Help/Advice please

[mangobiscuit]

I called the vet out four days ago after finding a wound at the top of my horse's hind cannon. He couldn't walk and held the injured leg off the ground, and knowing that he's NOT a wimpy type, knew he must be in a considerable amount of pain.

Vet managed to get his whole finger into the wound which seemed to reach upwards towards joint and due to the severity of his lameness vet said he was concerned about infection in the joint and also possible fracture to the bone.

So after xrays, established that there is a fracture and some tendon damage but thankfully the joint fluid he took revealed no infection at the moment.

Vet has put huge thick load of bandaging all the way to the top of leg and said he will need to be cross tied for at least 6 weeks but probably longer

He has painkillers and anitibiotics administered everyday since - he seems well in himself and is even putting a bit of weight on bad leg now but has a very runny tummy and is off his food.

I have a few questions - I hope someone can advise me as I am feeling a bit down and anxious about the whole thing

-it's not a severe fracture, how do horses of his age usually get on once healed? He wasn't ridden much before (light hacking) but I'd just like to know if he will always be prone to weaknesses? Basically what I'm tryign to say is will he be able to eventually do all he used to?

-he's not a horse that ever enjoyed staying in even for the shortest amount of time. He's very bored and fed up with being tied up and kept in his stable - any tips on keeping him occupied!!??

-Feedwise he was on x1 scoop hifi lite, 3/4 scoop pasture mix and 3/4 scoop of alfabeet - have bought some Convalescent Feed and am introducing this. Should I start soaking his hay as he is obviously having adlib at the mo.

-Am checking him at 10pm every night at the mo but as my daugther will be back at school on Tues it will become impossible...is it acceptable for him to be left unchecked from 5pm to 7am?

SOrry for the lengthly post - hope someone can help

x

 

[Happytohack]

I am sorry about your horse - must have been some sort of freak accident, but at least the joint is not infected. What type of horse is he - does he need hard feed at all to keep his weight on while he is boxrested? I have no experience of his type of injury, but I have had 3 on box rest over the years - 2 with laminitis and 1 with a broken pelvis. They all had hay and not much else, only a tiny high fibre feed, so they would eat their meds. I would carry on with the ad lib hay and gradually cut out most of the hard feed and just give him a bit of the convalescent mix with his painkillers etc. It is probably the painkillers and antibiotics that have given him the runs - other people on here may well be able to advise you about this. The only reasons to soak hay are if he has a dust allergy or it needs to be soaked to reduce calories in the case of laminitics. If he were mine, I would not be happy leaving him from 5 p.m. to 7.00 a.m. - alot can happen in 14 hours. Good luck and I really hope he makes a full recovery.

 

[mangobiscuit]

Thanks for your reply

He's 20 yr old 15.3 TB x Connemara, he is of a good weight at the moment

He's never been boxrested before (in the 14 yrs I've had him!!) so not entirely sure how he's going to be.

He's usually quite a good doer - just thought maybe to soak hay so he didn't put too much extra weight on but perhaps not necessary if cutting most of his hard feed I guess.

Found a long rusty bent pipe type thing right near the gate of the field where they roll - looks just like what I imagined would cause the injury he has

God only knows how the bloody thing got there as it was quite obvious when we found it and not the type of thing you wouldn't notice when going in the field...poor thing!

x

 

[Happytohack]

Glad you found what caused the injury - you can trust a horse to find the one thing in a field that is going to do himself harm. If he has ad lib hay (that isn't the best quality), he shouldn't put weight on but will have something to munch on and keep him happy, both mentally and his digestive system - you could try putting it in a small holed net (if you are not already) as it will take him longer to eat. It is surprising how most horses adapt to boxrest, and I am sure he will - all 3 of mine coped very well. I used to leave the radio on for one of mine which she rather seemed to like

, you may find this works for your chap. The one thing about injuries is that they take a long time to heal, do don't get downhearted if things seem to be taking longer than the vet first thought. At least he is in his box when the weather is grotty. Please let us know how he gets on.

 

[mangobiscuit]

Went out yesterday and bought some batteries for the radio - he's now merrily listening to Magic fm

My mother in law has offered to keep her boy in next door to Fin for company too

I know some people have to cope with worse injuries - but Fin is NEVER unsound/ill and it's just a bit alien to me!! (I suppose I should count myself lucky really he's been so healthy)

Thank you so much for your reassuring words - I am feeling a bit better about the whole thing than initially. ANd strangely enough, I think I'm more anxious about it all than he is

I think I may actually be irritating him quite a bit too - I keep going up and lingering around grooming, wiping, sweeping and he just looks at me as if to say STOP!!! Go away!!

