that afternoon in the field :( Going in for an op to remove the broken bit on Thursday then box rest and field rest etc. So this season is pretty much a write off for him now :( So what would be really good now would be to hear any experiences of this injury and rehab back into competition work especially positive experiences!! And lots of healing vibes would also be much appreciated!!
 

ihatework

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As much as it's a complete pain in the proverbial ... if your horse is going to injure themselves, then a fractured splint bone is possibly one of the better things to deal with (IMO).

Remove the bone fragments, a bit of box rest, a bit of walking and voila - new horse
(in the vast majority of cases!)
 

Goldenstar

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A horse I had suffered this.
Had op had seven pieces of bone removed the top part of the bone was left it was the bottom bit that had been broken due to kick.
Box rested eight weeks then walked out a few days then ridden in walk a few days then we turned away a while but did walking exercise from the field, the horses was fine it never affected her at all.
 

be positive

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I am currently bringing one back into work, he was complicated due to being misdiagnosed so untreated for 6 weeks, vet failure:(, then complications due to further injuries suffered while at the clinic:(, so he had longer on box rest than first expected, was turned away after several weeks walking in hand before eventually starting the ridden exercise that should have been about 6-8 weeks post op.
He is now doing well, just started trotting in straight lines having done 6 weeks walking on the roads, hopefully he will get back to jumping before the season finishes, although at times with all the set backs it has been frustrating the prognosis is good for a full return to a competitive career.
Just to add the op was in January.
 

BeckyC

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As much as it's a complete pain in the proverbial ... if your horse is going to injure themselves, then a fractured splint bone is possibly one of the better things to deal with (IMO).

Remove the bone fragments, a bit of box rest, a bit of walking and voila - new horse
(in the vast majority of cases!)

That is very good to hear thank you very much!!

A horse I had suffered this.
Had op had seven pieces of bone removed the top part of the bone was left it was the bottom bit that had been broken due to kick.
Box rested eight weeks then walked out a few days then ridden in walk a few days then we turned away a while but did walking exercise from the field, the horses was fine it never affected her at all.

Also very good to hear! positive stories are very good!

I am currently bringing one back into work, he was complicated due to being misdiagnosed so untreated for 6 weeks, vet failure:(, then complications due to further injuries suffered while at the clinic:(, so he had longer on box rest than first expected, was turned away after several weeks walking in hand before eventually starting the ridden exercise that should have been about 6-8 weeks post op.
He is now doing well, just started trotting in straight lines having done 6 weeks walking on the roads, hopefully he will get back to jumping before the season finishes, although at times with all the set backs it has been frustrating the prognosis is good for a full return to a competitive career.
Just to add the op was in January.

What a nightmare for you! Vet should definitely have spotted that! Very good about the prognosis though!
 

EstherYoung

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H did this when he was younger. He ended up being far fitter afterwards than he was before and did sub-5 hour 80kms.

The only thing to watch is that if it is work or conformation related rather than a kick, the injury often goes hand in hand with a suspensory ligament strain. Even that’s not the end of the world because that’s exactly what H’s was, but you do need to know the full extent of what you’re fixing.
 

BeckyC

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H did this when he was younger. He ended up being far fitter afterwards than he was before and did sub-5 hour 80kms.

The only thing to watch is that if it is work or conformation related rather than a kick, the injury often goes hand in hand with a suspensory ligament strain. Even that’s not the end of the world because that’s exactly what H’s was, but you do need to know the full extent of what you’re fixing.

Brilliant thank you very much! and thank you for saying about the suspensory strain! I'll ask the vet to scan his leg when he's in for the op on Thursday to be on the safe side!!
 

