Help and advice re box rest and tendon issue!!

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Hollymav

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I’m in a real dilemma as to what to do for the best for my horse and would be grateful for some opinions!!

Yesterday she trotted slightly lame and I noticed a small amount of heat around the fetlock area. This morning she was very reluctant to put weight on front right leg at all and the swelling was far worse so the vet was called. It is suspected she has damaged a tendon and needs 2 weeks box rest and bute and then the vet will review her. She had no problems before now, even had a lesson last Wednesday and instructor never commented on any concerns.

However she has serious issues with being in a stable even for 10 minutes and will spend the whole time spinning round and barging to get out. The vet did suggest leaving her in a small stable sized paddock however again she spends her whole time spinning and will then try to jump out. I am certain she is going to end up doing more damage to herself if I try to confine her. She is also a mega fussy eater so will sniff out any sort of sedative and then refuse to eat! Out in the field she is very laid back except for one corner that she finds spooky so I have fenced that off and turned her back out!!!! She is now wondering around the field like there is nothing wrong with her (she’s not had any bute or other medication at all yet as am starting it tonight).

I’m not making excuses as to why she can’t be on box rest, I just genuinely think it’s going to make her worse and am concerned that I am going completely against the vets advice (which I never normally do!!)

The vet also said that we could scan her leg now to see the extent of the damage but that it would not make any difference to the treatment that she would recommend so it was up to me if I wanted it done. I initially said no but am now thinking maybe it should be done so we know what we are faced with.

Help and opinions please!!!
 
If your horse has a damaged tendon then being turned out is not resting it, I totally disagree that the treatment will be the same whatever the scan shows, some tendon injuries require surgery, some do not. If the injury is slight & the horse is not rested then the injury can worsen. For me, I would keep the horse sedated & at the very least on pen rest in a proper secure round pen. I would also have the scan sooner rather than later so that I knew what I was dealing with. My pony was not even lame & had a tear in the DDFT which has proved to be career ending. Sorry if this isn't what you wanted to hear, but they say rest for a reason.
 
Nope that’s fine I asked for opinions and am prepared to listen to what anyone has to say. Thank you for your feedback.

If box rest is definitely the best thing then I will look into sedation and it will have to be done. I will also call the vets tomorrow and get the scans arranged. I want to give her every chance of fully recovering from this whilst keeping her as sane as possible!!!

I’ve sadly also experienced a horse having a tear in the DDFT that ended his career. He had 9 months box rest and restricted turnout but luckily he coped with it extremely well. Just not so sure madam would feel the same!
 
I didn't mean to sound quite so fierce!! Just feel strongly about this subject as the outcome for me was sadly not a good one despite £6000 in vets bills, including surgery & a text book rehab. Following surgery the prognosis was good, but it has healed with a big adhesion causing intermittent severe lameness. Kizzy is now on complete holiday with lots of Danilon & cold therapy, I declined further surgery & still feel a bit guilty about it. Please let me know how you go, fingers crossed it is a slight strain & just needs anti inflammatories, cold therapy & rest.
 
Having done nearly 8 weeks box rest with my boy, I sympathise!! Unfortunately rest is one of the main components with tendon and ligament injuries, along with, in my case, shockwave and Adequan injections.
It's gutting but my boy seems to have accepted that he cannot hoon around - lots of grooming, treat balls and occasional hand grazing have kept him vaguely sane. As has been said, I would have scans done asap - the extent of the injury must be known surely to come up with the best treatment plan?? Good luck with the box/pen rest
 
If you only noticed your mare as being lame yesterday then there is no point in having it scanned until Monday next week. Tendon/ligament injuries take a week to settle down and so the image that you would see at the start of that week could give you a false impression of the severity of the injury.

In the meantime you really do want to try and box rest your mare. But equally gentle meandering round the field would probably do less damage than spinning in the stable as this would be more likely to put more stress onto the area.

The best treatment is cold therapy. We have found that the use of the spa in the first week can make a huge difference. I appreciate that not everyone has access to a spa so I would suggest that you cold horse/ice your horses leg as many times in the day as you can.

Your vets response sounds slightly blase and to be honest I would consider getting a vet who specialises in lameness to scan/assess your horse.

I hope that doesn't sound too negative.

Good Luck
 
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I know it's really easy to say this when I'm not the one actually making the decision, but I would go with your gut feeling and turn the horse out but without any painkillers. If there is damage, pain is the bodys way of saying slow down. If your horse is happy ambling around the field quietly, it's not going to do any more damage that moving around it's box and will certainly do less damage than leaping about in it's box like a mad thing.
The other alternative would be to bute up and sedate. My mare has just been through a horrible operation and recovery period and I had to syringe bute and ACP into her. The best syringes for the job are the ones that Equipalazone comes in! I have turned her out much earlier than recommended, on no pain medication, and although she jumped about a bit when she first went out, she soon realised that doing that wasn't sensible and she has done very well to date.
So in a way, I've tried both options recently and I like the turnout one best. The other advantage of sticking with the horses normal routine is that you keep stress levels to a minimum - a stressed horse won't heal well.
 
