Has anyone gone against vets advice with Tendon injuries?

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Starbucks

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Badger had his leg scanned today, has minor damage to check ligament - as suspected.

It's not serious and vet thinks it's done really well so far and should all heal well. Has given me a controlled exercise plan which would bring him back into full work in 16 weeks - still on box rest.

I'm not keen on keeping him in for this long, he is very good so won't have any problems there but he's had a few bouts of colic when kept in for long periods and like my dad says, he's not going to die from a pulled ligament but he might die from colic!

Explained to vet but he stuck to his guns and I'm happy to follow his advice but only if completely necessary.

Wondered if anyone had any experiences?
 
If my clients are really concerned then I try and compromise by using a box sized area of field, either using electric fencing if the horse will respect it, or tall pen fencing if they won't!! The rest is based on area size rather than in vs outside...

Try running that past your vet - he may feel this is inappropriate, i cant comment on your individual case, but it's an idea and may stop you worrying about the colic in the meantime.

The one thing I'd say is continue to talk to the vet about your concerns, rather than just go against the advice without them knowing. That's really frustrating as we are just trying to get the injury better as quickly as possible!:o

Good luck,
Imogen
 
Would say its best to go along with the vets advice, especially if you are going through your Insurance co. They may not pay out if you dont go along with the recommended advice. Muddy fields (if you have them) wont help matters if your horse tears around and re-injures the ligament. My horse was on box rest all last winter and to be honest,she came round to the idea quite easily, they do seem to.
 
my vet advised box rest but for various reasons this was very difficult.we discussed options and agreed on turnout in the day on a stable sized area with electric fencing.10 weeks into it she is doing well .a good vet would be happy to discuss concerns in the same way a good doctor would .horses are not machines and as my vet said theres always a way ,you just have to be creative.
 
ImogenBurrows said:
If my clients are really concerned then I try and compromise by using a box sized area of field, either using electric fencing if the horse will respect it, or tall pen fencing if they won't!! The rest is based on area size rather than in vs outside...

Try running that past your vet - he may feel this is inappropriate, i cant comment on your individual case, but it's an idea and may stop you worrying about the colic in the meantime.

The one thing I'd say is continue to talk to the vet about your concerns, rather than just go against the advice without them knowing. That's really frustrating as we are just trying to get the injury better as quickly as possible!:o

Good luck,
Imogen
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Yes me too! :) If I keep him in is there anything you could recommend to help to reduce the risk of colic?

Definitely want insurance to pay out so maybe will have to do as we are told! ;)
 
debsflo said:
my vet advised box rest but for various reasons this was very difficult.we discussed options and agreed on turnout in the day on a stable sized area with electric fencing.10 weeks into it she is doing well .a good vet would be happy to discuss concerns in the same way a good doctor would .horses are not machines and as my vet said theres always a way ,you just have to be creative.
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Thanks, will maybe discuss with YO and vet and see if we can sort something out along these lines.
 
chestnut cob said:
You could try feeding Coligone supplement while he's on box rest? TBH I'd stick to the vet's advice, keep the horse in for the amount of time he suggested and try damage limitation WRT colic.
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Yes I was thinking either Coligone or pink powder but think coligone sounds best?
 
Starbucks said:
Yes I was thinking either Coligone or pink powder but think coligone sounds best?
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I've never used Coligone but people on here seem to rate it highly. Pink Powder is, IMHO, a load of rubbish though!

Also keep him occupied with plenty of forage (soaked hay to remove the nutrients if he is likely to put on weight or climb the walls). Maybe look at changing your feed - over a few days - if you are feeding high concentrates too. You could swap to something like D&H High Fibre Nuts or even just a chaff to take any medication/supps in.

When our horses were stuck in last winter because of the ice, I bought one of those Uncle Jimmy's treat balls to occupy him: http://www.uncle-jimmys.com/ I hung it over his door, not so he would walk into it but far enough away from any edges/walls that he couldn't push it against something solid to eat it. Lasted about 3 weeks and kept him entertained for literally days because he couldn't work out how to get hold of it.
 