Thanks again - vet's coming to cut bandage off and access and think re xray in a week so will update

x

 

[Happytohack]

[ QUOTE ]

ANd strangely enough, I think I'm more anxious about it all than he is

I think I may actually be irritating him quite a bit too - I keep going up and lingering around grooming, wiping, sweeping and he just looks at me as if to say STOP!!! Go away!!

x

[/ QUOTE ]

I was just the same with one of mine - they looked at me as if to say "are you here again?!!"

Good luck for next week - I'm sure he'll do well.

 

[samuelhorse]

Oh, poor boy, good luck and hope all goes well. I think I know how you are feeling, my boy hates been in too (is it a connemara thing???) Can only imagine how stressfull it will be for you both . Can the vet not give you some sedatives to help him get used to the idea of box rest???
Personally I too would cut out all the hard feed and maybe just add some pink powder or something to keep his vitamin levels high to help wound healing and i think it contains friendly bacteria to help with the runs due to the antibiotics.
Good luck and keep us posted. xxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

[Morgan123]

Hi, sorry to hear about your horse! I hope he’s on the mend. When mine was in recently (he also hates it and stressed for a good few days) we tied strings of carrots, Swedes, apples etc from ceiling (if you can reach) or on haynet/hay rack if not. You can also put apples in their water so they do ‘apple bobbing’, or cut a hole in a foot ball and fill it with treats to encourage them to forage. Also tie your hay in two haynets, or one with really small holes, to make it last longer.
To keep my gelding’s mind occupied, we did lots of ‘games’ – when ridden, he is quite unresponsive to the leg when you ask him to step sideways, so I worked on getting him to move away form pressure in the stable – they only have to move a step so in general it’s ok for box rest (though obviously not in every case!). However, even if that’s not suitable for your horse, there are always variations, e.g. teach them to put their head down for the bridle etc. I did clicker training with mine, so that he responds to simple requests (e.g. ‘kiss’, ‘go back’, ‘where’s the ball’, where he has to nudge the football) – not for everyone, but I found it was great for improving his general attitude too! worth a try, anyway!
I’d cut hard feed down almost totally, just feed chaff/fibre nuts etc and a handful of usual fed so it’s not too much of a shock. I hope this helps, good luck with him!

 

[kerilli]

i had to keep one cross-tied for that long, they do get used to it. definitely sedate when you are allowed to let him out for the first time though, cos i didn't and it was like trying to hang on to a 1/2 ton helium balloon...

i'd leave the radio on, classic fm or radio 4, all the time for him. no hard feed, just rubbishy hay if pos (no energy) in a haynet with v. small holes.
if it's at all possible, i would get someone, anyone, to check him late at night... it's quite a long time unchecked.
agree with the point about clicker training, i've done it too and it does make them really use their brain (in a "what do i have to do to get the click and the treat?" kind of way), you can really see them trying to work things out.
really hope he makes a full recovery, very best of luck.

 

[TGM]

Have only just read this - what a nightmare for you.

Regarding fractures, I do know of several horses and ponies that have had fractures that have healed perfectly well and gone on to continue with an active life, even including jumping.

Agree with the others that the best thing would be to cut hard food right out and only give him a little if you need to mix medication in with it. Then you can give him adlib hay which will keep him occupied. As you are cutting out the hard feed I wouldn't worry about soaking the hay at the moment - but it is an option if you do find that he starts piling on the weight.

Fingers crossed that he makes a speedy and full recovery.

 

[mangobiscuit]

Thanks for everyones advice and replies - the suggestions of trying to use the time constructively with some kind of training sounds really interesting and I think I might look into ita bit more!

I bought him a likit and a radio (which I leave on all day). The radio he loves...the likit (like the last one - why don't I learn) he doesn't!

We now have oral antibiotics (in a water like form!) which is impossible to get down his throat as it's such a thin liquid. Put half in his alfabeet (his favourite) and he ate it all. So put the other half in some more beet but he wasn't so keen!!!

It's to be rexrayed in 10days from now and the bandage changed twice inbetween (oh and we've already exceeded our insurance limit.....)

But he's worth it!!!

Thanks again for all your replies guys - really appreciate it

x