The Fuzzy Furry

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Have also had success story.
14hh whp kicked in field, shattered splint bone (near hind) half severed tendon & mullered suspensory in late November.
Operated to remove many small bits & cleaned up. Nasty mess for 1st 7 - 10 days then started to heal nicely.
Box rest for 6 weeks, walking in hand for 4 weeks, then riding out over the next 8 (building up from 5 mins twice a day to an hour twice a day on hard level surfaces - roads).
Pony out competing on flat by May, jumping in June (opens, so 3ft to 3ft 3) and straight back to hunting field with drag hunt in October, after finishing 7th at Wembley in the WHP's the week before.
We didn't clip her legs out ever again - the scar was covered nicely by a bit of fluff :)

Just take your time & do all the re-hab work - good luck :)
 

BeckyC

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Have also had success story.
14hh whp kicked in field, shattered splint bone (near hind) half severed tendon & mullered suspensory in late November.
Operated to remove many small bits & cleaned up. Nasty mess for 1st 7 - 10 days then started to heal nicely.
Box rest for 6 weeks, walking in hand for 4 weeks, then riding out over the next 8 (building up from 5 mins twice a day to an hour twice a day on hard level surfaces - roads).
Pony out competing on flat by May, jumping in June (opens, so 3ft to 3ft 3) and straight back to hunting field with drag hunt in October, after finishing 7th at Wembley in the WHP's the week before.
We didn't clip her legs out ever again - the scar was covered nicely by a bit of fluff :)

Just take your time & do all the re-hab work - good luck :)

Thats brilliant thank you!! sucess stories are very good to hear!
 

TarrSteps

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Also positive here. I know a couple of horses that have had surgery for it and all save one, where there was extensive damage to other structures, healed up nicely and returned to work. Bone is almost always gong to be "easier" than severe soft tissue injury to rehab, especially if it's a non-weight bearing structure.
 

BeckyC

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Also positive here. I know a couple of horses that have had surgery for it and all save one, where there was extensive damage to other structures, healed up nicely and returned to work. Bone is almost always gong to be "easier" than severe soft tissue injury to rehab, especially if it's a non-weight bearing structure.

Fantastic!! All sounds very positive then!
 

EveningStar

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My Billy has had this.
Was before I had him so don't really know the details but he is absolutely fine. Won't be jumping 1.30s anymore but he has never had any problems from it
 

j1ffy

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Oddly enough I've known of two horses who've fractured splint bones over the winter this year. They're both back in the same work they were doing before the injury - one's an advanced eventer and the other's a happy hacker :D
 

Carefreegirl

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Mine rolled to close to a fence on a 9 acre field and fractured hers, a displacement fracture. Heavily bandaged, almost a cast then box rest for 6 weeks. Re X-rayed and it the displaced bit had actually moved so was technically a break then. Vets decided not to remove it, rebandaged and another 6 weeks box rest. Never had a days problem with it since. It's just the rest of her that's falling apart :)
 

Vickijay

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And a happy story from me. One of mine fractured his into about 50 pieces, he had surgery to remove them all, came back fine and did 2 seasons at pony club open/novice be level.
 

CaleruxShearer

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Not a 'true' splint fracture, but a kick in the field in December 2010 left mine with a stress fracture through his knee that went down into the top of his splint bone. He did 6 weeks total box rest, x rayed at 3 weeks then again at 6, the started walking in hand for 3 weeks, x rayed again(!) then walked in straight lines ridden for 4 weeks and was allowed out for an hour so as long as he was fairly quiet, then just built it up from there. He was kicked on 17th December 2010, then was eventing again on 9th July 2011. It's never caused him any problems since, there's nothing at all to see on the leg now either. I think as long as you are patient and do the proper rehab then often fractures are easier to deal with than tendons and so on.
 

Halfstep

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I had a dressage horse who as a 6 yr old fractured a front medial splint bone - came in quite lame with a egg sized lump on his leg. We thought it was just a splint forming so rested, iced, etc but he didn't come sound and x-rays revealed a fracture, and he had surgery. It was years ago so I don't remember exactly the rehab, but he wasn't off for long and never had a moment's problem with it again - went on to PSG. :D
 
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