I agree that in some cases the best option to keep the horse sensible is to turn out however what i would say is to do loads and loads of cold hosing/leg cooling. preferably when she comes in from field. a lot of early damage can be controlled by doing this :-) Good Luck
 
They do settle eventually. im now in months 10 and a half f box rest (although has been on exercise programme for 6 months) Mine was not the sort which settled being in but with the help of ACP, valerian (herbal calmer) and stable toys lickits and snak a balls she did settle. It did take time she used to buck rear and canter round stable. she too was in with tendon injury and the risks associated with turning them out insaed of rest is just too high for my likeing having been there i know it is hard but thye do settle
 
Last September one of my Arabs did a very bad tear in his lower part of his hind suspensory ligament, to the point that my vet said he may have to be pts

The horse is blind in one eye and no way will be stay in the stable, he will spend time in his field shelter or a stable with the door open but as soon as you close the door he panics.

We built a very small fenced off area next to an end stable, he must have realized he should not hool around because he behavied so well.

The treatment he had was Adequan, shockwave and a fairly new treatment of removing 60mls of blood filtering it and re-injecting the plasma into the legion. I also used a combination of homeopathic treatments.

He was never on bute or Danilon.

After eight weeks we gave him a larger area and then a month later he had the yard.

He was bandaged the whole time and still is.

We slowly built up the work from six weeks walking to full work. Six months down the line and he is in full work for his first 40 miles (64k) endurance ride.

They do seem to know they are not right. I would not use any bute etc as this can mask any pain they may have.

I have also had a mare with a very bad DFT injury to the point that they would not operate again I used a combination of Homeopathic treatment. The mares leg was the size of half a rugby ball with no definition to the leg.She had the normal treatment and some box rest she too is now back doing endurance.

Another thing you can do with a mare is put them in foal. The hormones they produce while pregnant helps the healing process.

If you want to know what I used homeopathy I can let you know.
 
Firstly you need an accurate diagnosis, to guide future managment and treatment. ACP pills in a syringe or sedaline gel twice a day may help calm her down during box rest. Cold housing, ice boots, spa may all help to reduce inflammation. Fetlock regional tendon lesions are not that common (eg 3B/4A of the SDFT) normally higher up. Knowing the diagnosis quickly will aid in treatment to provide the best prognosis. Is it a core lesion or peripheral? Prp, stem cell treatment, adequan injection into the tendon, draining the tendon are some current treatments. Tendon injuries when they first present are not normally lame. Is there swelling over the tendon and is it painful on palpation? Initial treatment includes bute and dex to get the inflammation down quickly + Box rest!

I suggest ultrasound scan ASAP.
 
I would agree on the ultrasound scan to image the tendon as this will show where and how big the lesion is. Horses can appear sound further down the line but still have a marked lesion in the tendon. If brought back to work too early then all the rest will have been in vain and you will have to start over again with a possibly worse tendon injury. Therapeutic ultrasound may help with the healing process so if your insurance includes physiotherapy then get them in on the treatment and rehab too.
Vel xx
 
Many thanks to everyone for your replies and good wishes - it really is appreciated. Good luck to everyone else who is having "issues" with their horses!

So far horse is out in a small section of field and happily grazes. As soon as she goes in stable she is leaping around like a lunatic. She is off to the vets on monday and if they feel she really needs to be in then will go down the sedative route.

We are lucky enough to have an equine spa nearby so have also looked into taking her there as well - not sure how she'll react to that though!!

Paulineh - I would certainly be interested to hear more about the homeopathic treatment if you wouldn't mind letting me know what you used.

Kizzywizz – you didn’t come across as fierce just someone who feels very strongly about the issue! I would much rather people were honest rather than told me what they think I want to hear. I’m sorry to hear about your horse and please don’t feel guilty about further surgery it sounds like you have done everything you possibly could.
 
Hollymav


This is what I have used in the past


1) Green Lipped Mussel Extract Capsules
2) MSM Tablets
3) Bromelain Tablets
4) Selenium

The first 3 are anti inflammatories and the selenium helps to clean up free radicials.

I get them all from healthspan which is a human company, but the doses are the same both human and equine. Their web site is http://www.healthspan.co.uk/default.aspx?tref=home

This is each drug
1) Green lipped mussell -natural anti-inflammatory agents plus all nine classes of glycosaminoglycans in a biologically balanced combination, to help maintain active joints. 3 tablets daily. I use to brake the caps up and mix them with some apple juice as they do have a fishy smell and some horses do not like this smell.

2)MSM is a naturally occurring sulphur compound, the fourth most abundant mineral in the human body and is vital for the structure of connective tissue. MSM is one of the major building blocks of Glycosaminoglycans, which are key structural components in cartilage and play an important part in the maintenance of joint health. As such MSM is the perfect partner to glucosamine. Sulphur is also needed for the manufacture of many proteins, including hair, muscles and skin and is a constituent of bones, teeth and collagen (the protein in connective tissues). 2 tablets daily

3) Bromelain has powerful anti-inflammatory actions and is widely used to reduce pain, swelling and inflammation associated with arthritis, sprains, wounds and soft tissue injuries. It is thought to promote tissue repair and has been shown to help reduce the bruising and pain that can follow minor operations or injury. 2 tablets daily.

4) Selenium and vitamin A, C and E at 100% of their RDA are a powerful anitoxidant combination to help to combat the cell damaging effects of free radicals. 2 tablets daily.

I also bought an infra red body massarger from ebay you can gentle massage the leg and also the horse loves the body being massaged too

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Lloyds-Pharmacy-Bo...:1|294:50


Pauline
 
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