ImogenBurrows said:
Hmm, high fibre diet with pro and pre biotics will help. But don't forget to reduce the rations if on box rest!! Other than that a set routine is also helpful.
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Thanks, I'm not that clued up on feeding, he was on quite a lot trying to keep his weight up for hunting but I've cut it right down to half scoop baily's #4, half scoop sugar beet and half scoop chop twice a day. Will change baily's for some sort of normal H&P cubes when they run out. Plus going to get him pink powder/coligone Does that sound ok or totally not?
 
chestnut cob said:
I've never used Coligone but people on here seem to rate it highly. Pink Powder is, IMHO, a load of rubbish though!

Also keep him occupied with plenty of forage (soaked hay to remove the nutrients if he is likely to put on weight or climb the walls). Maybe look at changing your feed - over a few days - if you are feeding high concentrates too. You could swap to something like D&H High Fibre Nuts or even just a chaff to take any medication/supps in.

When our horses were stuck in last winter because of the ice, I bought one of those Uncle Jimmy's treat balls to occupy him: http://www.uncle-jimmys.com/ I hung it over his door, not so he would walk into it but far enough away from any edges/walls that he couldn't push it against something solid to eat it. Lasted about 3 weeks and kept him entertained for literally days because he couldn't work out how to get hold of it.
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He is on ad lib haylage at the mo, he's never done a winter without lots of work but he tends to drop condition so don't think he'll get fat. TBH he's very chilled and only really interested in eating and cribbing!!! Probably not healthy but keeps him occupied!!
 
Starbucks said:
He is on ad lib haylage at the mo, he's never done a winter without lots of work but he tends to drop condition so don't think he'll get fat. TBH he's very chilled and only really interested in eating and cribbing!!! Probably not healthy but keeps him occupied!!
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Keep the fibre trickling in and other calories of the non-heating variety...if he drops weight when feed is reduced try supplementing the carbohydrate sugars with oils which will maintain weight but not send him nuts! max oil consumption is 1ml/kg bwt...500mls max for 500kg horse. Some don't find oil very palatable so gradually introduce them into the diet.

Also try using the NAF haylage balancer in place of the pink powder to keep the pH normalised - especially if he's getting ad lib haylage.

Toys are a great idea, esp is he's a cribber - may increase risk of gassy colic, but good that he's not usually a stress head.
 
No advice for your situation Starbucks, but I just wanted to answer your original question - yes... vet told me to shoot mine and I told him to stick it... does that count?! :p

I know there are different schools of thought with regards to (limited) turnout with tendon injuries. Mine stressed herself out in the box so we quickly introduced a small turnout pen. Other than the twit jumping out twice (over a 5' electric fence with one stride approach...) it did her good and she quickly settled into the routine. I would still try to follow vet's advice in the whole, though - they have trained long and hard to do their job and we do pay them lots of money for their advice!

Good luck - I know box rest isn't easy.
 
I would go with what Imogen said, but discuss with your vet first. To me there is little point in paying an experienced professional if you are just going to ignore what they say, but dicussion between you & working together is a good thing. I changed vets because my old vet was very old school, her way or no way, & i got fed up with having to travel for scans. My new vets are always available for advice, Andrew even told me to text him at home if I was worried over Christmas last year! So I think a vet who will work with you rather than some sort of dictator is helpful, but they give the advice they do to help you get the best result for your horse.
 
I think vets are far too quick to say box rest often for extended periods. I can't help but think, what would you do if you had a slight ligament strain, go to bed for 4 months ? Would that help ?
 
bonny said:
I think vets are far too quick to say box rest often for extended periods. I can't help but think, what would you do if you had a slight ligament strain, go to bed for 4 months ? Would that help ?
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No I agree that we wouldn't, but then in defence of vets, we can't get the horse to understand "please rest your leg and don't load bear fully on it for 2 weeks then walk only. No running in the corridors"...:D
 
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